snow training, and a chance to be a part of a college ski team while
pursuing his individual goals. Pat’s example has been great for the
team.”
Parnell says he believes that training with the able-bodied team
has given him an advantage in adaptive events. “The courses we
train are a lot more challenging, more turny, and have more terrain
in them. When I go to disabled races, the courses are a lot easier
than I’m used to.”
Like any alpine athlete who attempts to ski on one ski, Parnell is
still working on refining the carved turn over his outside edge. That
technical move is his primary focus in giant slalom right now. “For
me it’s more psychological and building trust, having faith to turn to
the side that just isn’t natural,” says Parnell. “I don’t always feel like
it’s going to hold. Most of the times when I crash, it’s on that side.”
He faces the same challenges as all top-level collegiate skiers,
namely that classes interfere with his ability to follow the ideal race
calendar. “The one downside to being a college student when you’re
skiing at this level is I can’t take weeks off, so I have to carefully pick
my races,” says Parnell, who was a member of the national B Team
before enrolling in classes, but was then demoted to the develop-
ment roster as a result of his inability to attend major competitions.
But he suspects that will change after his performances at the World
Cups and Canadian Nationals this month, during which he plans to
ski his way back onto the B Team.
Parnell credits his recent success to training with head coach Lashar
and the Colby-Sawyer team. But he has not forgotten his roots, and
he is especially appreciative of the long-time coaching and support
he has received from Jason Lalla, a disabled skier himself. Parnell
selected Colby-Sawyer in part because he could continue to train
with Lalla on weekends at Mount Sunapee in New Hampshire.
“What I like most about training with the team is that they motivate
me to push myself harder and to ski faster because I want to be right
there in the mix with those guys,” says Parnell of the Colby-Sawyer
team. “They’re all really supportive of what I’m doing. Going into this
World Cup, I know they’re behind me. They’re rooting for me.”
