I’ve been a career snowboard instructor for almost twenty years, at the time of writing this article. Throughout my career I’ve helped thousands of students either make their first turns or improve upon them.
I can say from experience that it often only takes one little tip to unlock a blocker or a bad habit that is stopping a snowboarder from linking their first turns or executing the maneuver they’ve been trying for years.
I can absolutely empathize with the frustration that can be felt when you simply “can’t” do something! I also know first-hand the joy, elation, and pride that comes from breaking through the barrier. And I firmly believe that every barrier can be broken!
In this article, I’ll outline some of the main barriers that I’ve seen that block people from linking turns consistently and what they can do to break them.
Factors Affecting Your Snowboarding Progression
Based on the methodology put forth by the Canadian Association of Snowboard Instructors (CASI), some of the factors that can affect our performance are nicely wrapped up in the acronym EE-TT-PP, which stands for:
- Equipment
- Environmental
- Tactical
- Technical
- Psychological
- Physical
If you think the main reason you can’t link turns on your snowboard comes down to technique, check out our article “How to Not Catch An Edge Snowboarding.”
In this article we’ll explore each one of these factors that can affect our performance one-by-one and help you break the barrier that’s keeping you from linking turns in your snowboarding.
Equipment
The equipment you’re riding and how it’s set up can have a huge impact on your performance. Changing equipment is the easiest thing to fix in the EE-TT-PP model.
The main pieces of equipment are your snowboard boots and bindings. Check out our article, “Is Your Snowboard Too Advanced for You?” to make sure you’ve got the right snowboard.
Are your boots too big? Too small? To find out, read “How to Choose Snowboard Boots.”
And what about your bindings? Are they the right size? Set up with the right stance and angles? Check out “How to Choose the Right Snowboard Bindings (Flex & Fit Guide).”
Beyond those main pieces of equipment, what about your goggles; maybe you’re not linking turns because you can’t see well enough to know what’s in front of you! Or perhaps your fingers are so cold that you can’t concentrate and buying a new pair of gloves can change everything.
Whatever the case, changing equipment might be the quickest fix available to help you link your turns.
Environmental
This relates to things like the weather and snow conditions. Is it so cold that your body can’t respond? Are the snow conditions so firm that you’re extra cautious and stiff because you don’t want to fall?
Another environmental factor that can greatly affect confidence, and therefore performance, is visibility. If you can’t see the snow in front of you it can be hard to know when to initiate a turn!
It can be challenging to change environmental conditions, but the awareness of how they are affecting your performance can prompt you to give yourself grace in the face of frustration.
When frustration builds due to environmental conditions, it might be best to head in for a hot chocolate, warm up, and then get back at it when you feel warmer and more confident.
Another simple change you can make to the environment is to change the steepness of the run. Perhaps you’re attempting to turn or do your maneuver on terrain that is simply too steep.
By attempting the same maneuver on gentler terrain you will likely feel your confidence grow and your consistency improve. Practice on easy terrain until you feel a mastery of what you’re trying and then up the challenge level with steeper terrain.
Tactical
Tactical issues relate to changes you can make to the way you’re doing something.
For example, you might be performing all the technical movements required to execute a turn, but you’re not going fast enough. By making the tactical change of going a little faster, you might find your performance improves!
Think of trying to ride a bike at slow speeds; it takes more skill than riding at higher speeds! Turning in snowboarding can be quite similar. Conversely, you might be trying to turn at too high of a speed and you simply need to slow down a bit to focus on the movements.
Another common tactical issue when learning to link turns is not making round turns and therefore gaining an enormous amount of speed down the hill. By focusing on making rounder turns, you’ll feel your speed control increase and therefore your confidence and flow.
Technical
Technical issues relate to technique and skill level. Do you actually have the skill set to link turns or perform the maneuver you’re trying?
This is where professional instruction can make a real difference. Professional instructors know how to break down maneuvers, such as linking turns, into digestible steps that give quick wins along the way.
Are you able to execute individual heel and toe side turns? Are you able to come back to a centered position between the turns? Do you have sufficient speed and direction control to keep yourself safe while attempting to link turns?
If yes, look at some of the other factors in this list to find the blocker. If not, then consider taking a lesson and don’t be afraid to take one step back before moving forward!
Psychological
What mental space are you in? Is your nervous system red-lining due to frustration or fear? Are you tired, upset, or have something that is stealing your attention from the task at hand?
It’s important to be focused while learning to link turns, because you are actively building the muscle memory required to turn on autopilot.
If you’re having difficulty linking your turns, check in with your mental space and take a break if needed.
Physical
Physical blockers can range from flexibility to strength, to fitness level and physical characteristics like height and weight.
Is there anything physical that’s getting in the way of your ability to link turns? If you can’t make more than ten turns without needing to stop and take a rest, your fitness level might be the blocker.
Conclusion
The reason you can’t link turns can be due to a number of different factors. We often jump straight to thinking that it’s a technical issue, and sometimes it is but not always.
Going through the list of factors above you will likely find the reason you’re having trouble linking turns.
The factors at the top of the list offer the quickest fixes, like with equipment it might only take a slight binding adjustment or a new pair of boots to get you linking your turns.
If you think your snowboard is what’s holding you back, check out our guide “How to Choose a Forgiving Snowboard (Profiles, Flex & Shape Explained)” to learn about how snowboard design can help us to minimize catching edges.
Conversely, if physical factors are what are limiting you, it might take a bit of time and effort to change them, for example building the fitness level to ride down a full run without stopping.
Whatever the case, with the factors listed above you can determine what is keeping you from linking your turns. You got this, keep at it!
