I am what is called a "Park-Rat". I am called this because I am a snowboarder who always goes in the park to ride. Ever since I learned how to snowboard I was always attracted to the park. Whether it was hitting a good jibbing feature and holding a long tail press on a box of launching myself off of a massive 50 foot kicker, I have always loved the park. Since my love for the park is so big I always try to add some new tricks to my bag of tricks every year.
I started making a trick list once I had a few tricks that I was able to consistently pull which was right around my third year of riding. Ever since then I have tried to add a couple tricks to the list that I want to learn for the upcoming season. I usually add both jump tricks as well as rail tricks.
Since I have been wanting to learn more tricks every season my trick list has vastly improved since my first few years when I first started going to the park. My favorite rail trick that I have learned to do is just a simple nose press on a down rail. The reason why I love to do this trick so much is because not only is it extremely fun to do but it also has a big steez effect on it because not many people know how to do it. Some other rails tricks that I know how to do are; tail press, 50-50, 180 on to 50-50 to 180 off, 180 on to half cab off, backside board slide, and front side boardslide. The new trick that I am looking to add this year to my arsenal is a backside lipslide to half cab off. The reason why I am going to add this trick to my bag this year is because not many people know how to actually do the trick, it is extremely steezy, and it is hard to learn ..and yeah you can say I like challenges.
The next genre that I would like to upgrade when it comes to tricks is tricks that a snowboarder does off of a jump. My favorite trick so far to do is a front flip...yes that's right, launching myself off of a massive kicker and going inverted and then landing down on my feet and the whole time I will be traveling at a pace of about 25-35 mph. The reason why I love doing this trick is because almost no one even tries the trick because its so scary and dangerous but once you learn how to do it, its quite easy to do. Also the front flip is an extremely fun trick to do to impress your friends or other riders or win a competition with if you know how to successfully land the trick. Some other tricks that I have learned how to do throughout the years is the; 180, 360, 540, nose grab, tail grab, melon grab, Vader grad, and the stailfish. The new trick that I am looking to add this year is the back flip. Now hear me out here, you may think I am a completely nutty for wanting to learn how to do a back flip but it is actually something that is quite easy to learn and to land successfully, even the first time! This is because the main problem that people run into when trying to learn big flips like the back flip is that they do not fully commit and just send it, instead they hold back and that's when bad things happen. When you hold back and don't fully commit when doing a flip you almost always under-rotate and end up severely hurting yourself. So when learning any flip all you have to do is get over that fear factor of being upside down over 50 feet up in the air and just send it and chances are you will land the trick.
In my future years of snowboarding I look forward to increasing my bag of tricks so that when I enter different types of contests I can win some money or a new snowboard, whichever the contest gives out to first place. But until then, it is hard work for me to make sure that once I join those contests I win them
Showing posts with label Raine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Raine. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 15, 2014
Where To?
"Where to?". That is a question I find myself asking all the time. Do I get my pass to Crotched or Pats Peak? The snowboarding season is approaching and at some places, has already begun, but I don't even know where I will be buying my seasons pass to this year. But enough with that for now, let me fill you in on some important details that will make everything that I said make sense.
It all started in the winter of 8th grade when I first went to McIntyre Ski Area to learn how to snowboard. I took lessons during Christmas break and never returned to the snow that year. The following year, my ninth grade year, my parents bought me a seasons pass to McIntyre Ski Area. That year I went every Saturday and Sunday for the entire season. Going that often really helped me mature as a rider and get over a lot of fears that I had about things such as going off jumps and hitting rails, boxes, and other jib features.
The next winter my parents bought me another seasons pass, except that year it was too Pats Peak, a much larger mountain than what I had previously gone to. Unlike McIntyre, Pats Peak was an actual mountain, not a large hill or anything like McIntyre. Pats Peak had a good sized terrain park, which was something I was always into, and other things that I had never ridden before such as moguls, non-groomed powder sections and harder terrain to ride like black diamonds.
The following year I didn't go snowboarding at all besides one time, and that was at Waterville Valley. From the first time I saw the mountain, I knew that I was in love. This place was everything that I had heard it would be plus more. I took a few runs down the actual mountain then went on to the terrain park, which I had heard was their main attraction. Thats when it turned into my favorite mountain that I have ever been to. It was massive. Their park had things that I had only seen previously in videos from big companies like Burton, Tech N9ne, and Ride. They had things such as a big stair gap, enormous kickers, rail booters, and A-Frame rails. Because of these features, my love for terrain parks grew astronomically.
Pat's Peak has a decent sized terrain park with both jumps and jibs as well as a separate terrain park with just jibing features. Crotched however, 3 terrain parks and one of them is a Pro-Park. A Pro-Park is short for Professional Park, which means that everything inside the park is much bigger and harder than normal parks like that at Pats Peak. With bigger things, comes more fun and bigger tricks that you can learn.
After hearing all of this you probably think that the decision of where to go is quite easy, Crotched Mountain, however the choice is not as easy as it seems because of one thing that I have not talked about yet, cost. As everyone knows the corny saying, "money doesn't grow on trees", well thats currently the predicament that I'm in. A seasons pass to Crotched Mountain costs more than one hundred dollars more than a pass at Pat Peak, and I am currently strapped for cash.
Since I have not enough money to buy a seasons pass to Crotched I have decided not to get a pass. Instead, I am not going to get a seasons pass this year and instead I am going to buy individual day passes that way I am not just staying at one mountain and I am also not strapped for cash all season.
The next winter my parents bought me another seasons pass, except that year it was too Pats Peak, a much larger mountain than what I had previously gone to. Unlike McIntyre, Pats Peak was an actual mountain, not a large hill or anything like McIntyre. Pats Peak had a good sized terrain park, which was something I was always into, and other things that I had never ridden before such as moguls, non-groomed powder sections and harder terrain to ride like black diamonds.
The following year I didn't go snowboarding at all besides one time, and that was at Waterville Valley. From the first time I saw the mountain, I knew that I was in love. This place was everything that I had heard it would be plus more. I took a few runs down the actual mountain then went on to the terrain park, which I had heard was their main attraction. Thats when it turned into my favorite mountain that I have ever been to. It was massive. Their park had things that I had only seen previously in videos from big companies like Burton, Tech N9ne, and Ride. They had things such as a big stair gap, enormous kickers, rail booters, and A-Frame rails. Because of these features, my love for terrain parks grew astronomically.
Pat's Peak has a decent sized terrain park with both jumps and jibs as well as a separate terrain park with just jibing features. Crotched however, 3 terrain parks and one of them is a Pro-Park. A Pro-Park is short for Professional Park, which means that everything inside the park is much bigger and harder than normal parks like that at Pats Peak. With bigger things, comes more fun and bigger tricks that you can learn.
After hearing all of this you probably think that the decision of where to go is quite easy, Crotched Mountain, however the choice is not as easy as it seems because of one thing that I have not talked about yet, cost. As everyone knows the corny saying, "money doesn't grow on trees", well thats currently the predicament that I'm in. A seasons pass to Crotched Mountain costs more than one hundred dollars more than a pass at Pat Peak, and I am currently strapped for cash.
Since I have not enough money to buy a seasons pass to Crotched I have decided not to get a pass. Instead, I am not going to get a seasons pass this year and instead I am going to buy individual day passes that way I am not just staying at one mountain and I am also not strapped for cash all season.
Wednesday, November 20, 2013
The Winter Wish List
With football season ending and the cold weather setting in that can only mean one thing, snowboarding. I have been snowboarding since the seventh grade and I have loved every second of it. Weather it was falling on my butt and my knees the first day that I learned or the day when I did my first front flip, I have loved every second of it.
But with the new season approaching, that means I must get some new gear to replace the old raggedy stuff that is either to small or ripped up and broken. I have a really nice Volcom jacket that I got a couple years back at Snowboard Jones and it still fits and is in great shape so I will not need a new jacket. Another thing that I will not need to get this year is new bindings, goggles, or gloves; all of which I got brand new last year because of a major crash on a rail which ended with a broken right binding, cracked goggles, and yes, a bloody bottom lip.
The new things that I will need this year are new pants, new boots, and maybe a new board. The pants that I have been wearing are my first snowboarding pants I ever bought. I have had them since 7th grade and they have done me well, but unfortunately I must get rid of my bright green plaid Volcom pants because they are all ripped up on the bottoms from the years of wearing them. Another thing that must change are my snowboarding boots. Those too have been the same pair since my first year. They are a pair of Rome white, red, and black boots that are way to small for me. But the new pair that I will hopefully be getting are Carolina Blue colored 2014 DC Scout boots. They will match the blue on my jacket and they look real good. If I have enough money to get a new board as well then I have the perfect board already picked out, it's a 2014 LibTech Banana board. Its black, yellow, and white and it looks so nice. The reason that I want this board is because of all of the park riding that I do. I need a board that will give me the pop that I need to be able to elevate onto the rails and to get enough pop to do tricks such as front flips because if I don't get enough pop, then the same thing will happen last year which ended with broken equipment and a bloody lip.
Not only are these the things that I want for this years season, but you should want these too. Every snowboarder knows that the best day one can spend on the mountain is one that comes from having warm and waterproof clothing, a pair of reliable and comfortable boots that wont break on you, being on a good board that allows you to do what you want to do; whether its powder riding, park riding, or just cruising around the mountain. And finally the last thing to complete the perfect day on the mountain is being up there with a group of your best buds so share all the good and bad moments of the day. If you want to have the best day you could possible have on the mountain every time you go this year, they I strongly recommend getting the equipment that I listed above because not only does it allow you to do everything that was mentioned above, but it is also the best equipment on the market this year.
But with the new season approaching, that means I must get some new gear to replace the old raggedy stuff that is either to small or ripped up and broken. I have a really nice Volcom jacket that I got a couple years back at Snowboard Jones and it still fits and is in great shape so I will not need a new jacket. Another thing that I will not need to get this year is new bindings, goggles, or gloves; all of which I got brand new last year because of a major crash on a rail which ended with a broken right binding, cracked goggles, and yes, a bloody bottom lip.
The new things that I will need this year are new pants, new boots, and maybe a new board. The pants that I have been wearing are my first snowboarding pants I ever bought. I have had them since 7th grade and they have done me well, but unfortunately I must get rid of my bright green plaid Volcom pants because they are all ripped up on the bottoms from the years of wearing them. Another thing that must change are my snowboarding boots. Those too have been the same pair since my first year. They are a pair of Rome white, red, and black boots that are way to small for me. But the new pair that I will hopefully be getting are Carolina Blue colored 2014 DC Scout boots. They will match the blue on my jacket and they look real good. If I have enough money to get a new board as well then I have the perfect board already picked out, it's a 2014 LibTech Banana board. Its black, yellow, and white and it looks so nice. The reason that I want this board is because of all of the park riding that I do. I need a board that will give me the pop that I need to be able to elevate onto the rails and to get enough pop to do tricks such as front flips because if I don't get enough pop, then the same thing will happen last year which ended with broken equipment and a bloody lip.
Not only are these the things that I want for this years season, but you should want these too. Every snowboarder knows that the best day one can spend on the mountain is one that comes from having warm and waterproof clothing, a pair of reliable and comfortable boots that wont break on you, being on a good board that allows you to do what you want to do; whether its powder riding, park riding, or just cruising around the mountain. And finally the last thing to complete the perfect day on the mountain is being up there with a group of your best buds so share all the good and bad moments of the day. If you want to have the best day you could possible have on the mountain every time you go this year, they I strongly recommend getting the equipment that I listed above because not only does it allow you to do everything that was mentioned above, but it is also the best equipment on the market this year.
Thursday, October 24, 2013
The Best Movie Ever
My favorite movie of all time is the movie The Lion King. It is a movie created by disney about a lion who grows up and eventually becomes the alpha male of the pack, but not before he runs away from home and learns many life lessons.
The movie starts off with many different species of animals who all came together to witness the birth of the new prince, Simbah. They are all gathered around a massive rock, Pride Rock, to pay their respect to who will eventually be their king. As the movie goes on, Simbah starts to grow older. He plays around with a lioness who he is best friends with.
When he is still young his father, Mufasa, gets killed and he is forced to grow up much sooner than he would like, but instead of growing up he runs away. He keeps running until he meets two animals, Timon and Pumbaa. Timon and Pumbaa are a wharthog and a prairie dog. They live a very calm and relaxed life and live by the saying "hakuna matata" which means no worries. Simbah lives with them as he grows into his adolescent years when he is playing around with them and runs into a lioness on the hunt. Simbah and the lioness fight for a short period of time until Simbah realizes it is his friend that he has known since he was a cub, Nala.
After talking to Nala, she convinces him to come take over the kingdom from his uncle Scar. She wants him to come back so much because ever since he ran away, the kingdom has drastically declined. Many animals don't have enough food to live and are starving. The kingdom is also all dark and gloomy.
So Simbah returns and fights his uncle Scar and takes back his rightful place on the throne. Once he becomes king, the kingdom because bright and as wonderful as it once was.
The movie starts off with many different species of animals who all came together to witness the birth of the new prince, Simbah. They are all gathered around a massive rock, Pride Rock, to pay their respect to who will eventually be their king. As the movie goes on, Simbah starts to grow older. He plays around with a lioness who he is best friends with.
When he is still young his father, Mufasa, gets killed and he is forced to grow up much sooner than he would like, but instead of growing up he runs away. He keeps running until he meets two animals, Timon and Pumbaa. Timon and Pumbaa are a wharthog and a prairie dog. They live a very calm and relaxed life and live by the saying "hakuna matata" which means no worries. Simbah lives with them as he grows into his adolescent years when he is playing around with them and runs into a lioness on the hunt. Simbah and the lioness fight for a short period of time until Simbah realizes it is his friend that he has known since he was a cub, Nala.
After talking to Nala, she convinces him to come take over the kingdom from his uncle Scar. She wants him to come back so much because ever since he ran away, the kingdom has drastically declined. Many animals don't have enough food to live and are starving. The kingdom is also all dark and gloomy.
So Simbah returns and fights his uncle Scar and takes back his rightful place on the throne. Once he becomes king, the kingdom because bright and as wonderful as it once was.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Senior Project
So far, we have had two classes for Senior Project and I am in a good place. I have come up with my idea of what I would like to do for this year long project. I am doing mine on how to prepare for a football combine. I still have to do a lot of research on it as well as get an outside expert and start putting it together.
The research that will have to do for my senior project is first, I must find out exactly what events are tested, how they are tested, and why they are tested. After all of that, I have to record myself for each event and record my results.
The next step after I get all of my research done and recorded is to find out who I want for my outside expert. I already have a couple ideas of who I might want to ask to be my expert. Throughout the winter of 2012-2013, I went to a speed trainer in Hampton to help me with football and my combine testing scores. I was thinking about possibly having him as my outside expert. Another person that I could use as my outside expert would be a man that I met at a combine this summer who showed us some hints to help the athletes better their score. He has also created a video series that you can buy that helps kids train for the combine. Both men would be a great outside expert for me, however I feel that my speed trainer might be a little easier to be in contact with because he lives in Hampton whereas the other man lives in Ohio.
After all of that has been done then I can start putting together my senior project. This whole process shouldn't be to hard to do because I am very much into football and combines and have already attended many combines.
The research that will have to do for my senior project is first, I must find out exactly what events are tested, how they are tested, and why they are tested. After all of that, I have to record myself for each event and record my results.
The next step after I get all of my research done and recorded is to find out who I want for my outside expert. I already have a couple ideas of who I might want to ask to be my expert. Throughout the winter of 2012-2013, I went to a speed trainer in Hampton to help me with football and my combine testing scores. I was thinking about possibly having him as my outside expert. Another person that I could use as my outside expert would be a man that I met at a combine this summer who showed us some hints to help the athletes better their score. He has also created a video series that you can buy that helps kids train for the combine. Both men would be a great outside expert for me, however I feel that my speed trainer might be a little easier to be in contact with because he lives in Hampton whereas the other man lives in Ohio.
After all of that has been done then I can start putting together my senior project. This whole process shouldn't be to hard to do because I am very much into football and combines and have already attended many combines.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Stay with the old or bring in the new?
A question that I often find myself trying to answer lately is "Should I stay with the old or bring in the new?" This question refers to my car. I currently have a 2004 black Jeep Grand Cherokee sitting on 22 inch wheels with nice chrome rims on it. I am not sure if I should try to sell or trade it for a different car. The jeep that I have now is a very reliable car and there is nothing wrong with it. It has plenty of power with a 4.7 liter v8, it is a very safe vehicle because it was built up on a truck chasis, and it has minimal mileage on it for being a 2004 with just over 80,000 miles on it. It also has plenty of leg room for my friends when we all want to go some place together.
With nothing wrong with the Jeep then why would I want a new car you might ask? For me, the answer is because I like the idea of having a sudan or coupe that I can work on and modify. My ideal car that I would like to trade my Jeep in for is a 2003 blacked out Nissan 350z. There are many reasons why I would like this car; It would help me save a lot of money at the pump with 26 mpg instead of the 16 miles I am currently getting, it is a very small and quick car that would be fun to drive around in, it has an amazing sound system with massive built in speakers right behind the center console, I can do a lot to modify it and truly make it my own, and last of all, it looks gorgeous.
My ideal version of this car is blacked out. This means black rims, black tinted windows, and a black Nissan sign on both the front and back. Also, I would like it to be a standard with a short-throw shifter so that I can get even better fuel economy and so that it is easier to change the gears when I change them. Another thing that my dream 350z would have is a cold air intake because not only does it give you more torque and horsepower, it makes the car sound like an angry tiger roaring. For sound systems go in the car, the speakers in there are already superb but I would still like to put a subwoofer in next to the speaker behind the middle console so that I can turn the music up real loud when I'm with my friends and we want to blast some music.
My biggest concern with changing cars that I have is how exactly I should go about getting this 350z. There are a couple options that I can choose. I could either sell my jeep and take that money and use it to buy the Nissan or I could find a place that will do a trade in where I trade my jeep in for the Nissan. Once I find out which one will be the easiest and smallest strain on my wallet.
With nothing wrong with the Jeep then why would I want a new car you might ask? For me, the answer is because I like the idea of having a sudan or coupe that I can work on and modify. My ideal car that I would like to trade my Jeep in for is a 2003 blacked out Nissan 350z. There are many reasons why I would like this car; It would help me save a lot of money at the pump with 26 mpg instead of the 16 miles I am currently getting, it is a very small and quick car that would be fun to drive around in, it has an amazing sound system with massive built in speakers right behind the center console, I can do a lot to modify it and truly make it my own, and last of all, it looks gorgeous.
My ideal version of this car is blacked out. This means black rims, black tinted windows, and a black Nissan sign on both the front and back. Also, I would like it to be a standard with a short-throw shifter so that I can get even better fuel economy and so that it is easier to change the gears when I change them. Another thing that my dream 350z would have is a cold air intake because not only does it give you more torque and horsepower, it makes the car sound like an angry tiger roaring. For sound systems go in the car, the speakers in there are already superb but I would still like to put a subwoofer in next to the speaker behind the middle console so that I can turn the music up real loud when I'm with my friends and we want to blast some music.
My biggest concern with changing cars that I have is how exactly I should go about getting this 350z. There are a couple options that I can choose. I could either sell my jeep and take that money and use it to buy the Nissan or I could find a place that will do a trade in where I trade my jeep in for the Nissan. Once I find out which one will be the easiest and smallest strain on my wallet.
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Big Sean - Hall of Fame
Big Sean's new album "Hall of Fame" has definitely been his best album to date. His past albums such as "Finally Famous" and "Detroit" were good don't get me wrong, but "Hall of Fame" has really stepped his game up. Big Sean signed with Kanye West's GOOD Music in 2007 and then signed with Def Jams Recordings in 2008. Big Sean's debut studio album, "Finally Famous" was released on June 28th, 2011 and was very popular when it first came out. With hit singles like "Dance(A$$)"," My Last", and "Marvin & Chardonnay", Big Sean was recognized for the hip hop artist that he really is.
When he released his second studio album "Hall of Fame" many people were very excited due to the music that he produced in the past on the album "Finally Famous". With no surprise Big Sean, yet again, stepped up the rap game with the song "Control" (ft. Kendrick Lamar). As many of you may have seen, that song was trending on twitter for more than a week because of what it had done to the rap and hip hop game. Many artists were tweeting about how they have recognized Big Sean as the elite artist that he deserves to be called.
When he released his second studio album "Hall of Fame" many people were very excited due to the music that he produced in the past on the album "Finally Famous". With no surprise Big Sean, yet again, stepped up the rap game with the song "Control" (ft. Kendrick Lamar). As many of you may have seen, that song was trending on twitter for more than a week because of what it had done to the rap and hip hop game. Many artists were tweeting about how they have recognized Big Sean as the elite artist that he deserves to be called.
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