After only starting ski and crew a year ago, junior Wyatt Frahm is already a varsity athlete in both sports.
Frahm’s passion for sports originated in first grade when his mom encouraged him to play hockey. Frahm subsequently fell in love with the sport, and after a few years on the ice, he was hungering to do more.
“After ski, I wanted to do a sport in the spring, [so I chose] rowing,” Frahm said.
Although he stays involved in other clubs and extracurricular activities, Frahm knows the people and relationships he has with his rowing and ski teammates are unique.
“My freshman year I was in band, and that was the only thing I [did],” Frahm said. “I knew band people, but I didn’t know anybody else. Now I know a lot of people just through sports.”
Even more so, Frahm appreciates the relationships pushed on him forged by being a part of a team.
“[I] come out of my shell with them,” Frahm said. “I’m with more people that I know. It’s nice to have those people.”
Sophomore ski teammate Nick Birchler is one of those people. Rides to competitions and hanging out on the chair lift offers a considerable amount of time shared together.
“He’s a really good team player; fun to be around,” Birchler said. “He’s just super nice, and he’s just a really good athlete.”
Head Coach of the ski team, David Dixon, appreciates how Frahm gives it his all once he’s able to get into training.
“In the weight room, we don’t only do weights,” Dixon said. “We run and do other exercises. From the start of that, he’s a leader. He’s out there, running hard and lifting weights and just doing everything we ask him.”
For Frahm, the motivation behind his work ethic is simple.
“[It’s] the need to feel accomplished and do something with my life,” Frahm said.
Although Dixon is impressed with Frahm’s motivation, he loves Frahm’s attitude on and off the slopes even more.
“He’s always positive, always smiling. [He’s] nice to his teammates,” Dixon said. “[He’s] always willing to help. All the kinds of things a coach likes to have in a kid.”
Dixon especially loves the personal growth he’s seen in Frahm over the seasons.
“His head’s in the game. He wants to do better,” Dixon said. “I feel lucky I get him another year because he’s a junior and [I] know he’s going to be an even better skier next year.”
Birchler also appreciates having Frahm on the team. He explains that although it’s an individual racing sport, “there’s definitely a big team component.”
Ski is scored as points based on time and placement, and although an athlete can score enough points individually to qualify, a team qualification for the state competition only needs the team to score a certain amount of points total.
“Your team qualifies together,” Birchler said. “Everyone gets recognized, even if a person doesn’t [qualify individually],” Birchler said.
The drive to be a point scorer for the team brings them all closer together. Frahm appreciates the trust that also comes with it.
“We all have to be friends with each other to know that we’re all fighting for the same goal and can rely on each other,” Frahm said. “We all know that we’re doing our best.”
