We will now spotlight Henri McCourt of Mt. Blue. He was the 2024 Class A Classial and Freestyle state champion. He also won the KVAC classical and freestyle and his team won the Class A Nordic title. We asked him about his plans for his senior season, what he focuses on, and more.
1) What were your preparations leading up to the state meet?
I was sick several times early in the winter and got sick again the week before states, so I focused a lot on resting and getting fully healthy before states. I ended up feeling solid at states but it’s hard to focus on rest when there’s snow on the ground.
2) How did you deal with the pressure and emotions that come along with competing in a state meet?
I tried to focus on just enjoying skiing fast and well instead of on what I needed to do to achieve a specific result to try and take pressure off. I also tried to focus on team results and trying to help the team be in as positive of a place as possible going into states, which really helped me relax, stay positive, and get in the zone.
3) What was going through your mind at the starting gate?
Both before the start and during the races I tried to focus on course strategy and technique, as well as just generally trying to keep myself feeling high-energy and excited.
4) What do you contribute your success to?
I contribute a lot of my success to my team. Having such a wonderful group of people to ski with every day makes it a lot easier to deal with not feeling great and get back to a good place. This year I really realized how much energy I draw from my teammates and the people around me. In addition, this season really made me appreciate how well Titcomb holds on to snow. We got in 71 on-snow practices off of 26 inches of in-season snowfall. Being able to ski on snow when much of the rest of the state was roller skiing was definitely a big advantage.
5) What are your goals/plans for next year?
I want to put together a really strong final season of high school. I’ve had so much fun these past three years and I really want to go out on high note with my team. I feel like I learned a lot about myself and skiing in general this year, and am excited to put that knowledge to use.
6) What surprised you the most about this season?
Getting more snow than we had gotten all season in the three weeks after easterns!
7) What moment/event will you remember the most from the season?
The Nonstop Nordic team sprint at pine hill and the Soft Seven were both very fun/memorable races. The whole Eastern High School champs weekend was also really fun/memorable.
8) What do you like most about Nordic Skiing?
I’m not sure what I like the most but I really love skiing and competing as hard as I can as well as just being outside. I also really love all of the wonderful people involved in skiing, including teammates, competitors, and everyone that makes high school skiing happen.
9) Anything else that you would like to add?
I’d like to thank my wonderful coaches, Emmy and Shelley, for doing so much to support me and my teammates, and helping make Mt. Blue the awesome group that it is.
