Shane Carrick, a Colorado native and junior at DU represents us all on the ski slopes as a professional snowboarder.
Along with the average student’s time spent doing homework, participating in college clubs, and having a social life, Carrick also has to worry about commuting to the mountains to train three to five times a week during the winter season.
“It is extremely stressful,” Carrick said, “But it’s something I love, so I have to stick with it.”
Carrick, who trains with the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club under Remelink Thedo, and the Telluride Ski and Golf Club under Kirk Davis, has learned to incorporate the rest of his life into his snowboarding career.
Carrick participates in three different types of snowboard races. The three, slalom, giant slalom, and boardercross all require that he is in top shape and fully familiar with the terrain of the race course.
Therefore much of his time is spent training and working out in preparation for the races to come.
Apparently Carrick’s hard work has paid off. For the 2006 season, he was sponsored by Oakley, Biota Water, Telluride Ski and Golf, and races and is sponsored by the Nidecker Snowboard Team.
Carrick, who says his career highlights include being on ESPN for winning 4th place in a boardercross event held in Crested Butte in 2004, began his career seven years ago during his freshmen year of high school.
“It has definitely had it’s ups and downs,” said Carrick, “I’ve had to give up a lot for snowboarding, but it always seems to pay itself off. Plus, snowboarding is in my blood, I was born in Aspen and then moved over to Telluride, so it has always just been there.”
For the past winter season Carrick traveled all over Colorado, Vt., and New Mexico for training camps and races.
Although the season ended uneventfully, he has high hopes for the upcoming year. Because the 2006 season was the first that Carrick decided to attend school during the winter, he hopes that he will be able to find a schedule next year that will allow him more time in the mountains.
“We’ll see how everything goes, it’s crazy because you can never tell how a season will turn out,” said Carrick, “But then you have to think that no matter what, there will always be next year.”
