Coel shove'

1) You are a young cross over athlete in the winter, what have been your goals, what have you achieved thus far?
This is my 3rd year competing in snowboarding. I’m pumped to see slopestyle in the Olympics this year! Last year I had a great National Championship, taking third place in my age group. I am having a great season so far again and am psyched for Nationals at Copper in March. I’m currently ranked 2nd in the nation, so I’ve got a lot to prove. I think the competition level is higher this year. I love competing and my long term goal is to avoid serious injury! Seriously, I just have to wait and see how it goes.

2)How does wakesurfing balance that sport out?
The competitions are very similar. You’ve got two runs to make it happen with no room for error. You know, fame or shame! The difference between a good day and a bad day is not very much. I would say that wakesurfing is more laid back and less stressful. When I’m not worried about competing, free riding on any board just feels great.

3) How old are you and where is your home/home lake?
I am 11 years old and live in Alexandria, MN. My home lake is Lake Geneva, but we’ve got like 40 lakes in our county so there are tons of places to surf. The ice gets off pretty late so practicicing can be tough. The season starts late and ends early for me.

4)With school I bet being the primary focus, how do your classmates and teachers view your success in these sports, they must love hearing about your fun!?
My friends and teachers are very supportive but I don’t think they really understand what it is like to compete in an individual sport at this level.

5)Who is in your crew? Do you have a different crew in snowboarding than wakesurfing?
I’m part of Action Sports Ministries. We have a snowboard group called Foundation 725 and a surf group called Wakin UP. For surfing, we run two boats with 6 to 8 riders and our coaches. We surf for a couple of hours, have lunch on shore then head back out to surf again. We surf ’til dark or until our parents start honking their horns for us to come back to shore. We also have a skateboard group called Sessions on Saturdays when the snow’s all gone. All in all, it’s a lot of the same kids.

6)Any tricks you’re thinking about tackling this summer behind a boat wakesurfing?
720’s and switch big-spins are what I want to work on and land consistently.

7)Does music play a role when you ride. What is playing to motivate your session’s?
Since my dad’s the boat driver he’s in charge of the music. He likes to rock!

8)What is your plans going into summer 2014 with wakesurfing?
Can’t wait for the ice to melt and get out in the boat. I landed some great tricks last year but really need to work on consistency and combos. I’m much stronger in skim, so I’m going to push myself harder in surf. We’ve got some ideas for some sweet video too. Stay tuned.

9)With all the new boat technology and being able to surf from side to side now on the wake. What are your thoughts? Do you think new skate style inspired tricks or snowboard grabs will go down?
I think bigger waves will push the sport so I think that maybe some of the flowrider influence might creep in. Skate tricks are logical and a kick flip will be THE trick to beat at some point. Maybe more unique grabs too.

10)Any one person or brand you would like to thank?
Gary Anderson and Action Sports Ministries; Brigade Wakesurf Co for the sweet boards and gear; Jason Lybeck at SurfMN/Faction Boardshop; Mike Jost and HanglooseMN.

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