Norge ski jumpers set to open Olympic competition Thursday morning

Coach Scott Smith kept his advice simple the last time he had a chance to talk to his trio of ski jumpers from Norge Ski Club in Fox River Grove before they departed for the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

“The last time I talked to them, I said, ‘You know what, just go over there and have fun,’ ” Smith said Tuesday.

Mike Glasder, 28, of Cary, Kevin Bickner, 21, of Wauconda and Casey Larson, 19, of Barrington will be Norge’s first representatives at the Winter Games in the club’s 113-year history when they open the men’s normal hill individual competition Thursday.

Qualification begins at 6:30 a.m. and will air at 8 a.m. on NBCSN. The top 40 qualifiers advance to Saturday’s medal round, which will air live at 6:35 a.m. on NBCSN.

“Obviously, you want to ski well. It’s the Olympics,” said Smith, who has coached at Norge for about 30 years and coached the 1992 U.S. Olympic ski jump team. “Realistically, our chances of winning a medal is very slim. An American has never won a medal in ski jumping, but you never know what could happen.”

Smith leaves for Pyeongchang on Tuesday and will be there when the trio starts the men’s large hill individual competition Friday. He will fly to Anchorage, Alaska, after the competition to coach at this year’s Junior National Championships.

Of course, he’ll be watching from stateside Thursday when the normal hill competition opens. The longtime coach said he isn’t nervous – at least not yet.

“It’s a couple of days away,” Smith said. “But I’m sure when I’m watching it I’ll have some butterflies, I imagine.”