WHISTLER, B.C. – Up until Xavier McKeever’s final race at the Junior World Ski Championships, the nation’s top cross-country skiing prospect’s results, attitude, and performance were all disappointing to him.
High expectations had been spread out for the 19-year-old Canmorite’s racing on Canadian soil – podium hopes. However, McKeever was unable to crack the top-10 at the junior world championships in Whistler, B.C. from Jan. 28 to Feb. 4.
He finished 16th in sprint classic, which is his top race the past few seasons, 13th in the 20-kilometre classic, and 28th in the 10-km freestyle.
Far from the results McKeever wanted.
“There’s a term in skiing and it goes like this: ‘either you’re going to eat or you’re going to get eaten’, and so like, for the first three races of the championship, you know, I was getting eaten,” said McKeever. “I didn’t really have the right attitude and I didn’t really bring out that, like, "predator", I know I have inside me to go out there and try and eat.”
Instead, McKeever is walking away with an education. The lessons from it don’t come with any medals and glory at a world championships, but the hardest lessons usually don’t.
Being on home soil, the young Canuck was more in-tune with his racing, and he had a support group around him – like parents and former cross-country skiing Olympians Robin McKeever and Milaine Thériault – who were able to observe some things to reflect on later with their son.
“It was one of the events I learned the most about myself,” said McKeever. “My whole process leading to this championship, everything I would do robotically and having this routine and I feel maybe I didn’t, I guess, I didn’t really live in the moment, you know, and stuck in this routine because that’s what I did last year.”
At the 2022 junior world ski championships in Norway, McKeever finished fifth in the 30-km mass start and sixth in the 10-km classic.
With the hype around the major event coming to B.C., and the anticipation leading to it, McKeever remembers guidance that one of his mentors, four-time cross-country skiing Olympian and world cup medallist Devon Kershaw, had given the young athlete that would have come in handy.
In correlation to hockey, players who squeeze their stick too tightly are less productive at scoring goals – a metaphor for not overdoing things.
“I think that analogy was true to me last week where I was trying to do everything to a T and I think forgot to just have fun in the moment,” said McKeever. “I think that was a big part that was missing and I finally found it in the end in that relay, but it took me three races to get there.”
Canada’s mixed junior relay team, consisting of McKeever, Alison Mackie, Alexandra Luxmoore, and Luke Allan, finished sixth after four five-km legs of the Whistler course.
McKeever worked with his sports psychologist prior to the mixed relay, getting prepared and having a clear intention.
“[My sports psychologist] gave me a challenge to create intention for that relay, a short intention, and how I’m going to ski, what my attitude was going to be around it. I changed my whole attitude around it,” said McKeever.
The top Canadian prospect will take the shift in mentality and attitude on to the next one – another major competition – the senior world championships Feb. 21 to March 5 in Planica, Slovenia.
“There is definitely stuff to take forward in my career and try to learn as much as possible from it and take that forward with me as I go on with my career,” said McKeever.
In local results at the Junior/U23 World Ski Championships, Team Trail Sport’s Anna Parent finished 30th in the U23 women’s 30-km classic and 39th in sprint. Alberta World Cup Academy’s (AWCA) Sonjaa Schmidt was 42nd in the U23 women’s sprint.
AWCA Amelia Wells finished 27th in the U23 women’s 20-km classic and 31st in the 10-km freestyle.
AWCA’s Max Hollman finished 25th in the U23 men’s 20-km classic and 23rd in the 10-km freestyle.
Team Trail Sport’s Luke Fricker crossed the line 42nd in U23 men’s sprint.
AWCA’s Anna Stewart was 34th in both the sprint and 20-km classic in the junior women’s category.
AWCA’s Ry Prior was 31st in the junior men’s sprint.
AWCA’s Marlie Molinaro was 39th in the junior women’s 10-km freestyle; and Team Trail Sport’s Noah Weir Chaba was 57th in the junior men’s 10-km free.
