Menominee Catholic Central athletes follow in path of ‘Snowshoe Priest’
1/15/2010

By Victoria LaFave
Special to The U.P. Catholic

Just beyond the grounds of Menominee Catholic Central School (MCCS), students can sometimes be seen snowshoeing across the snowy trails, following in the footsteps of Bishop Baraga, the Snowshoe Priest. 

These winter warriors are members of MCCS’s new snowshoe team, the Snowshoe Striders. Started by Principal Daniel Paul, the team is comprised of 3rd through 8th graders at the school.

Paul said the team has been training by running one to three miles a few times per week since November (when there was no snow), and will race until the beginning of March. 

“The winters are so long up here, that snowshoeing presents a great avenue for the kids to enjoy the winter months, and make healthy choices at the same time,” Paul said. “Plus, they are learning a sport they can do all their lives.” 

Paul said that living a healthy lifestyle for children is just as important as living fit adult lives.

“It’s all about making healthy choices, and combating childhood obesity,” he said. “We’ve become sedentary, and snowshoeing presents a healthy alternative. Even when you’re walking on the snowshoes, every time you do it, you’re doing twice the amount of work as when you walk on pavement, as far as energy expended, so it’s a great alternative.”

“My number one goal is to provide healthy choices for the students, and allow them to get out and enjoy their winters, and have fun at the same time.”

The team has provided another benefit that Paul didn’t plan for.

“Not only did the students take to the snowshoes naturally, we even have some parents snowshoeing with their kids, so it’s become a great family activity for some.” 

The Snowshoe Striders’ team T-shirts feature a picture of Bishop Baraga on the back, and two snowshoes in the form of a cross on the front of the shirt. Bishop Baraga, the U.P.’s first bishop in 1853, has often been referred to as the Snowshoe Priest because it was necessary to travel by snowshoe to serve the churches that were widespread throughout the U.P.

According to Paul, MCCS is one of the few schools in the Midwest to offer a competitive
snowshoe team.

There are approximately 25 students on the team, and they welcome new members. Paul says one of his goals is to get Bishop Sample to get out and snowshoe with the team.

His second goal for snowshoeing is for it to become an Olympic sport, and ultimately, he says he’d like to see some of the team members go on to compete in the Olympics. His daughter Michelle competed for the U.S. team in Europe in 2003 in a 10 kilometer race. Paul said in that race, she finished 17th in the world. 

As far as Paul himself racing, he definitely enjoys the sport.  “If the kids are out there, I’m out there too,” he laughed. “Of course, I’m always the caboose.”

NOTE:  The MCCS team will be at a snowshoe race on Saturday, Feb 20 at the Irish Oaks Golf Course in Gladstone sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, Gladstone.

Menominee Catholic Central School, which has students in pre-school through 8th grade, is located at 1406 10th Ave., Menominee. Call Paul, at (906) 863-3190, for more information on the school or on his school's snowshoe team, which is one of the few competitive snowshoe teams in the Midwest.

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