Alana LaCourse, an 8th grade student at Boothbay Region Elementary School, has been skiing since she was just less than 3 years old. This past winter, she spent a semester at Gould Academy where she worked out and competed in Slalom, Giant Slalom and Downhill events with the team. I asked this young lady, who has set her heights quite high in her favorite sport some questions.

1. Where do you ski?

I learned to ski at Mt. Abram, but my current mountain is Sunday River.

2. What do you like about skiing?

I like how free it feels when I fly down the mountain. When I am in competition, it feels great when I beat other people.

3. What do you do for preseason training and also during the season?

I work out with a trainer and have a focus on balance exercise.

4. Skiing is an individual sport. Do you make connections with other skiers?

I am a member of a team who spends a lot of time together for both training and academics. We get to know each other and are always ready to help each other become better.

5. Have you been able to help a younger skier?

We have inter-school races called Carnival Days, where older skiers are captains of teams, which include younger skiers. I lead the team on morale and strategy which gets everyone pumped for the races.

6. Who have you learned the most about skiing from?

My coaches this year, Craig Niller and Jeff Lathrop. They help us prepare on a daily basis focusing on building skills and training in a race course. I enjoy it when we do free skiing, which allows time away from racing, just to have fun.

7. This past winter you enrolled at Gould Academy. Why?

I went to Gould Academy as it allowed me to ski every day. A typical day started with skiing in the morning. In the afternoon I went to classes. At night after dinner, we had study hall. It was really challenging as I had to learn to balance ski training, workouts, school, and homework in the morning.

8. Have you ever been injured?

I have had two major injuries in my skiing career. Last year it was my back but I still skied. This year I crashed and injured my leg. Fortunately, it was not broken and I just suffered a bad bone bruise with some pulled leg muscles. Still, both of these injuries set me back as I had to miss practices and races.

9. What is your favorite part of skiing? Least favorite?

My favorite part of skiing is going fast and connecting with the earth under my feet and playing with different forces. The least favorite part is when I do woods skiing. It really scares me.

10. What are your future plans?

My future goals in skiing are to get as far as I can. I would like go to college and get a degree in business and finance.