Murrysville teen heads to eastern regional skiing championships in Vermont

The competition generated by sibling rivalry means that following in your big brother’s or sister’s footsteps isn’t always appealing.

But for Becket Pottinger of Murrysville, whose older siblings were both competitive skiers, it’s motivation.

“Watching the way they ski, hearing the advice they’ve been given, plus going to almost all of their races has been really helpful,” said Pottinger, who will represent the region at the U.S. Ski & Snowboard U14 Eastern Championships, which begin Saturday and run through March 22 at Sugarbush, Vt.

“I’m a big visual learner, and it helps having people like my brother and sister to look up to and want to be like,” Pottinger said.

Having made his way through five regional and one statewide competition, Pottinger hopes to emerge from the Eastern Championships with a spot in the U14 Can-Am competition, essentially a national championship.

This is the furthest Pottinger has advanced thus far, having previously made it to the statewide competition.

“I just try not to get distracted,” he said. “The morning of a race, I get up, get going, get motivated and try to focus on doing what I do best.”

An added challenge for Pottinger is doing all of this while dealing with Type I diabetes.

“If my blood sugar gets low, I can get dizzy and a little delusional,” he said. “It happened to me before at states.”

Pottinger said that while the complications from living with diabetes sometimes keep him from things such as sleepovers with friends, he’s found similar opportunities elsewhere.

“Going to skiing and cycling practice gives me more chances to socialize and be with friends,” he said.

“It’s just another variable he has to consider,” said Pottinger’s father, Jim. “He’s done a great job as an athlete living with Type I and still competing at a high level.”