For Junior Ellen McCarthy, skiing is not just a hobby or another extracurricular activity to put on college apps. For McCarthy, skiing is life. Not only does McCarthy display her talents and shine through St. Paul Academy and Summit School sports, but she plans to continue in college and even beyond, despite the fact that she does not plan on having a career in skiing.

McCarthy has been skiing since sixth grade, but only “really got into it” in eighth. “I actually started skiing because I had a knee injury and I couldn’t play basketball anymore,” McCarthy said. After spending some time on the ski team with the other skiers, McCarthy discovered a passion she has and will continue to pursue. “I have never wanted to quit. I love it so much, and will probably ski until I’m very old,” McCarthy said.

“Skiing is great because it exhausts you, but at the same time is very energizing. I can have a difficult workout, but afterwards I feel better than I did at the beginning,” McCarthy said. A big source of her sense of pride and confidence comes from skiing, and what she has achieved throughout her skiing career. “It gives me a sense of accomplishment and satisfaction to work hard and see it pay off in races,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy cherishes many of her experiences racing and competing, but holds one in particular above all others. “I think my favorite moment in skiing so far has to be when our team won conference last year,” she said.

Looking back on the experience, she is clearly proud of herself and her teammates. “It was a team effort. Everyone picked someone from Mounds Park Academy to pass (because they were the school we were pretty close to in points) and we all pulled through and followed through on our goals.

“Everyone had really great races. It was so exciting to see everyone happy with the results and to see that our team was capable of that,” McCarthy said.

In addition to SPA’s Nordic Ski team, McCarthy is also a member of the Finn Sisu “D-team,” where she and a handful of other skiers from around the Twin Cities area train together and race in Junior Olympic qualifying races.

“The D-team is a group of athletes who are dedicated to skiing and I train with them year-round. We do a lot of roller-skiing and strength work in the summer and fall, and ski together in the winter. We have become really close friends, and constantly push each other to ski faster. The D-team has pushed me to become a better athlete and the SPA team has allowed me to become a leader; I love both of my teams so much!” McCarthy recently won the Tri-Metro Conference Girls Nordic Skiing Individual Pursuit Championship and competes at State this week.