What should i expect? first season of freestyle.

S

steezy_doge

Member
so, i am a very comfortable skier all over the mountain and i am comfortable ripping groomers and dropping 10ft+ cliffs i love skiing and i feel like i need to expand my horizons and try to learn some park (i have been interested in park forever).

Anyways i am joining a ski club because i think that would help for learning stuff especially your first year trying stuff and i was wondering how much should i expect to learn in my first season of park? i dont want to come in thinking im gonna dub cork as soon as i get in there so whats hould i expect to learn i am thinking i might learn 360's 540's lip on maybe 270 on if im good and adding grabs to a 360. is this to much to ask for? or will i be able to learn this in a breeze?

thanks +k
 
13209230:B.Gillis said:
Everyone progresses differently, it's all up to how far you're willing to push yourself and get over the fears of falling.

That being said, learn how to fall because it happens alot
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how exactly do this art form called "fall-ing"
 
Honestly its how much you put into it. Once you get to the point were you don't care what other people think and your not afraid to fall, you will progress a lot faster. I would say if you do this you could easily learn 3's, rails to switch, possibly pretzels, and surface slides on boxes.
 
13209235:steezy_doge said:
how exactly do this art form called "fall-ing"
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Trampoline helps a lot. It develops your air awareness meaning that when you do take a fall you might be able to control it instead of just flailing like a mad man and not fall in a super awkward position. Learn to do all sorts of flips and rotations on the trampoline in both directions.

Really though falling is mainly luck. Sometimes you can have a really small crash and it hurts super bad and sometimes you can have a massive crash that doesn't hurt that bad at all.
 
Give yourself goals i guess but don't expect much. Use this first season to discover what you're most comfortable with and then start to develop your skills.

You might learn backflips before 360s and stuff like that. You dont really know what to expect and thats the fun of it.

(typed on mobile)
 
The best advice i can give is to find someone who knows their shit and can give you advice on the spot. It really helps to be able to know what went wrong/right and be told what to do face to face. Being from Illinois, I still don't know anyone besides my younger brother who knows anything about park skiing so when I started skiing I didn't know where to start and progressed slowly for the first season because of it. I was afraid of falling and I learned mostly from watching "how-to" videos. Now I have progressed normally and consider myself pretty good, but i definitely would be better if I had a friend who had kinda coached me. Because you are joining club, there should be someone there who you could talk to and ask questions so try to ski with them as much as you can and you should have an easier time.
 
Skiing is about having fun man! Don't worry about how much you learn, worry about having a good time because if you push yourself too much you may not enjoy it.

That said, in my first season I got comfortable with little airs, boxes boardslide and switch out, skiing switch, 180s and 3s.

Also, style>tricks, so if you can do a really steezy layed out 5 blunt it will look better than a boner-style 7.

Good luck, have fun!
 
Set your expectations realistically. If you set them too high too will be disappointed when the season ends. If you set them to low, you wont progress a whole lot. Last year was my first season focusing only on park. I could throw a weird 360 and had a good sense of air awareness (came from a mogul/racing background). But i also skied with kids who would push me to try any new trick. And i progressed more in the last month and a half of skiing, than i had in my entire life.
 
Expect a lot of bruises coming back from the slopes. Last year was my first real park season, and I definitely got destroyed every day on the slopes, but I progressed so much quicker just by going for it. If you want to land a trick, go for it and commit 100%, and you will be getting good in no time. Hope you have a killer season!
 
My three tips for you,

1. expect a lot of shit from other people, People are always saying "Oh that kid sucks hes such a gaper" But you have to ignore it and then when your better than them you can say how they never helped you.

2. You have to commit 100% I usually dont and it takes forever to learn tricks.

3. dont go in with high expectations and get pissed when you dont achieve those goals. Every week focus on learning a new trick and keep working on old tricks so you never forget old tricks.
 
expect to suck the first few times going out but you will get the hang of it. find a buddy to give you tips and it will help out so much. just go out to have fun and you will do fine
 
I have friends film me when hitting a rail or new trick on a jump so i can watch it and see what i did wrong. (missed my grab, didn't pop enough)
 
Expect to fall. Expect to be sore. Expect it to not be as easy as you might think(but it's also not as hard as you might think.) Expect bruises, ice rash, etc. Be prepared to fall in front of people better than you, and be okay with it. Seriously, it's possible you'll fall and someone is going to be an asshole about it. Don't let it get to you. Everyone learned at one point, so just keep doing you.

Have fun with it though. Don't push yourself so hard that you get frustrated and regret being there. Stay motivated and progression will come.

Joining a club would be a really good idea. Also, a lot of people on the mountain will help you if you ask. I'd also recommend learning park etiquette and starting in your mountains progression/beginner park if there is one.
 
Try to hang around a group thats better than you and is doing laps in the park. Skiing with people better than you help you progress way faster. Also that way you won't have people laughing at you when you fall. Regardless if you get into a group or just ski alone for a bit, disregard anyone that trys to be an asshole about you falling. Just do you, have a great season. Good Luck!
 
Here's whats to be expected: Lots of confusion of how the hell to do any trick, LOTS of falling/crashing/hurting and with this lots of getting back up and trying again. If at first you don't succeed try try again.
 
Just don't be afraid, if you have a trick you want to do thats realistic, go for it. Also make sure you have fun, skiing isn't about competition, its about having fun.
 
People underestimate the importance of actually learning how to hit a decent size jump.

Before you hop straight into trying to spin off the little trainer kickers, I'd suggest getting comfortable with air awareness. When I started riding park i instantly wanted to throw a 360 off a 4 foot lip. Arms flailing everywhere.. If i could go back and try again, I'd get more comfortable getting myself up there. Take some tips from those around you. I see too many people new to the park hitting jumps with straight knees looking all silly. Let your hips float you off the lip. It's all about getting a feel for the transition and being comfortable with how it will push you outward. that goes for everything from the 60ft+ gaps to trannies into boxes. Don't get insecure about trying to get comfortable. Everyone has to start somewhere

But in all reality, DO THE SWITCHES GET THE BITCHES..

My2 cents.
 
Expect to have fun, fall, land tricks, get frustrated, some pain, some smiles etc.

Idk. Just do it.

I think you're just excited for the winter which errbody is but there's nothing really to say. Just bump some tunes, cruise with friends and have fun. Be realistic about your expectations but don't be afraid to set some goals and push yourself to achieve them.

There is a lot you need to learn in terms of balance on rails, in the air etc. When you get that down to muscle memory a lot of skiing is just balls. Obviously the more you do it the easier things get but if you're willing to push yourself and try a few tricks with friends once in a while you're progress much faster.

Either way as long as you're having fun it doesn't really matter. I just got back into skiing last season after 10+ years of strictly knuckle dragging. I'm bad but I love it.

Have fun man
 
Im in the same boat man, just bought my first pair of twin tips and am ready for the ups and downs. I'm going to build a jib in my yard to help me progress faster seeing as I can only get on the mountain during the weekends.

The stoke is real -I'm itching to rip
 
13210650:hamman said:
Im in the same boat man, just bought my first pair of twin tips and am ready for the ups and downs. I'm going to build a jib in my yard to help me progress faster seeing as I can only get on the mountain during the weekends.

The stoke is real -I'm itching to rip
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haha yup this is me to
 
Crap I should have read this topic before posting mine. I'm in a similar situation, but wondering if my age is holding me back - but then again I'm only 24... fear of falling/breaking stuff is killing it for me too.
 
My first year doing Park (last year). I could do 360 tail grabs 540s and any boxes and 270s out of boxes and surface swaps on boxes. I was to pushy to do rails but yesterday, my first day of the season I got all the rails at killi, even the DFD
 
13211821:Mr.noodle said:
My first year doing Park (last year). I could do 360 tail grabs 540s and any boxes and 270s out of boxes and surface swaps on boxes. I was to pushy to do rails but yesterday, my first day of the season I got all the rails at killi, even the DFD
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nice! also was the 360's like whurly birds or were they actually like normal? video would be awesome :D
 
13212001:steezy_doge said:
nice! also was the 360's like whurly birds or were they actually like normal? video would be awesome :D
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I don't know what you mean by that but I have videos on my instagram. It is jack.lena15
 
I'm 22, first park season was last year... I spent the whole summer watching n's edits so I should be able to throw some doubles right?

Lol just kidding but the stoke is too real right now. 2 more weeks!!
 
Definitely don't be afraid of falling dude. The biggest part of my learning was getting over the fear of bailing. if you get messed up you get messed up its a part of the game. Also, just push yourself to do it. you don't get better unless you try.
 
topic:steezy_doge said:
so, i am a very comfortable skier all over the mountain and i am comfortable ripping groomers and dropping 10ft+ cliffs i love skiing and i feel like i need to expand my horizons and try to learn some park (i have been interested in park forever).

Anyways i am joining a ski club because i think that would help for learning stuff especially your first year trying stuff and i was wondering how much should i expect to learn in my first season of park? i dont want to come in thinking im gonna dub cork as soon as i get in there so whats hould i expect to learn i am thinking i might learn 360's 540's lip on maybe 270 on if im good and adding grabs to a 360. is this to much to ask for? or will i be able to learn this in a breeze?

thanks +k
Click to expand...

You are ambitious, which is a good thing with park, for me rails do not come easily and I think it is this case with others and probably with you, don't get discouraged if you end up spending a whole day in park and not stomping a whole lot. I suggest riding with friends and just having a good time. It's also better to not set expectations for yourself, I find that I just show up that day and decide at the top of my line what to throw instead of physcing myself out before I even get to the mountain By thinking about my trick. You also sound like a pretty well rounded skier, and for many years I was similar to that, lots of bc, groomers, just general shredding, then i got bored and decided to throw some stuff in park and see where it took me, it has turned out well so far. Try and learn 3's and stuff on natural features like cat tracks or off of lips on the off piste then take it to park. Hope this helps, cheers man!
 
13212754:gengar. said:
my number one rule is don't let the douchebags get you down
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yeah there tends to be alot of those. im worried people wil say i suck or laugh at me and stuff :/ or be like "wow that kid has nice equipment but sucks" the reason i have nice equipment though is because i ski all the time just not in the park
 
13209230:B.Gillis said:
Everyone progresses differently, it's all up to how far you're willing to push yourself and get over the fears of falling.

That being said, learn how to fall because it happens alot
Click to expand...

thanks for the help !!
 
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