Six years ago, Nick Martin replaced his hockey stick with ski poles, his skates with skis, and found a new passion.
It took just one race six years ago, when he was 12, for Martin to switch from hockey to cross-country skiing.
“I was nervous, but I did my best,” he says, recalling his first race.
Now 18, Martin has come a long way since then.
He is now preparing for the 2015 Canada Winter Games in Prince George, BC, at the end of February.
There he will represent Canada, Saskatchewan and the Flin Flon Creighton Ski Club.
As far as anyone can remember, Martin will be the first Flin Flon area cross-country skier to compete in the Canada Winter Games.
“It hasn’t fully sunk in yet,” says Martin as he prepares two sets of skis for his Saturday afternoon practice. “I can get Flin Flon on the map for skiing. I’ll be like, well, not exactly like Bobby Clarke, but I’ll be the Bobby Clarke of the ski world.”
Martin may have a lot to achieve before becoming the skiing equivalent of Clarke, but he’s determined to give it his best shot.
“I had a dream when I was [younger] to be the best that I can be,” says Martin. “This is damn close. I’m not far off from where I want to be. I’m going to push until I can’t push [anymore].”
Determination
Since getting his first taste of competition and achievement through skiing, Martin has continued to work hard. He has learned the importance of practice, determination and dedication.
He has skied alongside some of the best cross-country skiers in Canada, including Brian McKeever, a visually impaired skier from Calgary.
McKeever has competed at various Paralympic games and world competitions, including 2014 in Sochi, 2010 in Vancouver and 2006 in Torino.
McKeever skied the Western Canadian championships in Canmore, Alberta, earlier this month. Martin was there skiing to improve his time for the upcoming Canada Winter Games.
“I was just thinking that that could be me in so many years if I stay on this,” says Martin, encouraged by McKeever. “It’s very inspiring to see someone that is [visually impaired] ski at that level.”
Martin has been able to find his own support through different groups of friends, family members and the community as a whole.
The teen credits much of his success to his coach, Brett Unrau, who believed in him from the beginning.
“I look back six years and I was a whole lot of nothing,” says Martin. “And now I’m here. He saw something that I didn’t see in myself.”
Perhaps Martin’s biggest support, though, comes from his mother, Lucy.
“I’m very fortunate for my mother,” he says. “She’s helped me in many ways that I can’t explain. She’s supported me when people thought I couldn’t do it. She’s always the one who was there for me.”
Martin relied on his mother’s support recently after earning the fifth spot on the team that will represent Saskatchewan at the Winter Games. Two other skiers later appealed his selection.
He waited a few days before hearing that the two other skiers, both national biathlon skiers, had been revoked. He was guaranteed his spot for the Games.
Of course Martin’s opportunity to represent Saskatchewan at the Games didn’t come by chance. He has put in countless hours over the years training for this moment.
Martin is on the trails as often as he can be – including teaching younger skiers twice a week. He spends a few hours at a time on his skis, trying to better his times and improve his performance.
He says the strategy of the sport keeps it fun and interesting.
“I just really enjoy skiing,” he says.
When he’s not preparing for a race, Martin likes to spend a few hours on the trails to clear his mind and refocus.
Teaching youth
Martin’s biggest source of pride in the sport comes from teaching younger skiers.
“When I see all these little kids that I teach, and this is how young they are starting out and I started when I was 12 – they are so young and look at where they can go,” says Martin.
“They look up to me. I got to go to Canmore and now to the Canada Winter Games. They can do that too if they put the time and effort in. They inspire me to keep going and to show them what determination, hard work and people who support you can do [for] to a person.”
The magnitude of the Canada Winter Games has not yet hit Martin. He knows he will have to increase his practice time – closer to four hours a day – and to continue to work hard.
But, he says, right now he views it as “just another race that I have to ski.”
“But when it comes time…I know I’ll look back and think, ‘Wow!’” he adds. “But for now, I see it as something I’ve never done before, so I don’t know how big it is.”
The Canada Winter Games were never on Martin’s radar, and he hadn’t thought about pursing skiing any further than the local trails.
But success and achievement have continued to push Martin further than he had anticipated.
“I don’t always like skiing, but I always love the sport,” says Martin. “Sometimes I’m out there for six hours straight and those are the days that this is what I live for, this is what I ski for.”
Martin is currently a Grade 12 student at Hapnot Collegiate and hopes to continue with skiing post-graduation.
He hopes to relocate to Canmore and train on the courses prepared for the 1988 Winter Olympics at the Canmore Nordic Centre, which has also hosted the Cross-Country World Cup.
“I have my sights set to work there and take a year to ski,” says Martin, who is also an aspiring heavy-duty mechanic. “If it prevails I will see what it can bring me and if not, then [skiing will be something] that I [knew] and loved as a kid.”
