Weird case of the Yips

I’ve had this thinking in the past where I’m like “statistically if I keep doing it, I’m bound to crash”. For me, it’s just an exposure thing. I had it with skating lately and the thing that helped me was to just get started without thinking until I was out of my head. As in, I just drop in before I can think.


Unfortunately, the nature of park skiing means there’s more down time (vs say a mini ramp or flowing through a skatepark) which means more time to think.

I don’t have much better advice besides try not to think and remind yourself you’ve done the trick tons of times.

BradFiAusNzCoCaI’ve had this thinking in the past where I’m like “statistically if I keep doing it, I’m bound to crash”. For me, it’s just an exposure thing. I had it with skating lately and the thing that helped me was to just get started without thinking until I was out of my head. As in, I just drop in before I can think.


Unfortunately, the nature of park skiing means there’s more down time (vs say a mini ramp or flowing through a skatepark) which means more time to think.

I don’t have much better advice besides try not to think and remind yourself you’ve done the trick tons of times.

Yh as you said the problem is the 15 seconds between starting and hitting the feature. Then I decide to just slide it. The problem isn’t necessarily the crashing. It’s like I need to crash to remind myself that while shit hurts I’m not gonna die lol. The other issue is the park setups here are shit. Either tiny baby rails or 6ft rainbow rails lol. Like I’m scared to even hit that thing let alone try 2 onto it

Have you tried not being a bitch?

NSCrip69Have you tried not being a bitch?

Wow great insight will have to consider this one carefully

"The weird thing is I’ll ski a ten hour day, learn a new trick, repeat it 100 times and have it down"

That's the strongest bullshit I've smelled in a while.

skierman"The weird thing is I’ll ski a ten hour day, learn a new trick, repeat it 100 times and have it down"

That's the strongest bullshit I've smelled in a while.

Not talking anything crazy here. I’m pretty new so a new trick is like a switch lip on. Or a backside 270 off. My definition of ‘having it down’ is getting say 3/5 and probably sketchy by most people’s standard by the end of the day. And I am skiing about 10 hours. The snowdomes open at 10am close at 10pm. I’m normally there start to finish with breaks every 2-3 hrs

FrombrumtobrazilNot talking anything crazy here. I’m pretty new so a new trick is like a switch lip on. Or a backside 270 off. My definition of ‘having it down’ is getting say 3/5 and probably sketchy by most people’s standard by the end of the day. And I am skiing about 10 hours. The snowdomes open at 10am close at 10pm. I’m normally there start to finish with breaks every 2-3 hrs

It sounds to me like you're still in the relatively early stages of progression in the park, and everything you're going through feels perfectly normal. If you're at a ~60% success rate on a trick, I completely understand being nervous about doing it when you're starting a new day on hill. That means 40% of the time you might fall, which is a very reasonable reason to be a bit nervous.

Probably sounds cliche, but I wouldn't overthink it or get too worked up about it. The more time you spend on snow, the less you'll feel that way. Maybe try to identify 2-3 tricks that you love doing and that come easy to you and start your day repeating those a few times, then build some progression off those.

Simplest answer is just spend more time on snow and those feelings will eventually go away. Also don't get too hung up on how quickly you're progressing. Being comfortable in the park doesn't happen quickly.

JsNeagleIt sounds to me like you're still in the relatively early stages of progression in the park, and everything you're going through feels perfectly normal. If you're at a ~60% success rate on a trick, I completely understand being nervous about doing it when you're starting a new day on hill. That means 40% of the time you might fall, which is a very reasonable reason to be a bit nervous.

Probably sounds cliche, but I wouldn't overthink it or get too worked up about it. The more time you spend on snow, the less you'll feel that way. Maybe try to identify 2-3 tricks that you love doing and that come easy to you and start your day repeating those a few times, then build some progression off those.

Simplest answer is just spend more time on snow and those feelings will eventually go away. Also don't get too hung up on how quickly you're progressing. Being comfortable in the park doesn't happen quickly.

Yeah you’re completely right. The main reason I’m so worked up on it is that ive been doing this trip for a while now and its ending soon and i don’t feel much further than when i started, and then on top of that, closer to the start I was able to push myself into harder stuff from the start of each day whereas now it’s taking me longer to get going. And for some reason my day starts generally when I crash hard which is starting to suck lol. I get that it takes time just annoying that I can’t use the little time I have to push myself more because like the guy above said I’m being a bit of a little bitch lol.

FrombrumtobrazilYeah you’re completely right. The main reason I’m so worked up on it is that ive been doing this trip for a while now and its ending soon and i don’t feel much further than when i started, and then on top of that, closer to the start I was able to push myself into harder stuff from the start of each day whereas now it’s taking me longer to get going. And for some reason my day starts generally when I crash hard which is starting to suck lol. I get that it takes time just annoying that I can’t use the little time I have to push myself more because like the guy above said I’m being a bit of a little bitch lol.

Confidence will come with that time spent on snow as well, also it seems most people really tend to get comfortable and start progressing at a steadier rate I feel is usually around 14-16. That seems to be around the age group where you are willing to take some more risks and push yourself. I have now idea how old you are but I’m getting them impression you might be around there or a bit younger. Also keep in mind your skiing in a fridge, not the best snow or speed. Like homie said I would probably start your day practicing one or two tricks you know and then eventually they will come to you easier with time and muscle memory.

yo a 10 hour day and you can’t land shit the next day? well no shit your body is probably exhausted. also mountains are only open like 7.5 hours bell to bell here and thats plenty of time to get exhausted. if you truly are there for 10 hours thats so much lol

I just wanna add man, look at the bright side of falling after you've learned the trick already. You can learn the MOST important skill in freestyle skiing. How to fall properly.

Embrace falling a lot to learn how to expect a crash coming and how to react to make it hurt you the least. Be aware of your body while you fall, try to spread out your weight upon impact and avoid landing on a straight knee or elbow.

Eventually you'll stop falling so much on familiar tricks and progress will become easier. Enjoy the learning curve homie! It's when you discover that skiing is fun, but the community can be even better.