Are there aspects of your riding that you would like to improve on? Is there a trick you really want to land? Right now is the perfect opportunity to reflect on your snowboard achievements from this past year and set new snowboarding goals for the new year. 

There is a great saying; "failing to plan, is planning to fail". You must take smart steps towards your goals, or else you won't achieve them. You might like to think up and write down your new 2018 snowboarding goals while you read on.

Make It Look Easy.

What Are Your Goals, And Why?

You may have one goal or a few goals in mind. A goal may be to start linking turns on a blue run, or to tame dog over a cliff into a spa full of Instagram models. Whatever it is, if you plan it out, there's a good chance you will accomplish your goal! 

Now let's get to it. We are going to call your new snowboarding goal your SMART Goal.

• Specific: What trick or skill do you want as your goal? Off what edge? What grab? What Spin? What feature? "I want to be a better rider" or "I want to have more style" are not specific. The more specific you are with your goal and the more you can see the path to successfully achieving your goal, the more likely you'll accomplish your goal.
• Measurable: Can you see a progressive way in which you can achieve your goal? Is accomplishing the goal measurable?
• Achievable: Can you do the skill or progression tricks that make up your goal? Do you have the right snowboard training equipment, gym access or access to the mountain? Having the right tools will help you achieve your goal.
• Realistic: Are you ready for this goal? Can you achieve this within a reasonable time period? 
• Timely: Set a timeframe for when you want to have the trick landed or skill achieved. It could be tomorrow, next week, next month, the end of the season. Date it. Science shows that if you put down a deadline, it's more likely to be actioned by that date. Science is smart.

Backside 360 Indy Off A Medium Park Jump

Let's use a Backside 360 Indy Grab Off A Medium Park Jump as an SMART Goal example:

• Specific: Regular Backside 360 Indy Grab off a Medium Park Jump by January.
• Measurable: 
• January 1 (Tramp Day) - Train backside 360's with indy grabs on the tramp.  
• January 5 (Snow Day) - Spend the day hitting small park jumps and side hits, practicing backside 360s and straight air indy grabs.
• January 10 (Gym) - Train obliques and core. Training session on jib board and balance bar practicing backside 180 and 360 rotations.
• January 15 (Snow Day) - Spend the day hitting mediums, practicing indy grabs and indy grab 180s in both directions.
• January 18 (Tramp Day) - Work on my style with backside 360s. Work on tweaking out the indy grabs. Combine good style and the tweak if it's coming together.
• January 20 (Snow Day) - Start by throwing down backside 360 indy grabs on the smalls. When confident, progress to the Mediums. Land one clean today!
• Achievable: I can do 360s off small park jumps and side hits. I can FS and BS 180 on Medium park jumps. I can do indy grabs.
• Realistic - I think this will take 2 tramp days and 3 snow days to get to the stage where I can stomp this trick. 
• Timely - I want to have this trick landed by January 20th! 

What do you want to land this season? Let us know in the comments below.

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Saxon Farnworth
Snowboard Addiction
Our Goal Is To Improve Your Riding