Only in her second year as a member of Andover Girls Nordic, Posie Millet ’20 has already become one of the most valuable members of the team, consistently finishing as one of the team’s top skiers. A Lower from Edwards, Colorado, Millet’s speed and agility leads her to triumph against her opponents. Last week against Vermont Academy, she secured 11th place overall out of over 140 skiers, according to the Vermont Academy website. Her consistent performances on the trails have earned her the title of The Phillipian’s Athlete of the Week.
According to Lila Brady ’18, Millet’s behavior outside of the meets is what distinguishes her most from other players. Brady said, “[Millet] is a fantastic teammate who is incredibly kind to other racers and respects everyone. She truly has a peppy sweet smile and she never complains, ever.”
What made you fall in love with the sport?
When I was at home in Colorado, I was a downhill skier. I’m also a cross country runner, and I love that Nordic is almost like a mix of the two, in the sense that it requires a lot of endurance and is a lot of fun.
What is your major focus for this season?
My major focus really is to have fun and improve on my skills [from] last year, especially considering that many of our races last year were cancelled due to lack of snow. This year, my goal is to get more of a feel for the sport and have a lot of fun with the team, as well as get to know them all better. This is because the team is my favorite part of the sport.
What makes you love being a part of a team?
Although the races are individual, which may seem like it’s harder to be unified as a team, when you see your teammates on the trail during races, everyone is always cheering for everyone else. For example, when the girls are racing, you can always hear the guys cheering from the sidelines. It just makes a really big difference to know that your teammates are always there to support you through your wins and losses.
What has been one of your best meets and why?
Last week was probably my best meet. When we were going up this long uphill that was in the main part of the course, I was right behind Lila Brady ’18. I started to surge ahead, and rather than being competitive, Lila cheered me on. This kind of support continued on throughout the race and made a huge difference in my performance, because I knew that everyone had my back.
Who or what helps you progress through Nordic?
Especially considering that last year was my first year doing Nordic, the coaching staff has been incredible. I love all the coaches on the team and they are another big reason as to why I do the sport. Even though it’s sometimes hard because we don’t actually get that much time on snow here, whenever we do have days where we’re able to ski, the coaches always make sure we are progressing. They make practice more fun, which allows us to improve because we enjoy it.
How does the skiing here differ from the kind you did back home?
I started skiing when I was three and began alpine skiing between third to eighth grade. When I came to Andover, I started Nordic. I like the way that Nordic here in the sense that back home, as skiing was everyone’s main sport, it was always really competitive between friends. Here, it’s a lot more fun and everyone is always supportive of each other. It is also a really nice way for me to enjoy the winter.
