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While pure on-the-water talent is something we’d all love to be blessed with, sometimes it takes painful fall after painful fall to make progress as a skier. On top of that, the only way we can all enjoy the benefits of tournament weekends is due to the work that team captains, coaches, board members put in each and every season.
Who did you see putting in the most effort for themselves or their team this year?
Andy Olson- Andy was the key to success for our team this season. As a member of our e-board he took on many projects outside of his job description, going above and beyond.
This season Andy worked with Tommy’s of Detroit to lock down an amazing 2017 Malibu boat for our team’s use. A boat without a lake would have been useless, so Andy made sure to keep on good terms with the ski club at Belleville Lake. This included help in maintaining the course and setting up buoys across the lake to help protect it. The beautiful 2017 boat was not without issues, but luckily Andy knew just what to do as a naval engineering student.
At tournaments Andy handled all of the team’s finances. He also used those finances to not only purchase, but often prepare meals for the entire team!
Andy set up a team trip to Bennet’s Ski school at the end of last season and he is currently working on setting up another following this semester.
On the water Olson has come a long way. He went from shadowing the course during the summer, to getting into 30 mph! Andy lands every jump he takes off of the ramp and continues to work hard and improve in trick. Olson’s work ethic all around has made our team stronger.Jean Khlonko Bull – Michigan State
Jean was such a crucial part of Michigan State’s success the past 2 years. Jean had never competed in 3 event, (let alone tricked OR jumped) and ended her senior season as D2 national champion. Jean was on the podium as well at conferences AND regionals.
This great feat does not just come and it is not luck. Jean spent countless hours perfecting her technique, leaning into constructive criticism, asking constantly for coaching advice, watching videos of herself and others, doing whatever it took to make her goal a reality.
She even traveled across the country, multiple times, to get the best training. But did not keep it to herself, but brought that knowledge back, to further help other skiers on her team develop. She learned twice as much about skiing in the past 2 years than I think I have my whole life.
Almost every day, Jean would wake up at 5am (even when it is 55 degrees out) just to get that one extra set in before the day began, only to have a full day of class (SHES A DOUBLE MAJOR) and come back out at night to help coach and continue to train.
She is a hard worker in everything she does, whether it be on the lake or in the classroom. As a previous D1 athlete in TWO separate sports, she brings her competitive drive to the ski community and it is contagious!
Yes, Jean is a very diligent, hard worker that has brought success to herself, but she brought success to every individual that she encountered. She works hard to be encouraging, supportive, motivational, and an instructional coach.
Jean is the most driven girl I know undoubtedly deserves this award. If she puts her mind to something, good luck getting in her way. She’ll blow you away with her scores and talent, but also with the love and grace instilled in her heart.
Dan Larson (MAD). From running the announcing booth at both Iowa tournaments to DJing every ski event, Dan is working 24/7 to make the UW-Madison and the Midwest Conference better.
Jared Walejewski -Western Michigan
Jared has done a lot for our team to help us reach our goals. Jared’s dedication for the team stood out to me this season; waking up extra early to get 6 A.M sets in before class, coming out as often as he can to work on form (not to mention, he’s an engineering major), and making an appearance at all the tournaments and constantly cheering on his teammates. Jared not only pushes himself, but his dedication and positivity are contagious to the team. With his hard work he improved by 15 buoys, Jared could only run 1 at 26 MPH and boosted his PB to 3 balls at 30 MPH. This season, Jared was nominated as Vice President and has been working hard off the water as well to benefit our team. Jared schedules all of our E-Board meetings, keeps track of our team’s progress, helps organize fundraisers, and helps with Docs and Lifts. I can’t wait to see where Jared takes our team and how much his hard work pays off in future seasons!
Samantha Granec – UWL
Sam, hardest worker by far. Sam was our president this year and she handled anything that has come her way. She works just as hard outside of the season as she does during the season, on the water and off the water. You can find Sam at practice pushing herself everyday. She is an amazing slalomer, consistent jumper, and one of our leading trick skiers always seeking out new spins and flips. She makes all our lives easier each and every day. She was extremely timely and organized with her work as president. She was always to practice on time and took time out of her day to help others get to practice and have the equipment they needed. I have never seen someone as kind, caring, and hardworking as sam is. She is under recognized for all the work she does for the team. Sam has been working extremely hard planning winter conference, our teams spring break, and providing me all the information i need to lead a team. I just hope i can be half as good of a leader and hard worker she is. Sam i cannot thank you enough for all that you do for us. #TeamMom #GingerLivesMatter
Samantha Granec – LAX
Everything that Mr. Evan Marcus said was dead on. I have never met anyone who works as hard as she does. She is constantly running around and making sure that everything is in line and ready to rock so that others can enjoy their time without having to stress. Even though she is busy, she always makes sure to watch her teammates ski off the dock.
Don’t forget to mention that she has been a main driving force in organizing this years wonderful Winter Conference and helping in hooking up Team Midwest with a sweet place to crash and do some dancing.
Sam is always putting her team in front of herself and she deserves every bit of this award.
Allison Hinrichs – Nebraska
Allison dedicated so much of her time to growing in the sport. Whether it was taking the team out for practice or making sure everyone was ready to go on the dock, she fulfilled every duty that one could ask of her.
She saw major improvement from her hard work during practice by almost running a course (5 buoys- lay out for 6 next time), to remaining a top competitor in the Midwest kneeboarding, and becoming consistent landing her jumps.
Her hard work doesn’t stop with her improvement skiing. She stepped up immensely as a leader for Nebraska fulfilling the role of Women’s captain and essentially Men’s captain after he couldn’t devote the time to it. Allison became a vocal leader and was crucial in the team’s success this season. Her hard work should not go unnoticed.
Oh….. and she took second at the annual booty shaking contest. <—lots of hard work devoted towards that
Nikki Weber – MO State
Nikki Weber is one of the hardest workers I have ever seen especially when it comes to water skiing! Since the summer after Sophomore year, Nikki has gone to Isaiah’s Run to ski all summer and work on her technique. When she would come back to school she would go to Lake Freddie every day (which is an hour away) to get a minimum of one set in. Then she comes home and studies late in the night to go back the next day.
Without Nikki, the ski team would have dissolved immediately. Nikki’s dedication to skiing has undoubtedly led by example as she is the epitome her self title “Lake Rat”. Nikki truly loves being on the lake. Without the constant pushing, and sometimes nagging, of the team to make the trip to put the work in, none of the advancements of our team would have been made over the last several years.
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