A Kings County teen will be living his personal dream starting next month.
By the time he turns 19 Nov. 1, Adam Steeves of Black River will be in Austria, doing high-level training in snowboard cross. After that, he will be living in Utah and training with a high-performance snowboard cross team.
Steeves has been a member of the Nova Scotia provincial junior snowboard team for the past three years, specializing in snowboard cross, also known as bordercross.
He trains at Ski Martock when he isn’t away training with the provincial team. Over the past year, he has been to Maine and Quebec twice, as well as trips to Vermont, Ontario and British Columbia, while competing as part of the NorAm (North America Cup) series.
This, he explained, is one stage down from the World Cup and “the last open stage before you have to be invited to compete.”
Getting started
Steeves began snowboarding at a young age, and started taking lessons around the age of six or seven with his best friend, whose uncle was an instructor at Martock. After “going out a few times a year, fumbling around, and having some fun,” he started riding more seriously in 2006, doing skills development twice a week as part of the club team at Martock. He joined the provincial team in 2010.
A relatively new snowboard discipline, boardercross made its Olympic debut at Torino in 2006, and “has been growing ever since. It’s exciting to watch and exciting to race,” Steeves said.
“I like the excitement. Every time you go down the course, it’s different, and you have three (five in World Cup races) other riders beside you.”
Steeves says snowboard cross “is definitely a growing sport. In the two years I’ve been competing, I’ve noticed a huge increase in participation.”
Currently, he says, there are 60 or 70 guys doing NorAm.
Tough competition
The competition is simple, starting with each participant getting two qualifying runs down the course.
“You’re timed, and the top 32 get to move on,” he added.
With upwards of 60 riders, “it makes for a tough competition.”
Steeves’ best NorAm finish has been 23rd out of 65 riders in a competition at Sugarloaf in Maine.
“I was very happy with that result,” he said, adding, “that was on Day 2 of that competition. On Day 1, I missed the top 32 by less than half a second.”
Don’t assume just because he snowboards that he’s also proficient on skis, though.
“I’ve never skied a day in my life, just snowboard.”
The next steps
Once he wraps up work for his father at Gaspereau Press in late October, Steeves will be hitting the road.
“I’m moving to Salt Lake City to train with a high performance team under an American coach,” Steeves said.
He’ll be the only Canadian on the team. There are three Australians, and the rest of the team is from the U.S.
“My current coach, back when he was an athlete, was coached by the guy coaching the team I’ll be training with,” Steeves explained. His present coach “suggested I apply for the team. I applied, got a response, did an interview and was offered a spot. I’m planning to make the best of it.”
Prior to leaving for Utah, Steeves is off to Austria in November to train.
“I’ll be going up to a glacier with some national team members. I’ve never been to Europe before, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
As for his short-term and long-term goals, Steeves said he has one more year of junior eligibility.
“The Canada Games are this coming February. The team hasn’t been chosen yet. I’m hoping I make it.”
He also has his sights set on trying to get to junior worlds, which are in China this year.
“It’s a very ambitious goal, but something for me to work toward.” He is well aware “there are a lot of steps before that.”
As for the long-term, he says, “in a few years, I’d like to be part of the Canadian national team. I’d love to be able to move back to Canada to train.”
For now, the Park City High Performance Snowboard Cross Team in Utah “is a huge step for me. I’ll be training with a team where everyone else is better than me, I’ll be living on my own, and in the U.S.”
He admits he is “looking forward to being able to train every day,” with no distractions.
“I’ve never been able to do that before.”
A Kings County teen will be living his personal dream starting next month.
By the time he turns 19 Nov. 1, Adam Steeves of Black River will be in Austria, doing high-level training in snowboard cross. After that, he will be living in Utah and training with a high-performance snowboard cross team.
Steeves has been a member of the Nova Scotia provincial junior snowboard team for the past three years, specializing in snowboard cross, also known as bordercross.
He trains at Ski Martock when he isn’t away training with the provincial team. Over the past year, he has been to Maine and Quebec twice, as well as trips to Vermont, Ontario and British Columbia, while competing as part of the NorAm (North America Cup) series.
This, he explained, is one stage down from the World Cup and “the last open stage before you have to be invited to compete.”
Getting started
Steeves began snowboarding at a young age, and started taking lessons around the age of six or seven with his best friend, whose uncle was an instructor at Martock. After “going out a few times a year, fumbling around, and having some fun,” he started riding more seriously in 2006, doing skills development twice a week as part of the club team at Martock. He joined the provincial team in 2010.
A relatively new snowboard discipline, boardercross made its Olympic debut at Torino in 2006, and “has been growing ever since. It’s exciting to watch and exciting to race,” Steeves said.
“I like the excitement. Every time you go down the course, it’s different, and you have three (five in World Cup races) other riders beside you.”
Steeves says snowboard cross “is definitely a growing sport. In the two years I’ve been competing, I’ve noticed a huge increase in participation.”
Currently, he says, there are 60 or 70 guys doing NorAm.
Tough competition
The competition is simple, starting with each participant getting two qualifying runs down the course.
“You’re timed, and the top 32 get to move on,” he added.
With upwards of 60 riders, “it makes for a tough competition.”
Steeves’ best NorAm finish has been 23rd out of 65 riders in a competition at Sugarloaf in Maine.
“I was very happy with that result,” he said, adding, “that was on Day 2 of that competition. On Day 1, I missed the top 32 by less than half a second.”
Don’t assume just because he snowboards that he’s also proficient on skis, though.
“I’ve never skied a day in my life, just snowboard.”
The next steps
Once he wraps up work for his father at Gaspereau Press in late October, Steeves will be hitting the road.
“I’m moving to Salt Lake City to train with a high performance team under an American coach,” Steeves said.
He’ll be the only Canadian on the team. There are three Australians, and the rest of the team is from the U.S.
“My current coach, back when he was an athlete, was coached by the guy coaching the team I’ll be training with,” Steeves explained. His present coach “suggested I apply for the team. I applied, got a response, did an interview and was offered a spot. I’m planning to make the best of it.”
Prior to leaving for Utah, Steeves is off to Austria in November to train.
“I’ll be going up to a glacier with some national team members. I’ve never been to Europe before, and I’m really looking forward to it.”
As for his short-term and long-term goals, Steeves said he has one more year of junior eligibility.
“The Canada Games are this coming February. The team hasn’t been chosen yet. I’m hoping I make it.”
He also has his sights set on trying to get to junior worlds, which are in China this year.
“It’s a very ambitious goal, but something for me to work toward.” He is well aware “there are a lot of steps before that.”
As for the long-term, he says, “in a few years, I’d like to be part of the Canadian national team. I’d love to be able to move back to Canada to train.”
For now, the Park City High Performance Snowboard Cross Team in Utah “is a huge step for me. I’ll be training with a team where everyone else is better than me, I’ll be living on my own, and in the U.S.”
He admits he is “looking forward to being able to train every day,” with no distractions.
“I’ve never been able to do that before.”
