I am not impressed by pre-teens who slay

[03gade]

Nico Porteous is the latest SuperUnknown semi-finalist. He is 13. Is it a good edit, sure, but it is mostly held up by the fact that people (such as Bobby Brown on facebook) make a big deal about the age, which happens all the time in action sports.

Being young is not a disadvantage, it is an advantage. Smaller kids have a much lower swing weight which helps in all sorts of aerial maneuvers, not to mention the shorter and lighter skis that come with their size and the less reach they need to perform a grab. Plus if you started skiing at 3, there's not a huge time to learn advantage over older skiers. A decade of 30 days a year is plenty time to dial tricks.

This shows up most prominently in the Xgames Megaramp. There's a reason 13-15 year olds are dominating the X-games big air these days, and why Tom Schaar can do a 1080 while Bob Burnquist cant.

 

[eheath]

I disagree with you to a point. Ski babies just have no fear so they huck dubs, land them and build confidence.

The smaller thing isn't really an advantage in my eyes, its a disadvantage. Less strength, less momentum (i.e. kelly sildiru not clearing dew tour jumps).

Younger kids are usually much less consistent as well, one thing to consider as well.

 

[mikemurda]

What I hate about those kids is that they skip wayyyyy too many stages...and this will eventually kill freeskiing if the youth never learn the basics of the sport. my opinion.

 

[03gade]

I disagree with you to a point. Ski babies just have no fear so they huck dubs, land them and build confidence.

The smaller thing isn't really an advantage in my eyes, its a disadvantage. Less strength, less momentum (i.e. kelly sildiru not clearing dew tour jumps).

Younger kids are usually much less consistent as well, one thing to consider as well.

I would still say the smaller size lands on the side of an advantage, but the lack of momentum is a drawback. Less fear is another thing going in their favor, which I didn't think about. Either way, it at least comes up even, and really not all that special.

 

[firecrotch]

I get stoked when I see young kids throwing down, its just more people having fun on snow, ya know?

 

[kemosabe]

OP youre just sad that 12 year olds can dub while you can't. Stop hating, you should be impressed, it is impressive while even some pros cannot dub 12

younger kids do have an advantage of having no fear because they may have not ever experienced a serious injury, but it is outweighed by their disadvantage of weight and body strength. being able to stomp dubs with 70lbs of body weight is more difficult than older people w/ more developed bodies that have equal training practice

 

[gotti]

op still hasnt realized hes not special

 

[NMMedia]

What I hate about those kids is that they skip wayyyyy too many stages...and this will eventually kill freeskiing if the youth never learn the basics of the sport. my opinion.

What do you mean they skip too many stages? All the little shredders I know that slay started skiing when they were like 3 or 4. They could all shred all mtn before they started skiing park. How is it going to kill freeskiing? If anything it'll progress the sport, the earlier you learn the farther you can take it.

 

[Burgy]

dont hate on the kid, it not any easier to do ski for the little dudes, sure kids have lighter equipment, but they are also not as strong as the older guys. also i bet it takes balls for kids to compete against guys sometimes twice their age. the sad part is that there are probably a lot of kids that you never hear about, who have carrier ending injuries before the reach 18.

that being said i do think there should be something like a supper unknown junior, because it is kinda unfair if guys in his late 20's (whos been trying to make it his who carrier) gets beat by an up and coming kid (whos gona get discovered anyways when he hits puberty).

 

[Rusticles]

What I hate about those kids is that they skip wayyyyy too many stages...and this will eventually kill freeskiing if the youth never learn the basics of the sport. my opinion.

What do you mean they skip too many stages? All the little shredders I know that slay started skiing when they were like 3 or 4. They could all shred all mtn before they started skiing park. How is it going to kill freeskiing? If anything it'll progress the sport, the earlier you learn the farther you can take it.

Fuck me not another person bitching that they need to be able to ski everywhere before they get in the park. NMMedia has it right, these kids, usually already can shred everywhere, they just prefer the park and even if they aren't able to completely shred the whole mountain they probably could figure it out quickly if they weren't so busy progressing the park scene.

Being lighter I think hurts them more than helps them, however they don't get hurt as bad from falls.

The biggest thing I find with these little kids is they have no care in the world, the older you get the more responsibilities or troubles you have to get out as much. when your 17-18-19-20 you don't necessarily have the time to get out as much or have outside influences crowding your skiing.

 

[YUNG_milksteAk]

Young kids killing it is awesome to see. Only things that I dislike are parents that push their kids into stuff, (heard a dad telling his son he's HAS to do a dub) and kids who only do jump tricks.( saw a comp run of sliding rails with no tricks, and then a dub 12).

 

[theabortionator]

Not really. On rails it's an advantage because it's hard to get off balance at that height. Clearing jumps can be a problem. I remember an age where I'd be sitting on my board trying to get speed and still casing the big jumps sometimes.

Actually even remember shawn white when he was 13 in xgames slopestyle casing jumps. He just couldn't get enough speed to clear some of the big stuff with his weight.

Just sounds like jealously imo.

Granted I'm def jealous of the opportunity kids have, I skied for 10 years or so before I rode a park regularly. Usually got to hit a park 1-3 times a year if I was lucky, and the parks weren't anything like what they were today. I was building all kinds of stuff in my yard, dropping off my picnic table, eventually building jumps all over the mountain every day to shred.

Now kids have amazing parks that progress from super entry level to XL, a lot of content out there with the big contests, online stuff, tutorials,etc. But I think that I'm far more stoked for them than jealous. It's amazing to see that the sport is not only still around, but how much it has grown.

I worked at 1 hill for 3 years that had a lot of kids after school every night. It was awesome to watch people go from first year skiing park at 11-12 to throwing front 4's out of rails my last year there.

I'm riding like garbage right now but at least I get to build stuff from the up and comers to shred and learn new tricks.

No need for jealously. Just be stoked that these kids are out there killing it.

/too many words

 

[John18_6]

I witnessed an 11 year old send his first nosebutter cork 7 off a small jump to a flat landing of pure ice in subzero temps. Learned 450 ons to a flat rail like a week later. Kids at that age don't have fear while I stop skiing if conditions are too icy, and I'm not even old.

 

[Rusticles]

Young kids killing it is awesome to see. Only things that I dislike are parents that push their kids into stuff, (heard a dad telling his son he's HAS to do a dub) and kids who only do jump tricks.( saw a comp run of sliding rails with no tricks, and then a dub 12).

HaHa, that sounds like me, never had much interest in improving on rails or even hitting them, if they're on the way to a jump maybe but other than that not too interested.

But if you wanna do well in contests gotta be well rounded.

 

[jakeordie]

Smaller kids have a much lower swing weight which helps in all sorts of aerial maneuvers, not to mention the shorter and lighter skis that come with their size and the less reach they need to perform a grab.

Nah dude, everything works the same relative to them being smaller.....except the features. Imagine that last hit when you're only 4 feet tall that's wild. In a few years that kid will murder everything.

 

[roddy116]

I often wonder if these kids will do the same tricks that there doing now when there 18 or so.

 

[Thom4s]

I think years of experience beats "swing weight" any day. I saw the edit and the kid is pretty damn good. Granted he probably gets to ski breck every day but he's amazing for his age.

 

[jd_1260]

Nah dude, everything works the same relative to them being smaller.....except the features. Imagine that last hit when you're only 4 feet tall that's wild. In a few years that kid will murder everything.

Only thing is much lower center of gravity helps keep them balanced and easier to recover from losing balance. That being said though young kids don't have strength to recover so the real advantage is just the lower centre of gravity keeping them easier balanced(especially on flip and spin tricks, or staying on rails.)

And when I was a pre teen growing up at whistler the two kids close to my age killing it in the park were kye Peterson and Sean Pettit. Had the pleasure of skiing with the pettits a fair amount at a young age and they've been killing it their whole lives. As long as they stay focused and commitment these kids will keep growing into tomorrow's stars.

 

[Pipe_Munky]

OP just butthurt that little kids are better than him!

 

[Pipe_Munky]

OP just butthurt that little kids are better than him!

 

[Cyanicenine]

I think people are forgetting the real advantage younger kids have: No Responsibilities.

The older you get the more it becomes a balancing act to try and manage school, work, everyday life problems and still find time to go to the mountain.

Even if you are 15 or 16 living at home with your parents generously financing your skiing you have way more obligations at that age then you do at age 11.

It's this reason that I have slightly more respect for the older ski bums 18+ that are living out of a van eating dry ramen in the mountain parking lot. They are making huge sacrifices to do what they love. 11 year old timmy throwing dubs already isn't sacrificing jack. His parents are making it all happen for him, and he's too young yet to have huge life responsibilities.

 

[fresh_prince]

I find that some younger kids can throw down, but have no style what so ever.

 

[goat00]

wow... the only advantage is you dont get broken off as easily. they still have to learn everything they do... i smell a big ol jar of JELLY...

 

[histonskiah]

They do not have much of an advantage besides maybe being small helps sometimes for tricks. However without as much practice and experience it makes it a lot harder for them. Its pretty hard to just grab a pair of skis and progress like crazy in a couple years. It usually takes time.

 

[theabortionator]

I think people are forgetting the real advantage younger kids have: No Responsibilities.

The older you get the more it becomes a balancing act to try and manage school, work, everyday life problems and still find time to go to the mountain.

Even if you are 15 or 16 living at home with your parents generously financing your skiing you have way more obligations at that age then you do at age 11.

It's this reason that I have slightly more respect for the older ski bums 18+ that are living out of a van eating dry ramen in the mountain parking lot. They are making huge sacrifices to do what they love. 11 year old timmy throwing dubs already isn't sacrificing jack. His parents are making it all happen for him, and he's too young yet to have huge life responsibilities.

Idk. If you love something it's not that hard to pursue. This is season 13 of working at ski areas for me. I'm slowing down because of injuries but still getting on the snow a lot. If you can get on your board 120+ days in a year, have food to eat, and a place to lay your head, what else is there?

I don't feel like I'm sacrificing shit. Sure I don't spend a lot of money, I don't drive an expensive car, and my living situation can be ghetto at times, but I would feel like I was sacrificing if I was working a "real job" living in some house with a nice car and barely getting to the mountain.

It's all about what you love. I've got a hotel room hear but a few of my friends here are in vans and rvs in parking lots. The lack of a toilet is a downside but other than that fuck it.

Sure my body doesn't recover from injuries like it used to, and I'm not shredding very hard but I still feel I have the same mindset toward the sport as I did when I was a kid. Get out there and shred.

There are some little rippers coming through the small park where I work with their dad. I just get stoked seeing people have that much fun in the sport we love. To hate on it would just be stupid.

Young, old, whatever get the fuck out there and shred. Saw a dude on a sit ski tearing up some steeps the other day, I guy with one leg getting his bounce in them turns, the blind skiers out there, it's all about the shred.

 

[Pac2]

It's not that I don't agree with you but I think that when your young not only are you not as strong as let say a 17 year old but you don't have that testosterone drive that makes you hit big shit.

 

[HeathR]

Being young is not a disadvantage, it is an advantage. Smaller kids have a much lower swing weight which helps in all sorts of aerial maneuvers, not to mention the shorter and lighter skis that come with their size and the less reach they need to perform a grab. Plus if you started skiing at 3, there's not a huge time to learn advantage over older skiers. A decade of 30 days a year is plenty time to dial tricks.

Most of your arguments make apsolutley no sense. They have less swing weight but also less muscle to initiate spins. Yes they have smaller and lighter skis but they are smaller and lighter. Its proportional. Their skis are probably actually heavier as a percentage of their body weight. Its the same thing with grabs. They might not have to reach as far but they have shorter arms.

There is no way its physically easier for a 13 year old than someone who is 18.

 

[NMMedia]

Not really. On rails it's an advantage because it's hard to get off balance at that height.

I would disagree with this. One of the first things you learn when you teach skiing is that young kids have a hard time balancing. It has nothing to do with skill, and everything to do with the fact they are mis-proportioned. At a young age children's heads are larger in comparison to their body than an adults, this brings their center of mass higher. So where an adults center of mass is probably a little lower than chest height. A child's is brought up high on their chest, approaching shoulder height, so they actually have a harder time maintaining balance.

 

[theabortionator]

I would disagree with this. One of the first things you learn when you teach skiing is that young kids have a hard time balancing. It has nothing to do with skill, and everything to do with the fact they are mis-proportioned. At a young age children's heads are larger in comparison to their body than an adults, this brings their center of mass higher. So where an adults center of mass is probably a little lower than chest height. A child's is brought up high on their chest, approaching shoulder height, so they actually have a harder time maintaining balance.

Maybe for skiing I guess. I didn't have rails to hit on skis until I was older. Snowboarding it's definitely easier when you're smaller.

 

[KravtZ]

The level that kid is slaying at is unreal especially for his age let alone any age. You can't get that good wihout being a good skier in most disciplines. I would hope he has some amazing all mountain skills.

I would agree with you in general OP though...most of the younger generation who focuses on park (usually aren't even that good) are the ones killing the sport. I hate watching some kid throw a half decent park run and then make the sloppiest turns down the hill and act like they are the shit.

 

[theabortionator]

The level that kid is slaying at is unreal especially for his age let alone any age. You can't get that good wihout being a good skier in most disciplines. I would hope he has some amazing all mountain skills.

I would agree with you in general OP though...most of the younger generation who focuses on park (usually aren't even that good) are the ones killing the sport. I hate watching some kid throw a half decent park run and then make the sloppiest turns down the hill and act like they are the shit.

I like that some programs require a year of racing or work on some basic ski fundamentals in addition to just park skiing. I don't care if you're just shredding the park, you should have some idea how to fucking ski.

 

[marrows]

Nico Porteous is the latest SuperUnknown semi-finalist. He is 13. Is it a good edit, sure, but it is mostly held up by the fact that people (such as Bobby Brown on facebook) make a big deal about the age, which happens all the time in action sports.

Being young is not a disadvantage, it is an advantage. Smaller kids have a much lower swing weight which helps in all sorts of aerial maneuvers, not to mention the shorter and lighter skis that come with their size and the less reach they need to perform a grab. Plus if you started skiing at 3, there's not a huge time to learn advantage over older skiers. A decade of 30 days a year is plenty time to dial tricks.

This shows up most prominently in the Xgames Megaramp. There's a reason 13-15 year olds are dominating the X-games big air these days, and why Tom Schaar can do a 1080 while Bob Burnquist cant.

since when is 13 pre teen mongo

 

[Young_Spicoli]

one word. balls.

 

[YUNG_milksteAk]

since when is 13 pre teen mongo

What a brotendo

 

[Bogs]

Plus if you started skiing at 3, there's not a huge time to learn advantage over older skiers. A decade of 30 days a year is plenty time to dial tricks.

I think you're vastly over-estimating the coordination and strength possessed by 3, 4, and 5 year olds. At least, I don't know many 3 year olds who are capable of hitting legitimate jumps, let alone throwing tricks off of them.

 

[John18_6]

I'm 12 and can 180. sponsr me woo tang?

 

[03gade]

The level that kid is slaying at is unreal especially for his age let alone any age. You can't get that good wihout being a good skier in most disciplines. I would hope he has some amazing all mountain skills.

I would agree with you in general OP though...most of the younger generation who focuses on park (usually aren't even that good) are the ones killing the sport. I hate watching some kid throw a half decent park run and then make the sloppiest turns down the hill and act like they are the shit.

I don't even comprehend how this is possible, but I know it happens. I feel like you need to ski well just to drop in and out of a jump effectively. If you can't ski well, I definitely feel you should work on your fundamentals first. Enjoy the base sport before taking it to the next level.

I started park because I got bored with east coast mountains. Thankfully, I feel the majority of people in the park are in the same predicament. They ski too well to be entertained by run of the mill groomers.

 

[notjason]

What I hate about those kids is that they skip wayyyyy too many stages...and this will eventually kill freeskiing if the youth never learn the basics of the sport. my opinion.

This doesn't make any sense. Not every young skier is going to be a park rat, maybe the ones that don't have access to big mountain terrain, but I learned to ski when I was 2, and most of my friends learned pretty early too, parks were available when we were learning to ski yet we still stick to freeskiing.