Snowboard Jr Ski Program

BLUE

This level would be for all snowboarders who can make dynamic turns on green/blue terrain, easily control speed on flats and is developing skills on black diamond terrain. An all-mountain snowboarder with confidence.

What your child will be working on…

• Connecting Dynamic Skidded Turns
  
  • A dynamic turn is the separation of the upper and lower body (split at the hips). Your riders should have bent knees and relaxed stances with still upper bodies. They should be flexing at the beginning of their turns and extending through the ends. Here is a great opportunity to create challenges and/or games for your kids to test their balance and ability to make these dynamic skidded turns through all types of conditions. Have them make different sizes of turns on varying degrees of terrain. Have them hold the bottom of their jackets or put their hands behind their back to practice taking their upper body out of the equation. Practice with exaggerated flex and extension to help them get the feel for it. Continue to practice skidded dynamic turns of all shapes on all green terrain and easy blues if riders are progressing quickly.
    

• Maintain speed on flat sections
  
  • Your students should learn to plan ahead for flat sections so they are aware of when they need to maintain speed. Flats are an easy place to catch an edge because both edges of the board are so close to the snow. The safest way for them to maintain speed on a flat section is to keep the board tilted slightly onto one edge or to alternate slowly from edge to edge while keeping their board pointed downhill. Be sure they keep a relaxed, balanced stance directly over their board.

• Carved turns on blue trails
  
  • Carved turns on blue terrain will mean your students will pick up a little more speed as they are not skidding to check their speed after each turn. Be sure to pick blue terrain that is appropriate for your students’ skill set. Your riders should maintain a centered stance over their board and their back foot should follow them in the same line as their front foot through each turn. Your students’ boards should be tipped much more aggressively in carved turns than in skidded turns to fully engage the edges. In toe edge carve shins should be pushed into the front of the boots and hips should be forward, while in heel edge carve knees should be bent and hips should be in ‘sitting’ position with toes pulled up in the air. Their boards should only be flat on the snow very briefly in their transition between turns. To help students check speed while carving, have them make bigger, wider turns and spend more time riding their edges across the hill. Reference Video: Link 

• Skidded turns on black trails
  
  • Steep trails mean more speed and less time with the nose of the board pointed downhill. Here, students will need to make quick transitions from edge to edge and spend more time traversing or side slipping to help control their speed. Pointing the board directly downhill on black terrain can be scary and often students will forget that their weight needs to be kept on their front foot to engage their edges and successfully complete their turns. Remind them that this is a movement they have already mastered. Their upper body may need to be brought back into the equation, dipping the shoulder in and out of turns to help with quicker edge transitions. Students should be making even turns and checking their speed equally on both their heel and toe edges. Make sure conditions are optimum for your students’ first day on black terrain, an icy day will just create frustration!
    
• Perform an Ollie (optional)
  
  • If your students are expressing interest in learning freestyle or exploring park elements, ollies are a great first step. They are helpful with balance and getting that first feeling of your board being in the air. Ollies are best learned and practiced on flat ground before being brought to the slopes. Students should start with their knees bent and their weight centered over their board. They should then push out the nose of their board, load up all of their weight onto their back foot, and pop up into the air. To properly land an ollie they must stomp the landing evenly on both feet with their weight centered back over the board. Once this movement is mastered on flat ground try bringing it to a mellow green slope. Reference Video: Link
    
• Ride switch on green trails
  
  • Learning to ride switch is a great way to improve overall riding and is essential if students are expressing interest in freestyle or park elements. Learning switch can feel like learning to snowboard all over again. The safest way to approach learning switch is to bring your students back to beginner terrain. The most challenging part is learning to keep the weight on the new front foot, basic skidded turns should come fairly naturally as the movements have already been learned. Once students are linking switch turns on beginner terrain the skills can be brought to green terrain. It’s always safest to ride the lift with the previously established front foot. Quick Tip: Have the students use their ‘new’ front knee as a ‘steering wheel’, as they turn it in towards their body it will help transition them onto toe edge. As they turn it out towards their back it will help bring them onto heel edge. 
    
• Dynamic carved turns on green trails
  
  • Dynamic carved turns are different in that they put more emphasis on the flexing of the knees and ankles. The majority of the body movement is done with the hips, knees, and ankles, although the shoulder should still tip slightly in and out of the turn. Your riders should maintain a centered stance over their board and their back foot should follow them in the same line as their front foot through each turn. Your students’ boards should be tipped much more aggressively in carved turns than in skidded turns to fully engage the edges. In toe edge carve shins should be pushed into the front of the boots, ankles should be flexed forward to fully engage the toe edge, and hips should be pressed forward. In heel edge carves knees should be bent, ankles should be flexed back with toes pulled up in the air, and hips should be in ‘sitting’ position. Your students’ boards should only be flat on the snow very briefly in their transition between turns. They should be able to make smooth, equally sized carved turns on both edges of their board and be able to adjust sizes of carved turns depending on the steepness of terrain to control speed. Reference Video: Link
    
• Dynamic skidded turns on blue and black trails
  
  • A dynamic turn is the separation of the upper and lower body (split at the hips). Your riders should have bent knees and relaxed stances with still upper bodies. They should be flexing at the beginning of their turns and extending through the ends. Students should be using ankle flexion along will their knee and hip movements to help maneuver the board from edge to edge. Turns should be smooth and equal on both heel and toe sides. Students should be using traverses or varying turn size to control speed rather than side slipping. These turns should be mastered on blue terrain before being brought to black trails. Reference Video: Link 
    
• Perform an air-to-fakie (180-optional)
  
  • A 180 should be taught only if students feel comfortable and want to learn the trick. As with learning an ollie, it’s best to practice this trick on flat ground before bringing it back to the slopes. For a frontside 180, start with the heel edge in the snow, wind up the upper body and pop off of both feet, spin the front of the board uphill and land on the toe edge. For a backside 180 start with the toe edge in the snow, wind the upper body up and pop off of both feet, spin the front of the board uphill and land on the heel edge. To be successful in these movements, weight must be kept centered over the board. Be sure students are comfortable with these movements before bringing it to green slopes. It is also important to be sure your students are comfortable riding switch before bringing these tricks onto the mountain, as they will be landing with their back foot pointed down the hill. Reference Video: Link  Link
    
• Understand snowboard care and maintenance
  
  • Reference Video
• Know park and pipe etiquette
  
  • Following park etiquette is essential for everyone’s safety. Having all those who participate in park riding follow the same set of rules ensures that every individual is able to practice safely. Park rules are usually posted at the entrance to each park, make sure your students always stop and read posted signs and warnings. Be park SMART!
    
    • Start Small. – work your way up, build your skills
      
    • Make a plan. – every feature, every time
      
    • Always look. – before you drop
      
    • Respect. – the features and other users
      
    • Take it easy. – know your limits, land on your feet
      
• Understand and discuss A-T-M-L (air & elements)
  
  • The  ATML method is the best way to break down freestyle tricks and makes  them easier to understand and master.
    (A) The approach zone is for setting your speed and stance
    (T) The Take-off zone is for making moves that start your trick
    (M) The Maneuver zone is for controlling your style
    (L) The Landing Zone is for getting straight and riding away clean.

To score high on Blue proficiency testing a student would need to make dynamic turns on all trails. Ride the entire mountain in control and understand A-T-M-L for air and elements.

Terrain: blue squares and black diamonds

Students who score high in this proficiency test prior to 6th grade would then assist with teaching a lower level class to enhance fellow students’ skills and their own understanding of the sport.