OISA and Lake Oswego

Chip and his crew saddle up at the top of the Rose city park.

Last Friday I was invited to hang out with head coach Chip Treadwell and his Lake Oswego high school snowboarding crew as they practice for the season. They are part of the OISA (Oregon Interscholastic Snowboarding Association) where the athletes get a high school letter for snowboarding. Chip is also happens to be the President of OISA.

A student dials in a new grab, the classic method.

Practice starts at 9 am at Meadows Ski Resort, which is pretty early for a bunch of teenagers, especially since they had to get on the bus at 7:30. Wrangling teenagers is like herding chickens but, between a supple grogginess lingering from an early start and the fact that they are doing something fun, practice starts on time.

Chip grabs a little one-on-on coaching time.

Ten years ago getting a high school letter in snowboarding was rare if nonexistent. Today, as the popularity of snowboarding grows, these programs are becoming more common, with OISA leading the charge regionally. The Lake Oswego snowboarding team, also known as SOLO (Snowboarders of Lake Oswego), even has a place in the yearbook.

“We want to introduce kids a lifelong passion and athletic recreation that contemporary high school sports can’t offer,” Chip says during an earlier meeting. “How many sports did you play in high school that you participate in now?”

I could totally relate. In the past, if you didn’t like the sports offered you were out of luck and, as a consequence, often on the outside of the “cool” cliques. I played high school sports out of peer pressure but never thought of myself as an athlete (mainly because of the meathead stereotypes associated with term “athlete” during high school) till I started snowboarding in my 20’s.

Athleticism is a quality that transcends hand-eye coordination and good looks. It doesn’t matter if its a slow bike ride through town, a cannon ball contest into the pool or parkour, athleticism is about flow, passion and discovery. Snowboarding can help introduce alternative personalities to this, as it did for me.

A student launches out of the halfpipe.

As an introvert and “free spirit” (more than one conformist has called me this thinking, wrongly, that it’s a derogatory term) I do not like participating in team sports, preferring instead the feeling of accomplishment that comes from setting my own goals and creating my own unique version of happiness. 

Snowboarding gave me framework to challenge and push my limits, a reason to stay fit all year long and a love that’ll last a lifetime. Falling in love with the mountains and a family of lifelong friends are unexpected bonuses. I look forward to teaching my grand kids how to shred and the day they beat me to the chair, which won’t be easy for them.

All day during Lake Oswego's practice, this passion is apparent in the coaches and kids as free spirits soar over kickers and out of the halfpipe, dialing in new grabs and spins, solidifying an affection that’ll thread the rest of their lives.

During the last lap Chip throws a celebration stale-fish.