A lot of heat has come down on Mary O’Neil lately about her commenting on the day-to-day life of pro skiers. This has generated hate by a lot of people. Some people, like Mr. Scofield, are sketched out by her and it is perfectly okay that they feel that way. It can be weird for someone you don’t know to suddenly take an interest in you and what you do. Look into the person and realize why she is doing it. Mary loves our sport and being a mother she realizes the stresses that everyone teenager goes through, including professional and amateur skiers.
Mary is one of the first people to bring much needed maternal support to park skiing. She is just being positive and has done nothing to try to harm skiers. She just wants to see skiers happier and doing what they love to do. Is there anything wrong with that? I know that many people that read this don’t want to even think of their parents when they ski. That is easy when it is just one or two days with no contact them, but when it is the eleventh hour on the last night of a 10+ day park shoot, it is a completely different situation.
I know I don’t have an orange name and I’m not a pro skier, but I know exactly who I am. I’ve been lucky enough to get on a couple of major photo shoots the last few seasons. And I have only been on large photo shoots; I’ve never been on the other trips that consume most skiers’ winter. I Haven’t actually missed my parents on twenty something days of park shots in the last two winters, but it is always great to have someone to be able to talk to who is off the shoot and able to listen and give me advice through stressful times on the shoots.
On last years shoot, I didn’t call my parents at all, but I texted them every day keeping them in touch with what was happening on the shoot. Photo shoots are different than filming with your friends on weekends. The features are larger, the chance of injury is greater, and there is a lot of pressure. Being able to talk to your parents in situations like this is so comforting. During the shoot last April, I knew my parents were over 2,000 miles away, but I knew that they were there if I needed support or if I just wanted to get something off my mind. I know and knew that maternal and paternal figures are great for skiers because they will try to help you unconditionally. Having someone always available to turn and talk to through the tough stressful times is so comforting especially on the seventh or eighth day of a ten day shoot when everyone is getting tired and antsy.
This year when I went on shoot, I didn’t tell my parents because I was skipping nine school days to do so. There were times when I wanted to text them about how I had escaped injury when I put a snowmobile into a tree or how I somehow made my connection on O’Hare but I didn’t feel like I could. When I was getting stressed about not being able to keep up with homework because of all the time spent shooting. On the ninth day of this years shoot, my dad found out where I was and was stoked for me. I was able to tell him about all of the highs and lows I’ve had on the shoot. He was there for me and supportive of my decisions. It was a relief to know that my parents were there for me even though I was doing something I didn’t think that they would be too happy about. It was at that moment that I learned how important it is to be able to talk to my parents. Knowing someone is there for you no matter what is a great feeling. In the Mary situation, shunning someone who is willing do be there for you is a dick move if you have ever been in a situation where it is hard to find support.
It is perfectly okay if you don’t want to deal with Mary or those like her on your facebook. You can unfriend her or profile blocker. She doesn’t have to be in your life if you don’t want her to. Openly hating on her isn’t the right thing to do because some people, like me, are stoked to see someone who is there to try to calm the stresses that happen in the ski industry. I have never met Mary and I doubt she knows who I am but I am appreciating and respectful of what she is doing. So I ask the people of NS to chill out, you guys might not have been in a situation where a Mary figure can help you out but there are some of us out there that are stoked on what she is doing.
Some of you guys may not understand the importance of an older person being there to talk to. That is why I hope Papasteeze will shed more light on this topic even though some of you aren't ready to accept what information he has. He is a parent and sees the skiers in skiing from a view that 98+% of us can’t see. He has been supportive of Mary in every post he has made about her, realize this, he understands that what she is doing for skiing is great.