Why I Choose Snowboarding

Many people ask me from time to time why I chose snowboarding as the sport that I want to do. Why I decided to work so hard at it and achieved a degree of success. The answer is simple: many people do well in different sports. The answer is desire and love for the sport; that is what I had in abundance for snowboarding before my accident.

When choosing a sport, I thought long and hard when I went to a cross-road in my life. What should I do? Should I do snowboarding or skateboarding? This was hard for me as I loved both sports, but I had to train for them and therefore wasn't dedicating enough time to either. That is why when it came down to it, I decided that skateboarding was only going to be a hobby and that snowboarding was what I wanted to do with my life. The reasons that I preferred snowboarding were not clear-cut, and saying I had nothing less than a love for skateboarding is also not true. But I think I loved how snowboarding was a whole different world. Do you know what I mean?

When you choose to go skateboarding, you can jump out of bed, skateboard down to the shop, Ollie over a step, and grind down a pole. Is that fun? Yes, of course, it is. But when it comes to snowboarding, you are entering a completely alien environment. Let me explain. When you live in Atlanta, you hardly get snow every day of the week, nor do you get hills and slaloms caked in it! That is why the feeling is the same whether I am boarding on snow or artificial snow. It is like, boy, I am on snow!

When I chose snowboarding, there was also another reason that helped to make my mind up for me, and that was my friends! My friends who did skateboarding were not as close friends as those who did snowboarding; as you can imagine, this had an impact. The thought of spending more time with Collin, Justin, and the lads was just too much to miss out on! We had such a good laugh and had so much in common.

We would always feel the same about snowboarding, and we were able to help each other out on issues. When we noticed a flaw in each other's technique, we would always point it out to each other so that we could all improve together. This worked great and was one of the reasons that I chose snowboarding over skateboarding when it came down to it!

Now I suppose I should tell you the sad part - why I can no longer pursue a career in snowboarding or skateboarding. This terrible accident ruptured my leg muscle and resulted in a six-month time-out at such a crucial time. You see, others will improve in fitness while I deteriorate, which is why my sponsor has also dropped me. I hope to try my best to get back into the sport because my love for it and my ability at it should be enough to make me come through.

Collin and Justin are doing well, but it is hard for me to spend as much time with them when they are always down the slope or working out. One of my friends, Blair, has also recently won the Junior USA championship, and although I am happy for him, it makes me sad to think that I could have been there competing for that trophy. All I can do is try my best, and hopefully, luck will fall on my side.