It’s the mountain that clanked and rattled and almost shut down. The t-bar gears clattered so much you could hear them across the valley. The cement slabs across the Hameshop Brook, the “bridge”, was slowly settling to become a beaver dam accessory. The “groomer,” better suited to smoothing snowmobile trails, labored up and down the hill, coaxed along by Garry George. The snow making was first generation, vintage at best, and when the lights flickered on at dusk, dusky corners held their ground. A dozen years ago this was the question on everybody’s mind: Why keep the little big mountain going?

The past two decades have spoiled us as New England fans. Think about it; five Super Bowl wins for the Patriots since 2002. World Series Championships in 2004, 2007, 2013 for the Red Sox. The Bruins (2011) and Celts (2008) have done their share of winning as well. Much of the country (let’s be honest...everyone outside of New England) thinks we New Englanders take this success for granted and are pompous, spoiled fans who do not fully appreciate each championship run. To this, we scoff and look to the finer points of a championship run that keep us just as excited this year as we were in 2002; the personal storylines within the story that connect us on a personal level to “our” team’s success. This year, one of those storylines involves our very own Anna Zerilli ‘19.

Proctor's ski jumping program is as storied as any high school jumping program in the country. Built through the hard work of former faculty member Tim Norris over the past fifty years, the jumping program is now under the guidance of Chris Jones '04, one of Tim's former jumpers. At their first home meet of the 2018 season, first year jumpers Ezra Taylor '21 and Peter Koumrian '20 put forth a great effort, including a first place finish by Ezra! Read more about the ski jumping program's rejuvenation from the coach's perspective in this week's team spotlight.

The past twelve months have reminded us, once again, of the power of a school community like Proctor. We have felt the purest of joy and deepest of sadness as we have, together, navigated the rollercoaster of life. As we prepare to usher in 2018 with open arms, we take a few minutes to look back at a few of the most powerful moments of 2017 via Instagram. Enjoy!

Students depart campus for Winter Break today, but things will be far from quiet for varsity hockey and basketball teams, as well as our snow sport athletes. Check out a complete schedule of holiday tournaments and winter break training and racing schedules for the Hornets below. If games are in your area, we hope to see you come out and support our athletes and coaches! 

On Monday night of this week, I leaned against the door frame in the gym to watch the boys’ varsity basketball team run through shooting drills, conditioning drills, passing drills, defensive drills. I watched the coaches - Gregor and Scott - wave, whistle, and encourage. On Wednesday I sat at a lunch table while the girls’ varsity hockey coaches - Maggie and Doug - discussed the line strategy they would employ against Middlesex, which resulted in a thrilling win in the last seconds of the game.  I chatted with Buz about his upcoming trip to Quebec with Nordic skiers and he talked about waxing (always waxing). In mid-afternoon, I watched Junior and Lindsay coach their team to victory against a strong KUA squad. At dinner I saw David Salathé with a radio still clipped in to bib ski pants in the Brown Dining Commons after spending the day with USSA/FIS skiers up at Bretton Woods.  

As any athlete or coach will tell you, there is no force more powerful in sport than momentum. It is not explainable by physics (people have tried), but when the roar of the crowd grows, a palpable shift in confidence among players, coaches, and spectators takes place. A distinct feeling emerges when you know things are moving in the right direction, and no matter what shot you throw up, you know it is going in. You get chills as you watch it all unfold in front of you. The power of momentum. 

When I saw the image below (thanks Lindsey for another awesome set of photos this week!), I immediately shared on social media and fell in love with the visual of these pigeons carefully putting one foot in front of the other, hoping to not fall through the freshly formed ice on the Proctor Pond.  After admiring the photo further, so much of the emotional journey we’ve been on over the past week came into focus.