By Patrick Coleman
The King Philip Alpine Ski Team is having a remarkable inaugural season. Facing over a hundred racers at each meet, the eleven person squad has posted several top 10 and top 25 finishes. “The team is off to a fantastic start, “ says head coach Jay Kannally. “I am delighted and encouraged by our team’s results for our first year.”
Freshmen Addison Molloy and Meghan Powers each placed in the top ten in their first giant slalom race. Molloy also placed in the top ten for the slalom two weeks ago. On the boys side, Aiden Molloy has placed in the top 25 in his two races. What makes the performance so impressive is the team is extremely young. The roster is comprised of six freshmen, three sophomores, one junior and one senior. Despite its youth, Kannally is pleased everyone is finding their role and everyone’s times are improving race to race. “The great thing is that, no matter what your ability, there is a place for everyone on the team,” he says.
The idea to bring a Varsity Alpine program to the high school started with families involved the sport. Both the Molloy and Powers families were driving forces as well as many in the KP community. As the proposal received the necessary approvals, an overture to join the Central MA Ski League was made and eventually accepted in November. With only a few weeks to find the right coach, Kannally stepped up. “As this is the first year for the program the timeline to select a head coach after approval was very short,” he explained. “I approached Gary Brown, the newly appointed [King Philip athletic director], and offered to help get things started. My daughter Paige is a freshman on the team.”
Kannally’s qualifications were solid, too. He started skiing on Wrentham’s Sweatt Hill, when there was skiing on Sweatt Hill. With a lifelong love of the sport, he introduced his children to it and became actively involved in the Race and Freeride programs at Vermont’s Magic Mountain. He also had experience coaching Pop Warner football and other youth sports.
The team competes at Ward Hill in Shrewsbury every Thursday over the course of six weeks. The league consists of 13 towns including Medway, Medfield, and Millis, with over 225 racers. To prepare his skiers, Kannally says the team uses a mix of dry land training and on-hill practices. All racers compete in two different disciplines, giant slalom and slalom. Each week the format alternates between these two disciplines. The racers complete two runs each meet with their individual times combined. The fastest combined time wins.
Going into the season, Kannally asked the team members to set goals they could each strive to reach. “We asked the racers to create their own goals for the season, and it ranged from 'learn how to race' to 'qualify for States,’” he says. “Our expectations were to be competitive and make sure everyone had fun while giving their best effort. So far, so good. King Philip has established itself as a fierce competitor in every sport, and we expect the ski team to do the same now and in the future.”
Kannally adds the future for the KP Alpine skiing is bright. “I would expect the team to grow over the years based on the amount of students who participate in the Middle School Ski Club program,” he says. “For five weeks each season, several brave teachers take roughly 300 students to Wachusett Mountain on Wednesday evenings.”
Members of the first King Philip Alpine Ski team are:
Rebecca Epstein (Senior)
Melissa Gibney (Junior)
Aiden Molloy (Sophomore)
Ray Mullin (Sophomore)
Ian Rhines (Sophomore)
Paige Kannally (Freshman)
Charlotte Majer (Freshman)
Addison Molloy (Freshman)
Meghan Powers (Freshman)
Lillie Schworer (Freshman)
Kai Streeter (Freshman)
