Waldo lighting up the slopes

Moose Jaw - Sometimes the best way to find success is to forget you're looking for it.
It worked for Morgan Waldo, the 17-year-old Moose Javian who is pushing her alpine racing career to new heights since a move out to Calgary at the beginning of this season.
Last Friday, Waldo competed in the Sask Alpine GS in Jasper, and tried a new mental technique.
"I came to this race and said, 'Just ski it like it's a training run,'" said Waldo. "'Don't stress, just ski it.'"
Maybe she should have tried that sooner - Waldo won the race, having never before finished higher than eighth.
"I was so ecstatic," she said, excitedly reliving the moment. "I just couldn't believe I'd done it.
"I was very overwhelmed. It actually didn't hit me until the night I was driving home."
The next day, at the Alberta Cup slalom at Norquay, Waldo tried the same tactic - and got the same result, finishing first with a time of 1:39.42. She placed second the next day with a time of 1:38.00 - a blink of an eye slower than the first place time of 1:37.61.
"It was a very relieving experience, a very reassuring experience," said Waldo. "I was able to prove to my coaches that, yes, I am capable of doing this."
Of course, her success isn't entirely mental - this is, after all, a sport.
"I've never worked this hard, I've never been this fit," she said. "It's been a great season so far. Of course, I have some days where I say, 'Ugh, training sucks.'"
She credits the move to Calgary for improving her skill level and dedication to the sport. Waldo trains with the National Alpine Training Centre while finishing her high school career.
"I've been training so hard," she said. "I was training for six weeks before being on snow... then I went to Colorado and had a great training camp. It was a very liberating experience. I knew I could ski that well, but I'd never been able to perform that well.
"I think that just being closer to my team and being able to train with them more often... has really been beneficial."
Her success reflects that, but it also means that a new bar has been set. Does this mean more pressure?
"You'd think it would, but not really," said Waldo. "(But) within two races I've achieved the goals I'd set for the entire season. My coaches and I have been talking about re-evaluating my goals for the season. We're still working on figuring out what is a reasonable goal for me now, but... I definitely have to re-evaluate it."
But Waldo won't let any added expectations weigh on her - she's already found her winning mental technique.
"It's important to remember your successes, but for me, I need to forget about it during the race day and just focus on the task at hand."