This past weekend, November 17th & 18th, both the University of Alabama’s Ski Team and the Clemson Ski Team hosted their recruitment weekends lead by Abbi Grathwohl and Colton Steffensen, respectively. Here is a recap from both teams as well as some advice we would like to pass on!
Come Roll with the Tide!
Alabama started their weekend on Friday morning with introducing their recruits with a campus tour. The team and the recruits walked around campus seeing all the major buildings and learning fun facts, like the iconic Denny Chimes that was first suggested as a memorial to honor the Bama students who gave their lives in WWI. Dropped due to funding, the project eventually came to fruition later in honor of President George Denny. For lunch, the recruits got to see what a college dinning hall is all about as they stopped in at Fresh Foods. After this, some recruits went with Abbi Grathwohl to tour the Recreation Center, while others decided to get their student on by going to class with Sean Hunter and Dan Greene. In the afternoon, all met up again to go down to the Strip (a major hub for food, meeting up with friends, and to shop all things Bama). They ended their fabulous Friday events with a dinner at La Bamba Mexican restaurant- a “go to” for the Bama Team.
Saturday started off with the Bama boys in the kitchen cooking everyone breakfast! Of course, with Saturday being game day, once breakfast concluded it was time to walk over to the Bryant Denny Stadium to cheer on the Tide to victory. After the game, the recruits had lunch with their hosts before meeting up at the lake to go get wet. They were all able to experience the beauty of Lymanland and Sean Hunter’s jump skills! That night the team and recruits had barbecue at Abbi’s clubhouse while playing pool and shuffleboard.
As a farewell, the Bama team sent their recruits off with a good morning breakfast and a hang out until it was time for them to leave the University of Alabama (sadly).
While the recruits seemed to enjoy the football game and the time spent with the team, the team enjoyed hanging out with the recruits!
A Weekend in the Life of a Clemson Skier
The Clemson recruitment weekend started off a bit later with their tour of campus. The parents and recruits started the tour in front of Tillman, the building is 125 years old! It was constructed in 1893, 4 years after the 1889 establishment date of Clemson. In 1946, the 50th anniversary of the school’s first graduating class, the then named “Main Building” was formally renamed to Tillman Hall in honor of Ben Tillman, former governor and senator who oversaw Clemson’s establishment. The tour took the group throughout campus, viewing everything from dining halls to the football stadium located right on campus. Following the tour, the team took the recruits over to Y-Beach (located about a mile from campus) to join their Watersports Club cookout with some Mexican food (yes, this is a SAC tradition) and giving a small tour of their docks, boats, and team trailers. To end the night, the team and recruits went to a local rodeo before heading to their hosts’ house for the night.
Saturday began with a slow-moving breakfast before heading to Lake Hartwell for some ski time! While only a few of the recruits braved the cold to get a set in, everyone got to see what Lake Hartwell had to offer and where the Clemson Team practices. Lake Hartwell has 900+ miles of shoreline and is located right by campus. When traveling back to our course you can see Tillman and the Stadium (great photo-op). For the rest of the day the team and recruits hung around the team tailgate before heading into the night game where the recruits got to experience the “25 most exciting seconds in college football” in Death Valley. The recruits even rushed the field with the team when Clemson beat Duke 35-6 to gather around the paw on the field and sung the alma mater a Clemson football tradition.
Sunday’s farewell ended with some Krispy Kreme donuts (yum!), eggs and bacon before seeing the recruits off. While the team was sad to see the recruits leave as they had to turn back to student mode for the last few days before Thanksgiving break, the recruits continued their fun and began their own Thanksgiving breaks with a few them heading down to Florida (take me!).
The recruits seemed to really enjoy the rodeo, even though it was cold, but everyone had a blast in the student section with the Clemson ski team and their spirit.
Advice for Incoming Collegiate Skiers
I asked a few people for a piece of advice we wished we had known when looking at colleges.
“I wish I would’ve studied for the SAT more. Many schools offer a lot of amazing scholarship opportunities based on test scores and I wish I would’ve taken the extra time to put in the work for something that could be greatly beneficial in the long run.”
-Abbi Grathwohl (University of Alabama)
“Don’t stress too much about deciding what you want to major in or do in your future. You are not stuck in a major if you don’t like it. No matter what college you go to (but you should come to Clemson) they will help you find experiences and classes that will aid in deciding what you want to do.”
– Glenn Barnes (Clemson University Alumni)
Join the Collegiate World!
When entering college, some skiers look at schools specifically for a ski team, others (like me) choose a school based on the education and it thankfully had a ski team. Then there are those lucky ones that stumble upon the Collegiate Water Ski world. No matter how we join, we are all grateful to be a part of such a unique and fun aspect of our sport. While we all still compete individually, we are a competing for and acting on behalf of something bigger our team. I think all collegiate skiers would agree with me when I say that there is truly nothing that could replace our ski family that evolves with us through our 4 (sometimes 5) years at college. Below are comments that some South & Atlantic Coastal Skiers would like to share about our collegiate world:
“I would like to let all the recruits know that collegiate skiing is so unique and special. There is no better feeling than knowing that your team will be there to support you no matter what, whether it be on or off the water.”
– Abbi Grathwohl (University of Alabama)
“No matter your skill level collegiate skiing is an amazing environment which allows you to make lifelong friends while being a part of a team of skiers.”
– Ethan Veideman (Clemson University)
“The SAC is a great Collegiate conference, and if I had to do it all over again I would join the SAC again.”
– Colton Steffensen (Clemson University)
- 2019 Reflections: South Central Edition - January 10, 2020
- 2019 Reflections: Western Edition - January 9, 2020
- 2019 Reflections: Midwestern Edition - January 8, 2020
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