Blake Hughes Remembers Corby Fisher – December 25th, 2020
THE 9 HORSEMEN- IN THE BEGINNING: Koupio, Finland, 2000 (L-R) Anders Johnson, Corby Fisher, Chris Francis, Brett Camerota, Skyler Keate, Eric Camerota, Blake Hughes, Tim Nelson, Logan Oxford.
To have a coach like Corby Fisher at a young age, you couldn’t help but love the sports of ski jumping or Nordic combined. He was the most passionate, infectious, charismatic and most of all the biggest dreamer of a coach you could find. When I was 12 years old, Corby started a team that he saw fit to travel and compete. On paper we were the “National Sports Foundation’s Travel Team” but to him and our group of nine boys, three ski jumpers and six Nordic combined, we were the “9 Horsemen”. We became a close knit training group and pushed and challenged each other in every aspect, whether on the jump, at dryland, gymnastics, paintball or rollerblading down the bobsled track in Calgary. We did everything together and always tried to out do the others.
Corby gave us the opportunities and direction we needed to succeed as athletes, and he led the way for us for many years until he moved on to coach the national team. All nine of us succeeded at various international levels of our respective sports. With countless Junior World Championships, World Championship team , and countless continental and world cup points, Three Olympians and even an Olympic silver medal.
But by far the greatest thing Corby gave us was lifelong friendships and memories. We all stay in touch and can pick up a conversation we left off from a previous year without skipping a beat. Also, most of us are on a competitive kickball team together.
Thank you Corby. Cheers!
THE 9 HORSEMEN at Tim Nelson’s Wedding in Bogus Basin, ID (2015) (L-R) Eric Camerota, Skyler Keate, Chris Francis, Tim Nelson, Blake Hughes, Anders Johnson, Trevor Keate, Brett Camerota, Logan Oxford.
