I don't get it. Skiing is a personal thing. You do it to make you happy. Now I talked with willem last year when this thread came out so this isn't aimed at you W.
You ski for yourself, when you start caring what other people are saying, doing or talking about you behind your back, you've lost that drive that is there to push you. I used to ski with a group of friends and we progressed every year, it was so much fun to ski. We all went our seperate ways and I lost the desire to ski. It took me a couple years to realize that I was skiing to get others approval and not for my own desire. Skiing is the cheapest form of therapy out there. well, snow for that matter is the cheapest form of therapy. Ski for yourself and you will have the best days you've ever had in your life. Ski to try to please people and you will drive yourself into the ground and burn out. Those of you that I talk to on the hill, You guys are the reason i'm out there. You guys having fun, progressing and just making laps with a big ass smile, that's why i'm on the hill getting paid jack squat doing what i'm doing. I ski for myself, but I work the parks so you guys will have something that you can go home at the end of the day and say damn, that was one of the best days all year. And until everyone realizes how trivial cliques are, how stupid rivalries are and how far you aren't pushing yourself because you are too worried about what joe schmoe over there is saying, then there will be alot of kids that won't be able to realize their full potential, and will just burn out and fade away. ( a hell of a run on sentance.) My two cents for the day. Stop by and say hi when you're on the hill. flame away.