As a professional snowboard coach for the last two decades, Ian Kirk brings snowboard wisdom to the next generation of park shredders at his program based in Summit County, Colorado, Kirk's Camp. With a philosophy that promotes a love of snowboarding – and ensures that the kids he coaches have fun while working toward their goal – Kirk fosters stoke and pushes the boundaries of the next wave of young competitive snowboarders.
Now, he has his sights set on the Olympic stage for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. Linking up with his good friend and mentor, legendary snowboard coach Bud Keene, Kirk will be the assistant slopestyle coach for the Chinese National Team.
Now, he has his sights set on the Olympic stage for the 2022 Winter Games in Beijing. Linking up with his good friend and mentor, legendary snowboard coach Bud Keene, Kirk will be the assistant slopestyle coach for the Chinese National Team.
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00Snowboarding to me, it's a lifestyle.
00:11If you're a basketball player and you're not on a basketball team, you're kind of stuck.
00:15If you're a baseball player and you're not on a baseball team, you're kind of stuck.
00:18If you're a snowboarder, you do your thing.
00:23My name is Ian Kirk and for the past 20 years I've been coaching competitive snowboarders.
00:31In the beginning, I just really promoted love of sport and made sure the kids were enjoying themselves on the hill.
00:40It just opened their eyes, you know, that snowboarding is what you want it to be.
00:44The judging is going to be part of it, but don't let their ideas affect your ideas because this sport is evolving.
00:51And it's the riders that make it evolve.
00:53If you follow the herd, it doesn't really represent the spirit of the sport to me.
00:58There is new frontiers.
01:03When I finished college, I started teaching at Okemo Mountain School.
01:08We would put one or two riders on the U.S. team every year.
01:11So I saw all this talent that wasn't being picked up by the national team, but were still qualified to compete, and they wanted coaching.
01:19And my company just jumped off immediately.
01:22Kirk's Camp has worked with riders from at least 12 nations in six years.
01:27This year, I got a phone call from good friend and mentor, Bud Keen, who's widely known as the most accomplished snowboard coach in the world.
01:36Bud had been hired by the Chinese team as their head slope style coach, and he was looking for an assistant.
01:44So the opportunity to work with him and end up at the Olympics, I was very honored.
01:50With China, we have a goal.
01:52They are hosting the 2022 Olympics.
01:54They want athletes they can be proud of.
01:56So our focus is to put athletes on the podium at the Olympics.
02:14Good snowboarding that results in a champion rider is the partnership between a rider and a coach, allowing them to express their creativity,
02:25while at the same time accepting direction from people like Ian and I, who have a lot of experience.
02:31I get asked all the time what I'm looking for in a champion athlete.
02:35I always say, and I say now, that I have no idea what I'm looking for in a champion, but I'll know it when I see it.
02:46Snowboarding events are totally at the mercy of the weather.
02:49My line of work just happens to be driving through the snow, up mountain roads.
02:54You want snow, but you don't want too much snow.
02:56Having a reliable car, the importance of that can't be overlooked.
03:00I've been a Subaru owner for 20 years, and I've never even considered getting a different car.
03:07We travel from hotels to mountains.
03:10We get in at all hours of the night.
03:12I've never worried that, am I going to make it?
03:14It's almost taken for granted with Subarus.
03:17As long as the road's open, I know I'm going to make it.
03:23You're asking these kids to do very difficult, very technical maneuvers,
03:27and they have to believe that you have the authority to ask these things.
03:31We'll spend three or four hours up on the hill in the morning,
03:34then we just head over to Woodward, and they can safely work on more dangerous technical tricks into the foam pits.
03:42The movements in their head, muscle memory, the excitement, and we can watch.
03:47We see you land this in the foam pit, 15 times perfect.
03:50All right, let's take it to snow.
03:55At the beginning, there wasn't a lot of support behind me.
03:57There wasn't a lot of support for the industry and the sport itself.
04:01Now, to see all the support thrown behind snowboarding and all the opportunity,
04:05I really like to give these kids the experience that I wish I had had when I was younger.
04:11♪♪♪