Senior, Elaina Smith may have only recently taken up snowboarding, but her passion for the sport has grown quickly, fueled by the influence of her friends and a love for the mountains.
“A lot of my friends influenced me,” she explains. “I would see pictures of them up on the mountain, and it just looked like a blast.”
Inspired by the thrill and camaraderie of the sport, she decided to give it a shot herself.
What keeps Smith coming back to the slopes is the constant opportunity for growth.
“There’s always more to learn about snowboarding,” she says. “I love that I can go in with a new goal any and every day and continually grow.”
Snowboarding isn’t just about the adrenaline rush for her, it’s about personal progress, persistence, and pushing boundaries. That persistence has paid off, particularly when it comes to learning the mental toughness that snowboarding requires.
“I think it’s all motivation,” Smith states. “You have to be willing to get back up and keep going even when the falls are brutal.”
She embraces the challenge, hitting the same run repeatedly until the park closes, determined to make the most out of every trip to the mountains. “I’m pretty ‘go, go, go.’ I don’t like taking breaks up there.”
Her journey with snowboarding hasn’t always been easy. When she was younger, a lack of resources and guidance made it difficult to progress, and she eventually gave up.
“It was definitely a little more frustrating when I was younger because I had no real resources in learning the fundamentals,” she admits. “Now that I’m older and have the basics down, it’s more fun and easier to advance.”
Smith finds the most joy in riding with friends. “It’s so much more fun with friends, especially when you all start getting good. You learn from each other,” she says.
Whether it’s sharing tips or simply having someone to talk to on the lift, the social aspect of snowboarding makes the experience even richer.
When it comes to improvement, Smith turns to an unexpected resource, social media.
“I’m going to be honest… TikTok,” she confesses. “Whenever I’m struggling to learn something new, I find something with valid advice on TikTok. It’s been pretty educational and helpful in amplifying my ability.”
For those looking to start snowboarding, Smith has some simple but powerful advice: “You have to be willing to try new things, even when they seem scary. I tell myself when I try something new that if I’m feeling scared, that’s exactly when I should go for it.”
That fearless mindset has allowed her to keep progressing in the sport she loves, making each trip to the mountains a new adventure.
