Inner-city youths are getting a new perspective on things as they navigate steep hills of snow with a board strapped to their feet.
As rock music blares, they crash almost as often as they glide upright on the slopes at Raging Buffalo in Algonquin, a snowboard-only park with a 10- to 15-foot “half pipe.” And they’re learning discipline and patience, say participants in a special snowboarding program.
The national program, called Chill, was started in 1995 by a snowboarding company that provides all the gear, transportation and instruction. About a dozen city schools and youth agencies in Chicago, one of the eight participating cities, take children ages 10 to 18 snowboarding for six weeks.
The youths, some of whom have never left the city, can have problems such as chemical dependency, be in foster care, or come from families that can’t afford this kind of experience.
The idea is to boost their confidence, help them adjust to treatment or broaden their vision of the future by learning something new, said Edna Ng, activity coordinator at the Gateway Foundation Residential Facility. The West Side center for young men with addictions is one of the participating agencies.
Snowboarding is being used as therapy in anger management, drug education and conflict resolution, she said.
“It teaches them how to control their behavior. A lot of them are impulsive and in order to ride the snowboard they need self-control,” Ng said.
Juan Tena, 14, an 8th grader at Chavez Upper Grade School in Back of the Yards, likes the speed of the sport.
“The way you glide on the snow–you can’t explain it. It’s like a little rush,” Tena said while strapped to a board on a recent night, his cheeks pink with the cold. “The first time it was just bumps and bruises the whole way. After that it kept on getting better and now they’re trying to teach us tricks.”
Besides being fun, Tena said, snowboarding has introduced him to a concept he can use when he does his schoolwork.
“It teaches you to be calm and take things step by step,” Tena said.
The first mountain to host Chill, Bolton Valley Resort in Vermont, already has seen a bump in snowboarding interest, said Zachary Hoag, snowboard supervisor. Where the resort would have had 70 percent of its guests ski and 30 percent snowboard on a typical day, it’s leveled off to 50-50, he said.
Raging Buffalo also has reported a similar rise in interest, boosting its Friday night attendance by as many as 35, including more girls.
Burton Snowboards and co-sponsor Mitsubishi outfit the youths with gear and a board, transport them, and provide volunteers at the sites, said Jenn Davis, Chill national director.
Jessica Ingram, 12, a 7th grader at Parkside Community Academy on the South Side, tried on a few jackets before finally picking a red and black one.
“[Snowboarding] makes me feel like I can do it,” said Ingram, who kept a smile on her face despite spending just as much time falling as gliding down the slopes. “I can do anything I put my mind to.”
Vince Falco, who worked for 10 years at Raging Buffalo before becoming the Chicago coordinator for Chill, said the sport promotes individuality.
“Snowboarding is completely a creative thing–your expression on the snow and how it makes you feel,” Falco said. Typically, he said, the youths are more used to team sports such as football and basketball.
“It’s a completely new avenue for them,” he said.
