Learning to jump, spin and — most importantly — fall properly, seven students are in the midst of a five-week Ski and Snowboard Jumping Safety Class.
Held Saturday mornings at Water's Edge Gymnastics, the class drilled students on keeping limbs tucked, head in the proper position and the body core tight as they launched themselves into space and came down again.
The students, ages 7-15, jumped, spun and fell on the trampoline and in a soft pit, the latter off of progressively higher stacks of mats. Throughout the class, they will learn to fall backwards, forwards and sideways in the safest manner possible.
Despite the lack of hard packed snow and cold, the simulation allowed students to building muscle memories and burnish take-off and landing techniques for later use.
"I learned how I can land better so I don't break anything,” said Nathan Cunningham, 12, already an avid snowboarder who can do 360s and methods and indies.
Co-taught by Becky Burden-Cuddeback, owner of Water's Edge Gymnastics, and Chris Cuddeback, the class is an expanded version of a popular one-day clinic the school offered last year. Water's Edge hopes to continue the class in on-going sessions throughout the winter if there is enough interest.
"It just makes it nice for these kids to not go out on a hard surface and do something for the first time,” said Burden-Cuddeback, owner of the facility for six years. "They're getting basic gymnastics skills and we're also incorporating more specialized skills that pertain more to skiing and snowboarding.”
Burden-Cuddeback noted that while the application may be different between gymnastics and on-slope jumping, the physics is the same. For example, while the airborne movements of gymnastics tend to be in a vertical axis, flipping forward or backward, snowboard or ski flips can also include a diagonal axis.
"It is amazing how the principles and physics still apply no matter what they're doing,” she said.
Despite groans and protests, instructors also emphasized both core strength and flexibility, doling out arduous rounds of stretching and sit-ups.
"If you guys can control this, your core, you can do just about anything you want,” noted Cuddeback.
A veteran skier since toddlerhood, Haley Kanaskie, 15, attended the class to tackle and hopefully master more advanced tricks.
"I learned not to tuck totally, because the smaller you are the faster you'll spin and he's teaching you to control it,” said Kanaskie, who tried snowboarding last winter and broke a wrist. "I've been doing grabs for two years but I want to learn to do flips.”
Many of the students attended the class at the urging of their parents, who are concerned that they know the basics before trying tricky moves while hurtling downhill.
"The more people can keep reminding their kids about being safe, the better, because they're going to try it anyway,” said Dayna Ryan, whose son, Jake, 8, is in the class.
Grant Knoblock, 13, and his two brothers, Max, 10, and Chase, 7, all enrolled in the class to boost their winter fun and safety. Looking beyond the basic drills of the past two weeks, where the instructors repeat exercises to reinforce concepts and movements, Grant is eager to apply what he has learned and master aerial maneuvers.
"I took the class because I'm not very good at doing spins and I want to learn because all my friends are good at it,” said Grant, who will be on the East Junior High ski race team this season. "Most helpful so far is probably learning to do flips.”
For more information on the Ski and Snowboard Jumping Safety Class, contact Water's Edge Gymnastics at 941-7751.