Summer Camps are going on all over the country and our ladies crew is coaching all over the country. Lil’ Kim Kirch was out at the Kansas City Watersports teaching an all girls Wakeboard Camp with Melissa Marquardt at the beginning of June. Team skier Ashley Battersby will be out at Windell’s all summer. And team rider Erika Vikander just made her way out to Hood, but not before making a stop at Woodward at Copper to coach the adult session.
Over the past couple months I have been looking forward to being a “guest pro” for Woodward at Copper’s first session sponsored by angrysnowboarder.com. So when June 13th rolled around, I was more than ready to hop in the car and drive to Summit County for adult week at Woodward.
The campers arrived on June 14th and had the day to settle before a welcome dinner that evening. After the dinner the wonderful staff at woodward took the time to walk everyone through the facility and the schedule for the next day. I am still in awe as to what an state-of-the-art facility they have to offer. With real snow jumps, and an airbag outside, to multiple trampolines, foam pits, and snowflex jumps in the barn, Woodward offers a variation of features for all ability levels.
The following morning was the first day on snow, the excitement was in the air as we all loaded up the buses after breakfast, which was supplied all week including lunch and dinner! (Thanks Woodward!) When we got to the snow, we had a little time to check out the features and decide whether or not we wanted to hike, or take car laps, I opted to take advantage of the car laps and not tire myself out hiking in the hot sun. First day was pretty mellow as everyone was getting their legs back, and I had some work to get accomplished as well. I showed up to camp with several awesome products from my sponsors; NICHE SNOWBOARDS, GATORADE, AND AKINZ to give to the campers. Niche had given me a snowboard to specifically give to the girl I thought deserved it the most, and I had already made a decision the first day. Just as anxious as the rest of the campers, I had trouble sleeping that night and couldn’t wait to get back on snow the following day.
We woke to a beautiful sunny morning. With the sun dancing on the iridescent mountain-tops it was one of the most inviting spectacles I have ever seen. Fifteen minutes later I arrived back at breakfast got my coffee and was back on the bus being shuttled to the hill. There were a couple of other invited pro’s there, and I had the chance to get to ride with those guys, which was awesome! Woodward was also flexible enough to let me interact as much or as little with the campers, and especially the female campers. I gave pointers where I could, but most of the girls were separated into all male groups, so I went around to the girls and let them know that the following day we were having an all girls group and it was ON!
Before leaving on Thursday, myself and the two other male snowboard pro’s were invited to stay after the campers left and have a private photoshoot in the park. We were all so excited to just be able to ride without a lot of people there, but we also got snowmobile laps on the park! What an end to an already amazing day. WOODWARD you really outdid yourselves there! And a huge shoutout to RYAN SABOL for taking great shots! That evening there were some fun activities geared towards the adult campers, I came out and spectated for a while at the beer pong tournament, we had some fun!
Friday was the last day of camp, although the spirits were up, the mutual feeling about camp being
over was a sad one. Determined to make sure the girls specifically had a good time, I grabbed each one from their separate groups, and formed our own. I wanted to work, but also make it fun for the girls, so I told them that I would give them each prize packages for really trying new things. Every single girl in my group took at least 3 huge steps up their personal ladders, which is more than any coach can ask for. The looks on their faces at the end of the day was priceless, and it feels awesome to get people stoked on something you truly love as well. The day flew by, and we barely had enough time to hit the jump, before we started the highest high-five contest for the entire camp. Everyone participated and had so much fun, the pictures will justify.
After the on-snow session we came down to “The Edge,” to have lunch, and do the giveaways. I had prize packages put together for all the girls, and the seemed pretty stoked! I had one snowboard to give to a girl, as well as Scott having bindings and boots to giveaway. Lisa Collier was a camper in my group from New York who clearly deserved a new setup, she had a great attitude, and was riding a setup straight from 1997. Upon receiving her new setup, she wasn’t sure what to do, cry, laugh, jump, scream, or just stand there in total disbelief. In the end she was so excited and it was rad to see what an impact you can make on someone’s life. Around the same time we had cases of Gatorade show up for the campers and staff to enjoy… Thanks Tera!
Hope everyone had as much fun as me and comes back for the Angrysnowboarder.com session at Woodward at Copper! THANKS ESPECIALLY TO AVRAN, GATORADE,NICHE, AKINZ AND OF COURSE WOODWARD FOR HAVING ME!
The contest didn’t start until about 3:30 after we had about thirty minutes to practice. Trying not to get too wet or wear myself out, I only hit it twice during practice to feel the speed.The girls were all grouped together, in the 3rd heat, so we had a while to hang out and socialize. I spent most of my time with Janessa and her boyfriend and fellow Shred Betties team rider Randa Shahin. Between the crowd, the setup, and those two girls my spirits were high and I was ready to get out onto the course.
