How To Fail- Ski Racing Edition

With ski racing championship season upon us, we wanted to share our thoughts on failure here at Keely’s Camp. Failure is an unavoidable part of ski racing, and life, so learning to use it productively is certainly in your advantage as athletes. Some of the most unexpected growth, progression, and discoveries are made as a result of failures. 

Learning to fail is just that- a learned skill- something that does not come naturally for most competitive people. As athletes, we dedicate so much time to our sports, training, and competitions and coping with failure can be extremely challenging when it feels like your hard work hasn’t paid off. We are here to share that even the most successful ski racers have to overcome failures and you can use it to become a stronger athlete.

We are excited to share a few reflections from our founder Keely Kelleher and operations manager Lindsay Mann Davis on failure in their ski racing careers. 

Q: How did you get through ‘failure’ or disappointment when you were ski racing? In what ways can these moments be turned into opportunities?

Lindsay:

“Freeskiing has always been my “reset” button. If I had a bad run, a bad series, or a frustrating day of training, I could never sit in the lodge, rather I needed to go out and just ski. Freeskiing made me remember my connection and love for skiing and I think was a part of my success in the long term. It reminded me that even if I had a hard day, I still loved skiing and there was more to the sport than going as fast as you could around gates in a spandex suit.”

Keely:

“I leaned on the outdoors and school as a distraction for failure. Taking a free run or delving into my homework helped distract my brain and avoided ruminating on that failure. I felt like these both gave me a really good perspective on my ski racing. If I had a bad run I allowed myself ten minutes to feel the feels i.e. be emotional, cry on the chairlift, scream at the top of your lungs in anger, let it out! Once those ten minutes were over it was time to learn from it and let it go. This was a skill I had to learn over time and at first I was really bad at it. I’d be so hard on myself and obsess over my failure. Once I looked past my own ski racing bubble I started to see the world differently. As athletes, we sometimes can get so pigeon holed into just thinking about our sport. It always helped me to remember that there was a world of adventure and learning out there beyond ski racing. And a bad ski race doesn’t make you an unworthy person. Tapping into this mindset helped me see the opportunity in failure.”

If you feel like you are failing this championship season, don’t give up. Make a plan to reset, calm your nervous system, and get back out there!