Mr. Shoultz proves that one can succeed in both the slopes and the classroom. During school, Mr. Shoultz teaches English II and English III, working with sophomores and juniors, but after school he is the dry land ski coach.
His passion for skiing came at the young age of 2 when he used plastic skis and went to the mountain around 30 times a year with his family.
”[S]o I essentially was, like walking at the same time I was skiing,” Shoultz said. “So I grew up skiing, probably 30 to 40 times a year as a family.”
Mr. Shoultz began coaching after Mr. Hughes, the Athletic Director at the time, asked him to be the weight lifting coach. Mr. Shoultz passion for skiing and weightlifting made him the ideal candidate for this role.
“The coaching position that they needed wasn't just skiing, it was weight lifting. And as you know, I also enjoy weight lifting. So with the blend of knowledge of, hey, what does it take to be a good skier as well as, you know, what is proper weight lifting look like? I just filled in that role.”
A typical day of training for the ski team involves strength and conditioning exercises. Athletes spend around 40 minutes with Mr. Shoultz focusing on traditional weightlifting, with a strong emphasis on building leg strength.
“[W]e do a lot of squats, a lot of dead lifts. It's mainly legs, right skiing, a leg sport. I don't want them not being balanced, so we still do arms. So it's really like traditional weight lifting.”
Mr. Shoultz is optimistic about the ski team's performance so far this season. Freshman Xavier Crespo placed first in their race of the season, showcasing the strong potential for the team's future.
“Metro League is really a good league to compete in. I think our girls placed overall, like third, and our our boys were at least top 10. But as the season goes on we will get into the groove of it.”
This season, Mr. Shoultz and the rest of the ski team are focusing heavily on development and growth, especially with such a young team, their goal is to build a strong foundation for the future.
”We have a pretty young team. So honestly, it's just to grow and figure out who's going to be in the right place to be a captain next year [and] competing to be our top skiers.”
Creating a sense of team spirit in a sport like skiing is key, but can be difficult because ski racing is based on individual performance. Mr. Shoultz compares it to another independent sport, swimming.
“[T]hat's just being supportive, making sure that we break every practice with a unifying cheer, making sure, we can build a team bond.”
While time together as a team is limited, with so much training spent individually on the slopes, Mr. Shoultz strives to create a sense of community.
”But I'll be honest, I think that's something we're focusing on. How do we continue to build the team around community?”
