- Here we go.

(energetic music) - Good!

(energetic music continues) - Just to see those kids and then their looks on their face like, whoa, I'm gonna do this?

- There we go.

Woo!

- Yeah.

- Oh man, that's perfect.

- And then by the end of that session there, they've gained so much confidence.

- You think you'll ski again?

- I like skiing.

- You ready, buddy?

- Yep.

- [Instructor] Alright.

- It's just good to get out there.

It's good exercise.

It's good family fun.

There is no age limit.

There is no ability limit.

And it's just a sport where you can go out and just have fun in the great outdoors and on a lake or river.

(upbeat music) - And it's just the smiles and the enthusiasm and the excitement of these kids when they do something like this.

It's just great.

Very fulfilling.

(upbeat music) (gentle music) The Learn to Ski Program is a summer community rec program through the New London Spicer School District.

- The Learn to Ski originated probably, I'm guessing about 23, 24 years ago.

- We partner with USA Water Ski.

They're our sanctioned event organization and then also the community education through New London Spicer schools.

- Way to go Henry!

All the way, Henry.

Good job, pal.

(claps) - We've been doing this since about 2002.

Sheila and I, my wife Sheila.

- We've been a part of the team, Little Crow Ski Team for 26 years, and since the Little Crow Ski Team volunteers to put this program on, we've just been a part of it.

(upbeat music) - Nora and Claire.

- Nora and Claire and last name?

Parents sign their children up for the program.

There is a small fee but it basically covers gas.

(upbeat music) - So you have individuals that either don't know how to ski or they have limited skiing abilities and we take the tools and the resources to put 'em out on the water and get 'em skiing.

- [Sheila] I've got four on the front dock.

I've got three on the back dock so far.

So for a lot of these children, they are getting on the water for the very first time.

- [Greg] Average age is probably four to 13.

It's our job to enhance their abilities and help them to get to the level where they want to go.

(upbeat music) - We typically have two sessions.

We take 12 children in the morning session and 12 children in the afternoon session.

- You're next?

- Yeah, I wanna go on there.

- Our classes are full.

They're actually waiting lists so we know there's a demand for just kids wanting to get out here, learn how to ski and have a good time.

So that's really our focus is just make sure it's a fun, safe environment for 'em.

(gentle music) - Fall in.

(water splashes) - The Learn to Ski program I learned about probably three years ago, decided to put my oldest in it.

He's 12 now.

It's been an awesome opportunity.

They've been doing it now for three years and I have two boys in it.

They feel pretty great after learning how to ski and spending the couple hours here and, yeah, they're excited and they're proud of themselves and, yeah.

- [Interviewer] Tell me about what you did today.

- I water skied.

- For the first time?

- Mm-hmm.

(interviewer gasps) And I did it.

- You did it?

- And my mom's proud of me.

- We have young children from the Little Crow Ski Team that volunteer to help them.

So it's really good for them to learn what being a volunteer is.

- Here we go.

(water splashes) - I just kinda show up and I'm the runner if they need life jackets or ropes or whatever.

I joined the team back in 1999.

My mom got a job here and we came to a show in '98 when the team won nationals.

So kind of a good show to see the first one and kind of got hooked after that.

Today I have a daughter of my own on the team.

Her name's Quinn.

So she's helped out with the Learn to Ski since she joined about three years ago and now she's getting to be a pretty good skier.

So she's trying to overtake me, which that should be pretty quick.

(laughs) - [Instructor] Good.

(upbeat music) - Sometimes my husband says, "How many more years are we gonna do this?"

And I said, "Until we can't."

So we keep going and yeah, we put a lot of work into it.

We bring almost all of our own ski equipment.

I always have to bring extra life jackets.

I make all the lunches for the kids.

I make, okay, you don't know what this is unless you're from South Dakota, but I make taverns, which is really just Sloppy Joes.

And this year I had to make a vegetarian option.

So we have mac and cheese, so we have mac and cheese, and we have tavern, watermelon, chips and lemonade.

(upbeat music) - We've had really good success on getting kids to at least some level of skiing.

- In the 23 years I've been doing it, I can't recall a single student that we have never ever gotten up on water skis.

- We did have one young man that was a little older and boy, we struggled with him until we got the duct tape out and we had to duct tape together two big adult skis and then we got him up too.

And that was so rewarding 'cause he was so excited.

It's just super fun.

(upbeat music) Yeah!

Woo-hoo!

It's just absolutely great to get the kids out doing a physical activity.

They're learning something new.

They are part of a team approach in a sense.

- I think it's important to have programs like these because there's just not opportunities for everybody.

Also gives them the chance to maybe try out and get a love for something and be part of the ski team if that's all what it comes out to be.

(upbeat music) - Okay yeah.

Okay, so.

The ski team has been in existence since 1979 and generally we have right around 80 members.

Sometimes it bumps up to a 100, 120.

(water splashes) The ski team is a nonprofit organization.

- I enjoy teaching the kids how to ski on one ski, teaching the girls how to do hop docks, teaching them how to do ballet moves.

I love working with the girls that are learning swivel skiing.

- We have practices Monday, Tuesday, Thursday night, shows on Friday.

- [Announcer] Who wants to see CPR barefooting?

- We are a big part of this community, the Little Crow Ski Team, and because they all volunteer, I think that adds back to the community.

You guys ready?

- Yeah.

- Everybody gonna go off the boom to start?

- Yeah.

- Yeah, just get a feel?

- Anything you can do to the community to get those kids, especially with this is at the level we're at is just those kids to get confidence.

- Good.

- That was awesome.

- That was excellent.

- To see them walk to the site here, never having a pair of skis on and hopefully develop into skiers for the rest of their lives.

- Woo-hoo!

Good job!

It's just super fun.

I love the enthusiasm of the kids and the smiles.

Ooh, there you go.

(laughs) We'll help you up.

- We enjoy it, so we keep doing it.

I guess it would be nice to have some replacements down the road, but as long as we're able to do it, we just continue doing it, so.

(upbeat music) (energetic music) - [Announcer] "Postcards" is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.

Additional support provided by Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies, Mark and Margaret Yackel-Juleen on behalf of Shalom Hill Farms, a retreat and conference center in a prairie setting near Wyndham, Minnesota.

On the web at shalomhillfarm.org.

A better future starts now.

West Central Initiative empowers communities with resources, funding, and support for a thriving region.

More at wcif.org.

(light music)