The Lakeland Nordic Ski Team was started in 1980 with the intent of bringing high school skiers along to citizen races and starting them out in the sport. It was aligned with the adult oriented Lakeland Ski Club and traveled to races in the Northern Wisconsin area. Eventually those young skiers decided to try their skiing at a higher level and began competing in Michigan and Minnesota in the hopes of making the Midwest/Central Junior National Team. Within two years, the team had become a part of the Lakeland High School and was accepted as a club team, while still supported by the ski club, and in 1982 Lakeland hosted the first ever Wisconsin High School X-C Race, Saturday, January 10, 1982 at Minocqua Winter Park. The girls won and the boys placed second on a weather shortened course with -19 at race start and high winds.
Today the club continues to operate as a school sponsored club that functions like a varsity sport. Schedules are set by the head coach, who is hired and approved by the volunteer governing board, grades and customary paperwork are monitored by the school, uniforms are paid for through club fund raisers, athletes are excused from school as per other sports, vans for travel and insurance are paid for by the district, while entry fees, coaching salaries, wax, and travel expenses are absorbed by the club through a combination of athlete fees and fund raising efforts. The club has expanded to include elementary from fourth grade into the Middle School years and usually has about 50 members in the three areas with a number of coaches, both paid and volunteer that support at each level. The goals of the team include friendship, fun, and skiing fast!
Coaches
Erich Kern
High School Head Coach
kern_erich@yahoo.com
Christel Kern
Middle School Head Coach
christel.kern@gmail.com
Heather Van Hefty
Ski Team Manager
heathervh@frontier.com
High School Assistant Coaches:
Jon Hagen, Tom Shockley, Jake Van Hefty
Middle School Assistant Coaches:
Zeke Fashingbauer
Elementary Coach
Sara Kuehler