Erin Moening

I have talked before on my blog about physical injuries. But something that is a little harder for me to talk about is how those physical injuries affected my mental state. I first started writing this piece in the Fall of 2017, but it's only been recently that I've opened up to my friends and family about what I have really gone through after my shoulder injury and surgery. I had always considered myself a positive person, and so when things starting to change for me in my head, I hid it, because I wanted to been seen as strong and tough. I was so lucky to find such a supportive team to ski competitively for I've been working on prioritizing health as a whole: both mental and physical. But despite all the hard work I put into myself, I still feel the effects of my struggles with mental health almost every single day. Four years ago, I never would've seen myself going through struggled with mental health, but I had a life-changing event, and I am a completely d

I've been competitively racing for almost 5 years, and I like to think I've had a little experience at the Junior level. I've qualified for 5 Junior National Championships where I've skied to an All American place 7 times, been competitive at the Minnesota State championships 5 times, and raced at Senior Nationals twice. I felt very prepared for coming into college skiing, and although I wasn't at my best fitness or strength, I've trained at high levels before, so I felt like I could do it again. When I was looking at colleges, I knew I wanted to find a ski program that was right for me. Although a lot of collegiate ski programs look similar on the outside, I found out that it was the small details that really defined the programs.  My decision was influenced by how competitive the team was, how close they were to snow, how much money the school cost, if the school had programs I was interested in, team dynamics, and how I liked the feel of the school. Whi