46 MAY 2017 Arc A d A News 4 SPORTS CAMP LOCATIONS MAY 29 - AUGUST 4 Sports Camp (ages 4 1/2 - 13) Teen Leadership Camp (ages 13-15) learn new games and new sports all in one camp! Full and Half day · Extended Care 1 week sessions Play, Laugh, Learn! Conveniently located at 50th Street & Oak HUBBARDSPORTS.COM 602.971.4044 By Ian Kraft Erin Cooney won the girls’ Slalom and Giant Slalom events March 4 at the Arizona Junior Ski Championship at Arizona Snowbowl. That’s impressive for a 15-year-old freshman at Xavier Prep. “Becoming the Arizona Junior Champion was pretty exciting and a great way to end my season,” Erin said. “Overall, winning was something I will always remember since the moment was happy and unforgettable, but being surrounded by the people I love and seeing their smiles made the moment truly amazing.” It goes without saying that living in Ahwatukee doesn’t exactly allow her to ski regularly, so she joined the Flagstaff Alpine Ski Team (FAST) at age nine. Since then, she has spent countless hours honing her skills to craft herself into one of the most feared skiers in the state, while also maintaining her status as an excellent student. “My love for skiing has grown over the years because of the wonderful people that I have met and the awesome coaches I have had. Skiing has just always been a big part of my life,” said Erin. Cooney’s love for the sport came predominantly from her mother, Sarah Cooney, who grew up in Vermont and was a competitive skier in high school and college. Sarah’s mother (Erin’s grandmother) was a ski instructor, making the endeavor a family affair. Sarah encouraged her daughter to give skiing a try at a very young age. Training as a competitive skier in Phoenix necessarily involves a number of challenges. With the majority of Erin’s ski competitions occurring in Colorado or New Mexico, there are a lot of long road trips requiring Erin to miss at least a full day’s worth of school. As a freshman at Xavier College Prep, Erin works hard to balance sport and academics. “Skiing while being a student at Xavier has been challenging. Keeping my attendance at an OK level and keeping up with due dates has been the toughest thing,” Erin said. “In middle school, I was able to miss many days of school to attend ski races and training camps, but at Xavier missing a day of school becomes very stressful and overwhelming. The head of school sports, Sister Lynn, is very supportive of my skiing, but it is still hard to pursue it because of the workload.” Although Erin says her workload is more manageable now because skiing is taking somewhat of a backseat, the tireless athlete now has another athletic obligation competing for her precious time: soccer. Cooney admitted balancing ski, soccer, homework and school attendance can be difficult. However, her father, David, insists his 15-year-old is mature enough to handle the rigorous lifestyle. “She just accepts that getting up early, making very long drives and getting home very late on school nights, or even having bad days/races are necessary to get what she wants,” David said. “She has the ability to deal with difficulties in sports or school, and do what needs to be done to achieve her goal.” No matter where life takes her these next three years in high school, Erin said skiing will always be a part of her life. She even intends to take a page out of her mother’s playbook and influence people to try to learn her sport. “I would love if more people got involved with skiing or snowboarding,” Erin said. “It may seem like a weird and foreign sport to get into, but if you are willing to learn, I promise it will be really fun and add a new aspect of athleticism to your life.” Ski, school and soccer: Arizona junior ski champion does it all By Mallory Gleich A local senior living community group has banded together to knit clothing for kids at Phoenix Children’s Hospital. The group lives at Terraces of Phoenix, located in North Phoenix at State Route 51 and 16th Street. It is recognized as “one of only eight certified centers for successful aging” in the country. Kelsy Moore is activity coordinator at Terraces. Last year, she decided her group should do something that would inspire and encourage service for others and the community. An opportunity came to light at Phoenix Children’s Hospital (PCH). “I picked the hospital because making items for children and babies is a lot more manageable for our group than larger projects, plus a number of our residents had already been making baby items for local shelters,” Moore said. Knitting group member Barbara Quarrels also helped with the idea of knitting for a cause. “I started knitting items about two or three years ago for my sister’s church and they get sent all over the world,” said Quarrels. “I had been in a cast from an injury and my sister encouraged me to work on small projects, and that’s how I began knitting for charities.” Peggy Gould, Gerry Wells, Barbara Quarrels, Joanna Barnes, Claudette Owens, Lynn Steingard and Kelsy Moore make up the knitting group at Terraces of Phoenix. The women make a variety of items for PCH, including baby hats, preemie hats, children’s hats, baby blankets, children’s IV wrist covers, baby booties and mittens. “I enjoy making the babies items and the IV covers because babies are fun and it is sad that they have to be in the hospital, so hopefully I cheer them up with the items I make,” Gould said. The items are crafted with Baby Sport Yarn, which is 100 percent acrylic and soft enough for babies or children with sensitive skin. Simple items such as baby hats, booties or mittens can take an hour or two to make, but larger items like baby blankets can take up to 40 hours. The ladies are concentrating on donating to Phoenix Children’s Hospital right now. They meet on Saturday mornings for about two hours, but most of their work is done at home and then delivered by Moore once it’s finished. “The best part is that you sit down, you’re relaxing and you are making something for somebody. It is nice to know that someone is going to receive what I made and enjoy it,” Gould said. “I enjoy doing it, I don’t know if there is a favorite part of it. It makes me feel good because I am doing something for somebody else.” Quarrels added. [Baby] hats off to these ladies for knitting for a great cause! Ladies stitch together for Phoenix Children’s Hospital Arizona junior ski champion Erin Cooney works hard to balance her competitive ski life, soccer and full course load at Xavier College Prep.

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