In 2015, 16 year-old Marcus Kleveland landed a quad cork 1800 – and became the youngest snowboarder in the world to do so.

It’s now not enough to see a baby sliding around on a board with his mum or dad. Kids now have to be hucking backflips and dropping quad corks if they are to make any impact on the international snowboarding stage.

But what are the consequences of this? With children as young as 8 years old landing big tricks and major sponsorship deals, is there a risk of them burning out too soon? And what is the physiological impact on their bodies?

INTRODUCING THE GROMS

Mia Brookes has just turned 9 years-old. She likes skateboarding, surfing, art and playing electric guitar. She first strapped into a board at just 19 months old.

PUSHY PARENT PHENOMENON

Parents are ultimately key to any mini-shredder’s success. Without their support, none of these up-and-coming groms would have been able to develop into hugely successful athletes.

Jon Jing, Chloe Kim’s dad, spent years taking his daughter to countless snowboarding events. Kim went to boarding school in Switzerland so she could be nearer the mountains.

He would fly over from their home in California, leave the house at 4am so they could take two trains and a gondola from Geneva so she could ride the superpipe in Avoriaz.

“Before these kids even turn pro, they are already burnt out” – Travis Pastrana

“I didn’t know it then but that’s not an easy task. Driving for a long period of time isn’t easy. Travelling and being away from your family isn’t easy either,” says Chloe. “That is what my dad did for me to get me where I am today. If he wasn’t that supportive, I definitely would not have been able to do what I love today.”

For both Chloe and Mia, having support from their parents was crucial to their success. But where do you draw the line between encouraging parenting and pushing kids too far?

Snowboarding is still a relatively young sport. There isn’t a huge amount of experience in guiding children under the age of 12 through the pressures of competitive snowboarding.

Only a small percentage of the parents who support their children on the UK snowboarding scene are snowboarders themselves. Many have never even stepped on snow before. Parents and coaches alike are still developing the best way to approach the sport when it comes to kids taking part.

“The competition scene in England is not a healthy, pleasant place to be,” says Nigel Brookes. “There’s a very small pool of people who have their sights set on getting their kid into the Olympics at 11 years-old. It’s a big ask for a kid, isn’t it?”

“It’s not snowboarding how we see snowboarding,” says Vicky Brookes. “It’s a different kind of snowboarding. It’s only a minority that do actually understand it.”

Snowboarding in Europe is still very much a seasonal sport. The winter runs from December to April and once the snow melts, it is time to pick up a different sport – whether it is skateboarding, surfing or mountain biking.

However, in the UK, snowboarding has become a year-round pursuit, with many kids hitting their local snow domes three times a week, 12 months a year. While this has huge benefits for their progression in the sport, there are also clear downsides.

“With the domes, there never seems to be any let up for British kids,” says Nigel. “It’s the middle of summer, it is 80 degrees outside and these kids are stood in a giant fridge. They should be out walking, mountain biking or surfing. I think it is easier in Europe to get that balance.”

“I never really think of riding as training, I have always thought of it as just snowboarding and having a good time,” says Red. “If I ever feel [burnt out], I just go skateboard or ride with my brothers. Just have fun.”

IS SNOWBOARDING BAD FOR CHILDREN’S HEALTH?

Snowboarding has a huge impact on children often in a really positive way. Children as young as 2 years-old are being taught in snowboarding lessons now.

“Age doesn’t really matter. There’s nothing wrong with taster lessons for younger kids who are desperate to snowboard,” says Tammy Esten from Mint Snowboarding in Morzine, France.

“There has been a huge uptake in recent years of younger kids getting into snowboarding. It’s fantastic, but kids shouldn’t take it too seriously too soon. They should be having fun, riding with their buddies rather than trying to look for sponsorship or focusing on a career in the sport at a young age.”

Mentally, snowboarding can give kids a positive, encouraging message. “When you challenge yourself to learn new tricks, this has a very positive effect on your emotional and psychological wellbeing,” says Lesley McKenna, Team Manager for GB Park And Pipe team. “It makes for a high level of being stoked a lot of the time!”

Learning new tricks should always be fun, not pressured

While she notes there are negative consequences of trying to progress too quickly, this can be prevented by good coaching. “Learning new tricks should always be fun, not pressured.”

There is no ‘right’ age for someone to start getting into competitive snowboarding according to Lesley, it completely depends on the person. “You can get a 13 year-old who has been competing in snowboarding since a very young age and who is very emotionally mature and ready to set quite advanced goals.”

However, she does add that “there are not many 7 year-olds who I would say are ready to compete at the top level against young adults. Whatever the age, competing should be fun. Focus should be on the performance and not the competition result.”

Concerns that sports like snowboarding can be too physically taxing on bodies of young athletes have long been under discussion.

Many kids we spoke to didn’t have health complaints related to snowboarding, although Sever’s Disease is common among snowboarders under the age of 12. It is an inflammation of the growth plate in the heel of growing children caused by repetitive stress.

One parent noted seeing young snowboarders limping at indoor freestyle competitions in the UK, complaining of pains in their heels and knees. Parents watching from the sidelines were seen offering painkillers and encouraging their children to carry on competing regardless.

While serious health concerns are rare and still being researched, it is something that parents should keep an eye on. “If the motivation of the athlete is to win at all costs, it can lead riders down this path,” says Lesley McKenna. “Snowboarding should be a positive in someone’s life and not something that becomes controlling or is used to control people for an end result.”

EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED

“It’s a new world, snowboarding is a completely different sport than it was 25 years ago,” says Nigel Brookes. He’s right. Snowboarding has changed dramatically in the past twenty years.

Snowboarding has gone from being an underground sport for rebels and adrenaline seekers to a competitive international sport with more money, coaching and resources than ever before.

“We are definitely seeing a resurgence of dry slope and indoor events,” says Lesley McKenna. “We are also seeing more people getting involved in coaching. We need to give those coaches help so they can learn to coach the right way – so negative things [like overtraining] don’t creep into the system.”

The most important message drawn from all of our findings is kids shouldn’t take snowboarding too seriously. After all, snowboarding is meant to be fun – it’s about shredding around the mountains with your friends and spending time outdoors, not focusing solely on one day competing in the Olympics.

As Nigel Brookes says: “If you are having fun, then that’s the end goal. If you’re doing that and you’re being taught properly, then you’ll succeed.”

Read the rest of The Future Issue by Mpora here