Taught a Friend’s Kid & Learned to Ride Switch (Day 49)

I taught a friend’s eight-year-old kid to snowboard three times this season. The first time, he refused to do anything I asked him. His reason was, “I can’t.” He was lacking confidence. I didn’t let him off the hook. I reassured him that he could do it if he followed my instructions.

He didn’t get very far. He made himself fall as soon as the board went straight down. The good thing was he did not give up. The second time, which was a few weeks later, he tried again. He made some progress, but he still made himself fall. I advised him to ride with the board instead of falling to stop himself. The third time, he managed to stay on his board throughout the green run. He couldn’t turn yet, but he enjoyed riding down at his own pace.

Coaching him had taught me about myself. Patience was the key, especially with kids who didn’t have too much confidence in themselves. I didn’t push him, but I had to be firm with him. Too bad the season is over, but he will continue next season.

While I was coaching him on, I switched it up. I normally rode goofy with both of my bindings set forward (positive/positive) so I could carve. Riding regular with a negative-negative setting was quite awkward, but I was making progress. I need to change my bindings to a duck stance to ride regular. I might use Ðạo’s board to learn switch. I got him a used board to learn. He hadn’t made much progress on snowboarding. He still can’t turn yet. He only spent two times this season snowboarding and the rest of the time skiing. That’s cool with me as long as he’s out there skiing.

He didn’t want me to coach him snowboarding. He wanted to learn on his own. I had people who paid high prices for me to teach them, and yet my own kid wouldn’t let me teach him for free. My kids don’t appreciate the privileges they have. Not too many kids can go skiing and riding for free whenever they want. Not too many parents can afford lessons, lift tickets, and rentals. I take care of their gears so that they will have a great experience on the slopes. And yet, they take all of these for granted. They would rather sit in front of their screens than roaming around the big mountains. That’s their choice now. All I can do is provide them the opportunity.