Snowboarding gives athletes in Warwick thrills, challenges and identity

Warwick - Snowboarding is an intense winter sport that is practiced in many regions, including in Warwick. Many teenagers snowboard during the winter season to have fun and give themselves a challenge. Mountain Creek is the hottest spot to tear up the snow. Snowboarding also can be quite dangerous. But snowboarders will tell you that feeling the danger and the thrill is what makes the experience. Excitement and drive are what is used to overcome the fear. The people who love and practice this sport know what they are getting themselves into, and what they risk each time they advance down the slopes. Mountain Creek is located in Vernon, N.J., which is only about 20 minutes away from the center of Warwick. That’s one reason why a lot of kids go there to snowboard. Mountain Creek is broken up into three peaks. This year the South Peak will be more dedicated to the snowboard crowd. All the terrain park features are being moved to the south this year to give it a new vibe. The South has been transformed into the largest terrain park in the East, with more than 60 acres of jumps and rails. “Snowboarding is about having fun and chilling with friends,” said Warwick Valley High School junior Ryan Tawpash. “Snowboarding is my life; I don’t know what I would do without it.” Kids dream of becoming the next professional snowboarders and Olympians Shaun White, Danny Kass, Hannah Teter, Kelly Clark or Terje Haakonsen. People ask what can be done to improve grabs, master the 360, catch better air, jump higher and flip more accurately. The only answer is to practice. A few of the kids with the right amount of talent and the drive to succeed will someday be winning medals in competitions like the professionals that are looked up to now. “Part of the reason why snowboarding is so much fun is because of the rush I get while I’m riding and part of that rush is naturally knowing I can hurt myself doing what I’m doing,” said Warwick Valley High School junior Mike Phillips. “To constantly be able to push that fear aside and keep riding is the most challenging part, but it’s the part that gets me out on the mountain every year despite breaking my wrist multiple times.”