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seeking advice as parent of a child who wants to pursue snowboarding more serioulsy

4K views 38 replies 14 participants last post by  Argo 
#1 ·
My son is 10 years old and has been riding since he was 7. Considering we live near the beach and not the mountains, he has advanced quite a bit for as little as he has had chances to practice. Including his 2 weeks last summer at Mt. Hood, he has probably had less than 30 days of instruction total, but he has definitely impressed me (although I am biased). He is riding most terrain with confidence and now working on tricks in the park such as small jumps, box slides, 360s, smooth transitions on the halfpipe, etc.

He has expressed an interest in concentrating on snowboarding more seriously including snow"boarding" school. Obviously this is a huge financial committment and a family sacrfice so I really want to make sure he is serious and knows what he is getting into. We are also looking into more summer camp opportunities in Oregon (again cha-ching, cha-ching). I would like to be able to send him to college also.

For those who are pursuing this sport seriously, I would be interested to know the path you took and how you got started. I am not at all delusional about my son's chances of ever competing at the top levels, but he seems to have some raw talent and he wants to try to be the best he can be. Any and all suggestions are welcome.

Thanks!
 
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#29 ·
My son is 10 years old and has been riding since he was 7. Considering we live near the beach and not the mountains, he has advanced quite a bit for as little as he has had chances to practice. Including his 2 weeks last summer at Mt. Hood, he has probably had less than 30 days of instruction total, but he has definitely impressed me (although I am biased). He is riding most terrain with confidence and now working on tricks in the park such as small jumps, box slides, 360s, smooth transitions on the halfpipe, etc.

He has expressed an interest in concentrating on snowboarding more seriously including snow"boarding" school. Obviously this is a huge financial committment and a family sacrfice so I really want to make sure he is serious and knows what he is getting into. We are also looking into more summer camp opportunities in Oregon (again cha-ching, cha-ching). I would like to be able to send him to college also.


Thanks!

I am going to burst your bubble.

If you don't have the means to send your kid away to (what is basically) a luxury private school, then don't. Nothing against your son, but the snow parks and skate parks are filled with kids who have considerable aptitude for those sports. Gymnastics gyms all over the country are filled with even more kids whose air awareness and body control are even better still.

I don't see the rewards (greater skill at snowboarding and more time on the hill) being worth the cost (i.e. you potentially not being able to afford college for him or his siblings).

If you live near a beach then there are other sports that he can get involved in (is there good surfing there?).

Even if you had money to burn, I would see a snowboarding academy/boarding school as a bit of throwing caution into the wind.

He may love snowboarding for the rest of his life (which is fine, take him to the slopes as often as is practical), but if he is only 9 or 10 or something then you run a huge risk of him finding another activity 2 or 3 or even 6 years down the line that he likes even more.


Also, there ain't nothing wrong with skateboarding as a warm-weather substitute
 
#30 ·
Tarzanman - all very good points and I don't disagree with you at all. I have explained to my son that even if he could become better than 99% of all the people in the world there would still be a lot of people better than him.

As I mentioned in the original post, I'm not at all delusional about this and fame/fortune have never been my expecation. I was being a bit flip when I said I wouldn't be able to send him to college.

Luckily we have at least 18 months before he is even old enough to attend one of these schools and most of them don't start until 2 years after that, so nature could run its' course and he could move on to something else. If this occurs I won't push him at all. It's up to him. I have suggested that he take the next 18 months to 2 years and focus on gymnastics as well to show me how serious he is. We will see.

In the end it doesn't matter what I or his dad want for him. If we get to that point and we can't make it happen financially, then he will have to adjust. Also not a bad life lesson.

My main objective in writing the initial post was to get feedback from others who may have had similar experiences with similar kids and get a real-life perspective.
 
#32 · (Edited)
Luckily we have at least 18 months before he is even old enough to attend one of these schools and most of them don't start until 2 years after that, so nature could run its' course and he could move on to something else. If this occurs I won't push him at all. It's up to him. I have suggested that he take the next 18 months to 2 years and focus on gymnastics as well to show me how serious he is. We will see.

In the end it doesn't matter what I or his dad want for him. If we get to that point and we can't make it happen financially, then he will have to adjust. Also not a bad life lesson.

My main objective in writing the initial post was to get feedback from others who may have had similar experiences with similar kids and get a real-life perspective.
As a parent of a 19 yr young woman who is addicted to the snowy life (youngest of 3…has 2 older bros), who started at grade 3. We saw right away that she had a passion and some aptitude and some drive. Anyway irregardless of meger finances, the issue was first providing her with enjoyable experiences and then to see what her level of commitment might be. The goal being for her to be self-determine and be responsible for herself. So the first couple of years we bought the gear and she would have to earn ½ half of the money for the pass (grade 4 only and 5th grade is a free pass from the hill). During grades 6, 7, 8 she earned/saved all the money for her season’s pass, and we matched dollar for earned dollar for her gear. In grade 9 and 10 she gradually figured out how to pay for all her gear and passes. In grades 11 and 12 she was doing it all herself ski/riding 100+ days and was getting herself flowed and pro-formed. At 17/18 she also picked up BC skiing and DH biking along with her boarding and skiing. So now at 19, she is still living at home (when she’s in town), she is going to school part-time and working….has bought and paid for her own car (audi a4 wagon), just returned from skiing a month in Montana and is volunteering to help set up the LBS at Baker. We know that she has partied and she shares stories of some of her shenanigans but she seems to have a good head on her shoulders and has seen what drugs and alcohol can do to folks; and most times declines those activities because she has other things she would rather to do.

We are darn proud of her and she pretty much does what she wants. She knows she is responsible for making it happen. So at a young age, its about providing good experiences, during ages 7-14 its about being involved with a good peer group with some parental guidance and attention. And from 14-21 its about them figuring out how to do their own stuff on their own; and we tried to do this, not by telling her what to do, but by asking her “what is your plan or how are you going to make that happen and what did you learn from that experience?”...and all 3 kids are doing fairly well. I just wish she would actually get the dishes in the damm dishwasher…lol.

The point is, its not about boarding, its about a kid developing self-worth, self-respect and becoming confident, competent and learning how to become responsible for following their passions and establishing themself. Anyway just my 2 cents.
 
#31 ·
Gymnastics and something like judo are great base sports for action sports. Increase flexibility, learning how to fall hard properly, learn to spin and flip(air awareness) and show his dedication to learning and progressing to a snowboard program.
 
#36 ·
sorry for the confusion - Hubby and I work and have a place in DC but we live 3 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. Obviously I don't have to be in the office everyday. The commute is about 3 hours.

Our other place in DC is actually not that far south of Frederick, MD. Small world
 
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