The 1998 Bates NCAA ski team poses in Bozeman, Mont., with Kaelyn Woods '20, then 4 months old. From left, assistant coach Doug Grant, Justin Freeman '98, assistant coach Jefferson Goethals, Kaelyn, Dave Chamberlain '98, Anne Couquet '98, Jenn Bergeron Carlson '98, and John Adkins '98. Absent from photo is Melissa Liair '98. 

This week, Kaelyn Woods '20 will complete her Bates Nordic skiing career at the NCAA Championships in Bozeman, Mont. 

It's the same place she had her first-ever NCAA Championship experience — in 1998, as a 4-month old, accompanying her mom, head Nordic coach Becky Flynn Woods '89.

The memory prompted Becky — now Kaelyn's coach — to head to the family photo albums, where she found photo of that trip, showing the Bobcat NCAA qualifiers gathered around baby Kaelyn.

The photo sums up how intertwined family and Bates have always been for mother and daughter. While Becky is now the coach of a Bates daughter, she was once the daughter of a Bates coach, the late Bob Flynn, who served as director of skiing during her career as a student-athlete. Bob Flynn also coached baseball and golf during a storied career on the Bates coaching staff.

The Flynn family ties to Bates go even further back: Kaelyn's great-grandfather, Lawrence Joseph Flynn Sr., was a member of the Class of 1929. He played football and was an outstanding ski jumper, winning a bronze medal at the 1927 College Week Carnival at Lake Placid Club, the preeminent ski championship of the era. A number of other family members, including Becky's sister, have attended Bates through the years.

The parallels between Becky's and Kaelyn's athletic careers only begin with their both being coached by a parent. This week Kaelyn makes her third trip to the NCAA Championships. Becky also made the NCAA Championships three times in her own skiing career.

But the parallels don't really matter, says Becky.

"Kaelyn wouldn't be able to tell you those parallels exist, and that is important to me," says Becky. "Her time here was not about my time here. I think the more impactful piece for Kaelyn was growing up around the ski team."

Kaelyn Woods (left) poses with her coach and mother, Becky Flynn Woods '89. Kaelyn is the fourth generation of her family to have a big impact on Bates skiing. (Phyllis Graber Jensen/Bates College)

Kaelyn remembers being at a lot of training camps and ski carnivals as a child. "I have always been a part of this Bates skiing community. I had the opportunity to travel with the team, maybe not always because I wanted to, but because I had to — like any kid going to work with their parent."

As a child of a Bates coach, Becky also experienced the overlap between the team and family. As a parent, she's grateful that her children, also including daughter Emma Woods, a sophomore at Roanoke College, were also able to grow up around Bates student-athletes.

"The athletes on the team when I was young were role models for me, and I believe that to be true for Kaelyn and Emma. Growing up around these young adults who are so motivated and so committed and were amazing mentors and set great examples was like having a huge extended family. It was like having so many amazing brothers and sisters who could guide you."

As Kaelyn did her college search, Bates was always in the mix because it had always been a part of her life.  

Just as Becky had done during her own search, Kaelyn at first thought she would go to a college far from her home in nearby New Gloucester. However, she knew she wanted a small school on the East Coast where she could ski.

"I had looked at a lot of different places, but ultimately where I thought I could see myself was at Bates."

Once the decision was made, Becky's goal was to ensure that Kaelyn could navigate her own path through Bates.

"The focus was on Kaelyn's experience as opposed to carrying on the big family tradition," says Becky. "For other people, the tradition feels bigger, but for Kaelyn it is just what she has always known."

Bob Flynn died in July 2016, just as Kaelyn was preparing to matriculate at Bates.

"She was very close with my dad," says Becky, "so I think that is something she's always carried with her. She was able to see the impact he had had on the program so that was pretty powerful."

The late Bob Flynn (right) had a legendary coaching career at Bates, including efforts that led to Bates hosting the 1976 NCAA National Collegiate Skiing Championships. (Muskie Archives and Special Collections Library)

Throughout Kaelyn's collegiate career, Becky has always been conscious of being mom and being coach. She jokes that she always has to decide what hat to wear — the mom hat or the coach hat. When the pair are at Bates, Becky usually dons the coach hat; at home, it's the mom hat. And that suits Kaelyn perfectly.

"She's really good at the split between mom and daughter," said Kaelyn. "I'd like to think I am too. Knowing when she's a coach, she's a coach and when she is mom she is mom. It is almost second nature at this point."

Early on, Becky made a key parenting decision that's paid off through the years: "not to coach Kaelyn or Emma at home, so home could be home and not just an extension of work or school."

Still, as Kaelyn's collegiate career comes to a close, the lines between mom and coach have admittedly blurred a bit for Becky.

"We were at Middlebury last weekend, and it was her last carnival. It was like I had to give myself permission to be a mom for a few minutes and take that in as a parent — it's my daughter's last carnival."

In the week leading up to the NCAA Championships, both Becky and Kaelyn have had a little time to reflect on their experiences at Bates, the family tradition, and what it all means.

"I know what kind of legacy my family has created at Bates, especially by my grandfather," says Kaelyn. "But at the same time I've been able to write my own story at Bates."

Kaelyn's Bates athletic story comes to a close with two more races this coming week in Bozeman: the Nordic freestyle race on Thursday, March 12, and the classic race on Saturday, March 14.

Regardless of how she finishes in those races, Kaelyn envisions a happy ending to her Bates story.

"I want to better my past results but also really enjoy my experience," she says. "It's the last time I will have the opportunity to represent Bates in athletics and in skiing. I want to be able to enjoy that."