i Focused approach helps Daigle succeed
Morning Sentinel
Focused approach helps Daigle succeed
BY DAVID MCLAUGHLIN
Correspondent Kennebec Journal & Morning Sentinel 03/25/2009

BY DAVID MCLAUGHLIN

Correspondent

Sean Daigle's goal this winter was to be a more mature and focused skier.

The Maranacook sophomore shed the reckless habits he displayed as a freshman and turned into one of the top skiers in Maine. He won the Kennebec Valley Athletic Conference Skimeister title and was second in the competition at the Class B state meet.

"This year I felt like I was there," Daigle said. "Last year, I would come in 20th but this year I was right where I wanted to be."

Tackling the Skimeister event is a difficult task because of the extra training required to compete in all four disciplines, which include Alpine's giant slalom and slalom, along with Nordic's freestyle and classical techniques.

Daigle's strength was in the Alpine events, especially the giant slalom. He finished fifth at the KVACs and sixth at the Class B meet in the giant slalom.

For his success this season, Daigle has been named the Kennebec Journal Boys Alpine Skier of the Year.

"Sean has worked on all his events and it has shown in his balanced results," Maranacook Alpine coach Ronn Gifford said. "He has done an outstanding job managing and achieving the proper balance in order to become a Skimeister champion."

Added Daigle: "Coming into the season, I realized I needed to start growing up if I was going to be competitive. I took that attitude when I went into races and it helped me to be successful."

For many high school skiers the decision to train for Skimeister often leads to frustration. The time needed on the slopes as well as building the conditioning necessary to be successful on the Nordic trails leads to long days. Daigle thrived on the challenge.

"Some days I would do both," he said. "I was busy but I enjoyed it. I prefer to be busy, I want to be doing it all."

Daigle's improvement in the Nordic events was evident in his results at the KVAC championships, where he finished 26th in the classical and 34th in the freestyle to win the Skimeister title (he earned top 10 finishes in both Alpine events). By comparison, in early January he finished 49th at the Hornet Classic race and two weeks later was 44th at the Maranacook Wave freestyle race.

"I got results and was working toward something each race," Daigle said. "I'm out there thinking about consistency and how the best skiers are the best because of their consistency and it worked for me."

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