The "training" has begun.

Last year I didn't have much progression and I'm kind of bummed about that. The big issue I think was me not having a coach. I don't have the fundamentals of snowboarding in my muscle memory like the kids I ride with who have been doing it for years have. Without a coach I just kind of send it and hope for the best. For me to get better I really need someone who knows what they're doing to tell me what to do.

This year I'm going to be working with this awesome coach, Chris Hargrave.  I worked with him a little bit two seasons when I was on the Northstar Snowboard Team and he was one of the coaches there. He really knows what he's doing and has coached some really talented riders. Chris focuses on fundamentals and perfecting every little piece of what goes into each trick, and that's what I want. He is also someone who actually cares about coaching. I think that's a very important quality for a coach to have- passion to help others get better.

I met with him last week for our first session together. I thought we were only going to take a couple runs but we ended up riding for like 2 hours. We spent that whole time basically just making turns. He broke turning down into a bunch of little parts and tried to fix the way I move on my snowboard. The objective was to make powerful turns that would translate into effective pumping/edging in the pipe. We also worked on switch ollies for a bit, and I've never felt so awkward trying to ollie before! haha

In this past week I've been making a conscious effort to use the things he taught me. I think I'm really starting to get it, and my switch riding almost feels as comfortable as my regular riding now.  Because of how my riding has changed, my knee no longer hurts when I'm making turns. Good Sign!

I have a great feeling about this year. I think my injury might have been a blessing because I now have the opportunity to basically relearn snowboarding, but correctly this time. I'm super excited for what's to come!