On a patch of land, overlooking Fox River Grove, the trees open just enough to reveal towering ski jumps. For a better part of 120 years, the Norge Ski Club has stood as a local landmark. Founded in 1905, and in operation since 1908, it is the oldest continuously operating ski club in the United States.
The club began with an unassuming group of Norwegian men living in Chicago, with a deep love for ski jumping, who traveled west in search of a place to practice their sport. They actually built small cottages on the grounds first, so they could stay on site while building their dream. And in those early years, Norge was a major attraction. Crowds poured in from Chicago and surrounding suburbs to watch tournaments, filling the hillsides with spectators.
It’s inspiring to learn that the people behind this magical place once transformed Navy Pier into a temporary ski jump where athletes landed directly in the water. Bold and innovative moments like that continue to form the club’s path. Today, their mission remains forward-looking and rooted in service. Norge prepares athletes for Olympic-level competition while fostering athletics at the local, national, and international levels. It also emphasizes education, sportsmanship, youth development, and community engagement.
Three local siblings have spent the last decade ski jumping. Sabina Sproch, 22, shares her story about growing up on those hills. Her story is about much more than just a passion for the sport. It’s about family, resilience, and new ways to channel passion when life takes an unexpected turn.
Sabina was just ten years old when ski jumping first found her at a Polish festival in Chicago. She tried a roller jump; a dry land simulation where athletes launch themselves onto a mattress. “The guy running it told me, ‘You’re meant to be a ski jumper.’ I remember thinking, what is ski jumping?” Her sister, only 6 years old at the time, gave it a go as well. That single moment of curiosity quickly became a life-shaping path with Olympic sized dreams. Within weeks, she was riding a bus two or three times a week to Fox River Grove to train.
For Sabina, Norge quickly became a second home. Her first time on the hill, however, was anything but graceful. “I was petrified,” she said. “It was my first time ever on skis.” So, she started on the smallest hill and quickly was whisked away on the feeling of flight. “There’s nothing like it, that moment where you’re in the air; it’s freedom.”
What made the experience even more powerful was family. Her younger sister and older brother both joined the sport, and their parents were deeply involved. Her mother, she later learned, had been a ski jumper herself in Poland; her club’s first female jumper. “She told us after we started.” Her stepfather coached, and extended family members in Poland had competed, judged, and even gone to the Olympics. Ski jumping wasn’t just a sport; it was a shared passion.
As Sabina grew older, she traveled across the US, attending elite camps like Fly Girls in Colorado and Utah. There, she trained alongside girls from around the country, working not only on technique but on nutrition, yoga, and mental strength. One of her most influential role models was Olympic ski jumper Sarah Hendrickson. “She always told us we were capable of anything, Especially as women in a sport that hasn’t always been fair, hearing that at twelve years old, it really stays with you.”
Competition days were intense and exhilarating. “I was fired up. You prepare for hours for something that lasts maybe seven seconds.”
Sabina learned to focus, tuning out the crowd and pressure. “It’s surreal,” she said. “Seeing people travel from all over the world to the hill you train on makes you proud.”
When asked what she would say to a young girl curious about ski jumping, Sabina didn’t hesitate. “Try it,” she said. “If you’re passionate about something, don’t let anyone hold you back. That passion will take you places.”
At sixteen, knee injuries and surgeries forced her to step away from competition, but the lessons remain. “Ski jumping taught me to really listen to my body,” she said. “It sparked my passion for nutrition, fitness, and self-care.” Sabina remains connected to the community through coaching, attends events, stays in touch with coaches and teammates, and cheers on her sister, who continues to compete at the highest level.
Today, Sabina is the founder of Sabina’s Sweets, a home-based baking business specializing in custom desserts and traditional Polish pastries. This sweet path took her toward something deeply familiar – baking with her mother. “I wanted to help people,” she said. Her desserts carry the same intention she once brought to the hill. She creates custom dessert tables, and Polish specialties for weddings, baptisms, and celebrations, often using recipes passed down through generations.
As this story shifts from the hills of Norge to the warmth of Sabina’s kitchen, the connection is clear. The discipline, courage, and love she found in ski jumping now are part of her personal ambition and recipe for success.