….but it is so worth it!
Today I have had the best day, I started off on the kickers on Forest Trail, getting a few grabs in and working on my speed and height then after an hour or so we moved down to the pipe. The Boyf was on filming duty today so I could try and get some of my faults sorted, I’d had a few runs through already while hitting the kickers so I’d got my legs used to it…anyway I had a run through with J filming and did pretty well by my standards, then by the time I’d caught the lift back up The Boyf had started talking to some guy named Pete.
Pete was coaching some kids up there and having chatted to The Boyf started giving me some advice and pointers on how to get better in the pipe. He was a really nice guy and was able to explain really well what I should be doing and how to improve on where I was already. The Boyf reckons that I started looking pretty comfortable on both walls (even the evil-ice wall) and Pete was really encouraging, giving me more pointers each time. He reckons that I’ve now got the basics pretty much sorted and it’s just a matter of confidence and practice so I’m heading back up again tomorrow. Hopefully a good nights sleep and the hour I spent in the hot tub will sort out my aching muscles, having lapped the park and pipe for around 4 hours without a break I certainly feel like I had a good work out.
Oh the bonus of it all is that Pete Del Giudice is not just any coach, he’s the ex-US Olympic Coach who won the US Snowboard Association Coach of the Year award following the Salt Lake City Olympics…oh and The Boyf got to meet Danny Kass & Tommy Czeschin as well, they stopped by the pipe to say hi to Pete whilst he and The Boyf were chatting!
Good to hear you’re mixing with the right crowd. Did you blag any gloves, sponsorship…?
Not yet I’m afraid but there’s still a week and a half left ;o)
Did he show you his medal 🙂