Birch Klomparens
Age: 19
Discipline(s) with JHSC: Nordic
How old were you when you joined JHSC? 11
How long were you a part of JHSC? 8 years
In three sentences or less, explain your entire experience with the club.
In my entire experience with the club, I became a more well-rounded individual, met so many incredible people, went to beautiful places, pushed myself, and had a lot of fun.
If you were to do it all over again, what would you do differently?
I would try to take a little more time to appreciate even the moments that felt a little less fun, because I still look back on them and am glad for the experiences.
What was the most fun part of being with the club?
The most fun part about being with the club was the time I spent with the team, both during practice and outside of it!
What are you doing now?
Attending Middlebury College
How does your experience with JHSC affect you today, if at all?
I still apply all of the values I learned from being a part of the club to many aspects of my life today - athletic, educational, and personal. I also have a wonderful support system of past teammates and coaches that I know will always be there for me!
What skills did you learn while competing that apply to life outside of the club?
I learned resilience, sportsmanship, and appreciation for the outdoors and adventure.
What is your all-time favorite memory of JHSC?
It’s so hard to choose just one, because every day I spent with the club was so special, but one of my all-time favorite memories has to be our summer training camp in Utah in 2018! We were so sad to not go on our usual trip to Bend but ended up having such a good time closer to home!
If you knew a kid that was thinking about becoming a part of the club, why do you think they should join?
They should join the ski club because they will be part of an amazing community and have so many incredible opportunities to have fun and become mentally & physically stronger!
This is the Month of Sportsmanship at JHSC: could you share a few ideas about Sportsmanship - what it is, what you think about it as a result of your time in the Club - and how what you learned at JHSC has impacted your thinking about this value in your life outside the Club?
To me, sportsmanship is not only the ability to be happy for a competitor or teammate when they do better than you, but to still be happy for yourself after not performing as well as you had hoped. It is recognizing that any effort is impressive and that we can’t always win. I remember this value often in my life outside of the club when I feel I haven’t succeeded in something the way I wanted. I think sportsmanship creates a great foundation to grow and improve from.
