Coaches Tip of the Week
7.2.13
Technical Concepts in Snowboard Coaching: Fundamental
Movements
This except was taken from the USASA Level 100 Coaching Reference Guide
As a coach, it's your job to observe and identify fundamental movements to understand what goes well and
what does not in each run. Then you need to break these observations down into a simple message that
either reinforces or corrects these movement patterns. The concepts, discussed below: stance, alignment,
fundamental movements, board performance, and time-intensity-duration give the coach a consistent and
simplified framework to break down complex movements.
Stance and Balance
One of the most basic fundamental skills in snowboarding is a rider's
stance on the board. You can look at stance and balance as the first
step in a chain of events that ends with the board performing in a desired
way. If that first link is ineffective, it'll throw the whole sequence out of
whack. Let's start with some basic balance principles that are common
with most sports:
Weight distributed evenly on both feet
Knees slightly bent
Back straight
Abdomen and shoulder muscles relaxed
Head up and eyes looking straight ahead
Reference Alignment
Once effective stance is in place, we then need to make sure the rider is
aligned with their equipment. Shoulders and hips should be parallel to
the snow, with center of mass over the turning edge. Toe, knee, hip,
and shoulders should be aligned into one plane. These three principles
make up the guiding principles that allow the coach a point of reference
to evaluate effective versus ineffective movements in the rider.
Fundamental Movements
Once the rider is balanced and aligned, they must add movement to make the board perform an action. This is
accomplished by applying one, two, or a complex pattern of the following fundamental movements.
Flexion/Extension is when the muscles contact or expand causing the joint to close or open. Joints in this
movement are typically called hinge or saddle joints. Hinge joints are one convex bone surface that work with
the concave surface of another bone that limit the movement to flexion/extension. Saddle joints are similarly
constructed, but also allow for some rotational movements as well. Flexion/extension movements can be very
small (extending a finger) or very large (squatting).
Rotation is when the muscles and surrounding tissues cases a bone to rotate within a socket joint to create a
circular movement. Rotary movements can also be small (circling the hands around the wrist) or large
(rotating the shoulders around the spine). Rotary movements can also move in opposing directions. For
example, the shoulders can rotate clockwise as the hips rotate counter clockwise. In snowboarding, we
commonly call this the upper-lower body separation. This movement has many critical applications to all
disciplines of snowboarding.
Coaches Tip of the Week
7.2.13
Blending of Movements There are very few joints in the body that are exclusively flexion, extension, or
rotation. In fact, most movements in the body involve one or more joints. It is likely that most movements will
involve some elements of both movement types.
Upper-Lower Body Separation and Opposing Movements The ability to make movements with one part of
the body while making opposing movements with another is an integral part of advanced snowboarding. This
type of complex movement is called body separation. In developing riders, there tends to be very little
separation movements. As the rider develops more advanced skills, there are more complex combinations of
separation movements.
Board Performance
Once a set of movements is applied to the balance and aligned rider, a specific action occurs. At its most
basic these movements apply pressure to the snowboard causing it to perform an action or task. We can
break these actions (performances) into four general categories.
Twist is when the rider uses a combination of
rotation and flex/extension movement to flex the
board along its long axis.
Tilt is when the rider applies flex or extension
movement to one edge of the board causing it to tip
onto its edge.
Pivot is primarily a rotary movement where the rider
turns their body creating a point that the board
rotates around. Adding flex/extension movements
can change the pivot point.
Flex is primarily a flex extension movement with the
lower body that flexes the board between the tip and
the tail. These movements can be used to match
changes in terrain or when jumping. By applying
opposing movement between the front and back
foot, the rider can also create different flex patterns
on the board.
Timing, Intensity and Duration (TID)
The final factor in examining movement patterns is the time involved in each action. Timing is when the
movement is applied, intensity is how much is applied, and duration is for how long the action or movement is
performed.
Blending, Simultaneous and Overlapping Movement Patterns
Most complex movements are a blending of many movements and performances. By varying the timing,
intensity and duration of these actions, a rider can create incredibly complex chains of movements involving
many layers of actions.
Each week the USSA Sport Education Department will post a Coaches Tip of the Week. The information will
rotate through the ski and snowboard disciplines so check back each week to see the newest tip!