As the summer winds down, we are starting to shift our focus to the upcoming winter and ski season. With the nordic ski season upon us soon, we’ve taken another look into the life of an athlete who competes in this snowy sport. We love this opportunity to learn something from various nordic ski athletes and teams, and we want to share the valuable information they give us with you: our dedicated customers!

This time we were able to talk to an athlete who is part of a Bozeman local team… Crosscut! Vincent Bonacci is a first year senior biathlete who originally hails from Salt Lake City, Utah and has been living in Bozeman for the past two years. This year he was nominated for the US Biathlon National X Team and has been training and racing with the team in Europe and across the US all spring and summer of this year! Our focus with Vincent is how working hard has impacted his life and his ski career.

What is an example of a time where you have seen your hard work pay off in your performance in xc skiing?

Last season, I uprooted my life to move to Bozeman to pursue Biathlon and training full-time for the first time in my life. I don’t feel like I worked especially harder than I did before, but I think it is important to work consistently hard. This is the big difference I have noticed in my training, I don’t go out on any given day and work harder than the other people out there. It is about working hard on the days when nobody else goes out. This could mean it's a day with crummy weather and you manage to get out for a session, or waking up well before sunrise to sneak in a workout on a day before work. These are the sessions and times I have really noticed sometimes set me apart and have made a big difference in my training throughout my sport journey so far.

Do you have an example of a time hard work has paid off outside of xc skiing?

Outside of skiing, I have noticed that hard work will often get you recognized, even if you don’t feel like you are doing anything special. If you aren’t afraid to try your best at what you are doing, people will notice, and it will often set you apart from your peers. Many people appreciate someone who isn’t scared to work hard, and try their best, even if it isn’t something you especially care about or want to be good at.

What is one piece of advice you would give to younger athletes about hard work paying off?

One piece of advice I would give to younger athletes is:

Don’t be afraid to be a “try hard”. I guarantee that everybody that is a professional athlete in any sport, tries really hard to be good at it, and there is no other way to truly master something. There is nothing anybody does that is special really, those who are great at things often just try harder than others, so even if it may seem like it is easy for some people, I promise that everybody is out there trying their absolute best.

My fundraiser:

Vincent is currently working almost full-time to support his training, which is very inspiring as he trains and travels to racing opportunities throughout the winter. Follow along on his sports and life journey on instagram @vbonacc