Progress: Little by Little
The newly established Muslim snowboarding team in Alaska held their first official practice last week at Hilltop ski area located in Anchorage, Alaska. With only about half of the team in attendance, the progress made still contributed greatly to the betterment of the entire team. So far the projected number of team members stands at about six; of these, four were able to make this practice: David Jones, head coach, Xavier Jones, the assistant coach, and two of their most promising team members, Mubarik and Khadijah Jones. “These two are by far the quickest learners that I have ever taught” said David Jones. The two have shown great interest and talent in the sport and both have declared snowboarding to be their favorite outdoor activity.
The team is currently looking to join the USSA (United States Snowboarding Association). The association requires that all teams have at least five team members with at least one member representing each gender. Once the team is officially accepted, it will be able to compete against teams and other individuals in local competitions.
Assistant coach Xavier Jones tells us his thoughts about the subject saying “Of course, we would like to get good enough to enter some comps, but the main thing is not to focus on being so competitive that we forget to have fun. After all, that’s what snowboarding is–a way to express yourself and have fun doing so”. Since they had such a good experience during the last session, the team is greatly looking forward to their next practice, which will likely be held at Alyeska, a world famous ski resort in Girdwood, Alaska. Alyeska is ranked among the top ski resorts in the world and has been awarded best views from a ski lift in North America.
In fact, the state of Alaska is very well known by snowboarder’s world wide as one of the best snowboarding destinations in the world, for its quality of snow and infrequency of avalanches, owing to the consistent temperatures.
Being surrounded by all these positive aspects, it is truly no wonder why the team is eager to train hard and go as far as they can in snowboarding, which, in turn, will promote the same eagerness to succeed in other areas throughout their lives.
