WINTER 2010-2010
I just finished up another year of jumping--it was a great one and I am satisfied with how it went. I made a lot of progress by working on my jumping technique and had a lot of good results. The year included numerous Continental Cup, World Cup, and FIS Cup competitions all over the world. The season began over the summer when I was crowned US National Champion on both the Normal and Large hills. I then began to work through a European tour early in the fall. I placed first and second in a pair of FIS Cup competitions in Falun, Sweden. While in Europe this fall I also competed in Norway at Continental Cups in Oslo and Lillehammer. I then returned to the US to train before the true winter season began. In early October I competed in the Flaming Leaves Competition on my home hill in Lake Placid and I ended up setting the hill record on the 90 when I flew to 108 meters.
It was then time to return to Europe to compete in a packed schedule against some of the world's best jumpers. Overall I competed in almost 30 competitions between December and March. The results of my time in Europe were reassuring and included numerous top 30's including second and eighth place finishes in Sapporo, Japan. While in Sapporo I also competed in my first World Cup Competition and was able to place in the top twenty--this was the best American finish since 2003! I was especially excited to compete in the Junior World Championships in Otepaa, Estonia and also to be named to the World Championship team for the competition in Oslo, Norway. I ended my season with a very exciting Ski-Flying World Cup in Planica, Slovenia. Ski Flying is basically ski jumping on an even bigger hill, and to give you an idea of how exciting it truly is, I jumped 184 meters on the hill!
Overall it was a great winter; I traveled and competed all over the world including Finland, Norway, Turkey, Switzerland, Estonia, Japan, Slovenia, and Poland. We were able to stay in some places for longer periods of time for training and my teammates and I got to experience life in these countries first hand. I am proud of the season I had this year and I know would not have been able to do it without the help of all my supporters, and would like to thank everyone who helped contribute in any way to my career. When I was home for brief periods during my busy season I was able to attend a few junior-jumping competitions as I wanted to show my support to all the new up and coming jumpers. I helped judge a few competitions and gave some words of encouragement to the younger generation of American ski jumpers and had a great time doing so!
In the next few years I hope to continue to improve my jumping technique and continue competing internationally at the highest level. My goal is to consistently place in the top ten in Continental Cups and top thirty of World Cups. Next year my goal is to place in the top three at the World Junior Championships in Turkey. I hope to jump for many years to come and with the help of my many supporters I am confident I will be able to do this. Please stay tuned to my website over the summer as I gear up for another great season. 2011-2012 watch out--here I come.