I have decided to compile my recent articles in this blog; they are accessible under the "articles" category. The majority are published works featured either in newspapers or magazines. I have included in each entry the publication outlet and date of publication, with tearsheets and links to the publishers wherever possible.
It was at a freestyle clinic at Killington Resort in Vermont, after clinician Bill Spaulding had elicited teaching tips to be used for the whole range of learning preferences (thinkers, watchers, feelers, and doers), that Janisse jumped on the box and pulled off a frontside boardslide (body facing up the hill and board perpendicular to the feature) before stomping the landing like it was nothing.
A motley crew of instructors, we ranged from ages 18 to 64, 2-year to 25-year veterans of the sport, "sick" park riders to timid newbies--and Chuck had just upped the ante for us all.
"For some reason I have this facility with rails," says the sexagenarian. After re-embracing an old passion and becoming a snowboard instructor two years ago, he signed up for AASI-E's "Old Farts" Park and Pipe Clinic, which has since been renamed to the more politically correct "Low Key It." In the capable hands of AASI clinicians, he was surprised at how easily park skills came to him.
[Article] - Published in the Fall 2008 issue of 32 Degrees magazine, a publication of www.thesnowpros.org, Lakewood, CO
If I were to pick one term to describe my first run at the 2008 Rider Rally, held April 20-25 at Mammoth Mountain, California, scary is it. The last stretch of the Panorama gondola ride is breathtakingly high, and if that weren't enough to take one's breath away, the steep, impenetrable boiler plate on Cornice Bowl certainly was. Fortunate was the rider with a finely tuned edge; less fortunate were the rest of us.
Terrified to turn, I got on my heel edge, really low, and butt-checked my way down in a directional slide as I fought to maintain control of a falling leaf. And I like ice.The Naming of the 2008-2012 National Teams
[Article] - The article below is the unpublished version. An editor-revised version was published in the Fall 2008 issue of 32 Degrees magazine, a publication of www.thesnowpros.org, Lakewood, CO
"To a new team and new friends," toasted a group of candidates for the AASI National Snowboard Team, some of whom ended up making the new team--and some who did not.
It was just after 8 pm, Friday, May 2, 2008. Candidates for all four disciplines of the PSIA-AASI National Teams--including alpine, snowboard, nordic, and adaptive--had been gathering since 7:00 PM on the 3rd floor of Main Lodge at Mammoth Mountain, California in anticipation of the new teams' announcement.
The Role of the Instructor in the Age of Freestyle
[Article] - The article below is the unpublished version. A much-revised version was published in the Fall 2008 issue of 32 Degrees magazine, a publication of www.thesnowpros.org, Lakewood, CO
A long list of instructors signed up to work as slippers, starters, security, and hospitality. A few even labored into the night setting up flood lights on the new Superpipe, an 18-foot tall, 440-foot-long beauty that everyone was dying to hit. In the process, they got to see the event through from practices and qualifiers to finals, mingling (and sometimes riding) with the competitors, and gaining an appreciation for life on the pro circuit.
Encouraged by my boss--eastern division AASI examiner and development team member John Hobbs--I spent three days traipsing around investigating what the Grand Prix has to do with snowboard instruction.
[Article] published in The Sheet, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 4.07
It's not a good idea to sweep methamphetamines under the rug--a point with which users, recovering addicts, dealers, and former MLPD Wildlife Specialist and "Mammoth Not MamMETH" sticker creator Steve Searles are all likely to agree.
Often referred to as "meth," methamphetamine is a highly addictive central nervous system stimulant that can be injected, smoked, snorted, or ingested. It is cheaper and more long-lasting than cocaine and can be made easily enough in the comfort of your home or in a mobile meth lab out in the forest--which, rumor has it, is not unseen in these parts.
"It's more than an epidemic," said S.G., 18, a petite local girl who is approaching five months clean after an arduous 6-year battle with the drug.
[Article] published in The Sheet, Mammoth Lakes, CA, 2.10.07
[Press Release] unpublished excerpt, Inglewood, CA, 2.06
On the afternoon of February 23rd, Maria Jimenez received a call to accompany her daughter Luz to school on Friday, but no one could tell her why. The surprise was bigger than either mother or daughter had imagined--out of 50,000 high school students across the nation to submit entries to Oprah Winfrey's National High School Essay Contest, Morningside High School's Luz Jimenez had been named one of the 50 winners.
The essay topic--"Why is Elie Wiesel's book Night relevant today?"--was no light matter; students had to delve deep to relate the Nobel laureate's Holocaust memoirs as a teenage boy to the present day.
[Press Release] published 8.05 in several local papers, Inglewood, CA
If you happened to walk into one of the four classrooms hosting the Inglewood Unified School District's Summer Bridge Mathematics program this July, you might have been surprised to encounter students playing games. Far from an idle pursuit, however, game-playing was the main attraction of this year's program--and an effective strategy for preparing new 9th graders for high school math.
[Press Release] published in several local papers, Inglewood, CA, 1.05
Inglewood's 22nd annual Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration and march shifted gears this year, opening with the ecumenical service usually reserved for the parade's end. And, for a pleasant change, the service was packed with young people.
The day began with a rousing and creative performance by Morningside High School's dance troupe, elevating spirits in preparation for the march to come. This year's theme was "Here I am, send me," which helped students to connect Dr. King's teachings with their own role in helping to make his dream a reality.
[Press Release] published in several local papers, Inglewood, CA, 11.04
On Wednesday, November 10, 2004, the Inglewood Unified School District approved the construction contract submitted by FTR International, Inc. for the Crozier Middle School project, which is slated to begin construction in December of 2004. The project entails 44 new classrooms, a gymnasium, kitchen, administrative building, library/multimedia center, and sports fields. Crozier will be the 3rd major Measure K project to be undertaken, following comprehensive projects at Parent and Centinela schools completed in 2003.
