So, I tried out for ski patrol…

You might be thinking to yourself, “What were you thinking, Grace? You were just chatting about not being good at snowboarding. Are you delusional to think you can be on the patrol?”

I can assure you there was no delusion involved.  I am starkly aware of my lack of ability to snowboard, so when ski patrol tryouts were coming up, I decided I just wanted to watch.  I contacted my head ski patrol friend and the conversation went something like this:

Me: Hey! I’m planning on watching ski patrol tryouts tomorrow. Where should I meet up to watch?

Head ski patrol friend: You should tryout, I’ll reserve a bib for you. You will gain a better understanding if you try it!

Me: Haha, okay I will see you tomorrow for tryouts!

 

Now keep in mind my ski patrol friend had seen me on the hill a couple weeks prior and we had discussed not being ready for tryouts, so I was a little nervous to be trying out with not much improvement since that encounter.  The next morning I was still nervous but had put most of it behind me as I tried to approach this challenge with the thought to be a learning experience and to have fun.

Boy, oh, boy, was it fun!  

We first split into snowboarders and skiers.  Then they took us up on the hill and had us ski/snowboard down one by one.  Each time we went down part of the slope we were given instructions to complete either small, medium, or large radius turns. We were also given instruction not to traverse and also to be on your edge enough to see the bottom of your board.  

Just from the instructions alone I knew I wouldn’t be making the team.  I had just started skidded turns and wasn’t completing carves yet which would already put me at not showing the bottom of my board. We were also completing the tryouts on blues and black diamonds that I hadn’t even snowboarded on.  (At the time it didn’t seem that steep because I was just following the person in front of me, but I went back to those slopes a couple days ago and they were steeper than I remember from tryout day.)

One by one we were called down and then it was my turn.  “Snowboarder number 180 coming down.” As I was heading to the mark to start my way down, I slipped. I quickly scrambled to get back up and started my turns.  We completed several more runs and I slipped an additional time.  I could only imagine what the testers were thinking as I boarded past them.  Everyone trying out was encouraging and we all clapped for each other after each testing segment. The results came back as expected with me off the list.

I had no reason to be trying out but I really and truly enjoyed my time on the hill.  There is something freeing about having no expectations for yourself and just enjoying how far you’ve come. I really appreciated the push my ski patrol friend did to get me to tryout. It did give me a better understanding on what I need to work on snowboarding wise and gave me an opportunity to do something outside my comfort zone.

I am excited to finish the snowboarding season with goals to learn to carve and to improve my turns and control. I am also excited to see what next year may hold in my skill progression.

Keep challenging yourself and pushing into growth.