To be
labeled ‘extreme’ these days doesn’t require much effort. Applying the right deodorant or drinking Mtn. Dew is
sufficient exertion in the eyes of many of America’s finest advertising
executives. We are far removed from a
time in which fringe sports athletes flew under the radar, all but ignored by
mainstream media unless one of their brethren perishes in pursuit of their
passion (RIP Andy Irons you will be missed).
However, there remains a select
group of individuals who remain unenchanted by the siren calls of the deep
pockets of Fortune 500 companies eager to sink their teeth into the latest
trend to grip the omnipotent 18-34 year old male demographic. These athletes chase their dreams when
conditions are ripe, yet what sets them apart is neither desire nor motivation
wane in the off season. These athletes
are both the future and the backbone of the Jackson ski and snowboard
community. To them, there is no off
season.
Jeff Moran, Head Snowboard Coach and Program Director at Jackson
Hole Ski & Snowboard Club (JHSC), stated, “In a time
when young athletes’ ski and snowboard goals are driven by X-Games images and
perpetually updated webisodes, trailers and sneak peak videos, part time
training is no longer an option. Young athletes with dreams of becoming
the next big thing are realizing that in order to keep up with the Joneses,
they must have a year round training routine that enhances their primary focus
of skiing or snowboarding. In the JHSC Freeride Program we encourage
athletes to fill their off-snow seasons with activities that directly correlate
to skiing and snowboarding such as water ramp, foam pit, skateboard, mountain
bike and gymnastics training.”
Carpet bristles attached to a 23
degree slope act as artificial mountain and ski slope at once. Skis are waxed with an old iron well past its
prime. A man-made lake or pool act as
the landing pad, and bubbles are blown from the depths to break the surface and
reduce the slap factor. 75 steps in
soaking wet ski boots await each athlete after their jump. All pause for a few minutes at the takeoff to
receive feedback from coaches present before once again beginning the climb to
the pinnacle of the wooden ramp. As in
mainstream sports, video review is an important part of the learning
process. It’s an instantaneous method
that gives immediate feedback on what could be the minutest of changes. This could mean positioning the hips a few
inches forward on a double back flip, or beginning a left side corked 720 rotation
.5 seconds earlier.
Although an effective means of
training in the off season, and without a doubt a creative use of space, water
ramps are not the only means in which JHSC athletes enhance skills away from the snow
filled slopes.
Air and spatial awareness are two
essential building blocks in the freestyle and freeride worlds of skiing and
snowboarding. Building muscle memory is
an essential part of the learning progression, and varies widely from person to
person, as the repetitive process of ingraining a learned skill into the
cerebral cortex has as many variations as there are codes of DNA. Some athletes simply have ‘it’. For the majority of others, it takes years of
hard work to achieve the ability to have an absolute awareness of where one is
in the air while doing multiple flips and spins. The manner in which this was achieved in the
nascent days of freestyle skiing involved more luck than planning and
skill. Skiers simply built a jump
anywhere they could find the space, and proceeded to put their feet above their
heads in all manner of back and front flips and the numerous variations
within.
Fortunately the sport has evolved to
include much safer and well supervised activities to enhance aerial
skills. In addition to water ramp
training, JHSC athletes often use trampolines and gymnastics routines, which
have both been employed for many years. One
feature that has not been around for quite as long is the foam pit. The name leaves little to the imagination, as
it is exactly as it sounds, a space carved out of the floor and filled with square
foam blocks 6-8 inches long and wide.
Jackson Gymnastics is in the process of installing a foam pit feature
for athletes using the facility. The use
of a trampoline involves three successive bounces from one end of the
rectangular device to the other, the third of which sees the jumper set their
maneuver while spinning and/or flipping into the foam pit. Another way to enter would be a similar
structure to the aforementioned water ramps, whereupon skiers and boarders
descend the man made jump and launch into the pit. The cushioning of the foam
blocks allows athletes to land imperfectly yet not break their necks or cause
any spinal damage, something that becomes a real concern as skiers and boarders
take their tricks from water and foam to snow.
With practice, air awareness and muscle memory are enhanced with each
successive jump.
Making the most out of where one
finds themselves either seasonally or geographically is neither a new nor novel
concept, nor does it stop at skiing and snowboarding in the summer months. Scuba divers make use of inland lakes to
improve their skill set and satiate their passions while awaiting the next trip
to the Caribbean. Surfers find waves
several hundred miles from any available coastline. It seems far fetched, yet the sport of river
surfing is one that has taken hold enthusiastically in white water normally
reserved for kayakers and fly fisherman.
Outside Jackson, Wyoming, land locked surfers find space on the Snake
River, at the affectionately named Lunch Counter Rapid. Imagine being on a wave for rides that could
last 10 minutes. This is about 9 minutes
55 seconds longer than your average ocean wave ride. While getting tubed or busting airs off the
river wave are not realistic possibilities, numerous cutbacks and slashes on
the wave that knows no end indeed are.
One only has to see the stoke factor
on the river surfer’s face as he races off to work, or the absolute pleasure in
the posture of the high school athlete that has both mentally and physically
stomped a rodeo 720 into the foam pit, to know that these individuals will not
let the most minor of details like geography curb their craze in the ‘off
season’.
Haven’t you heard?
There is no off season anymore.
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