As he waits for his run to begin, he does not have fear.  He does not worry about being perfect or failing.  He does not have set routine to follow.  And he does not know exactly what will happen.  As he gets set to start his run in the X Games Qualifier, sophomore Kyle Kelley has no worries.  The only things he feels are comfort and confidence.

For Kyle Kelley, snowboarding is life.  Having done it since he was 7 years old, his life has come to revolve around it.

“I just go out and snowboard almost every day” said Kelley

A skater at first, Kelley was introduced to snowboarding by his older brother, Sean.  He fell in love with it immediately.

“Skateboarding helped a lot, from balancing to learning tricks,” said Kelley. “It was an easy transition because they are very similar sports.”

The transition was a quick one.  Within three years of picking up the sport, Kelley was already anxious to compete in competitions.  His simple hobby had already become a source of income.

“Competing just seemed really fun so I wanted to try it and sure enough I loved it.”

His success has not come without a lot of hard work and dedication, whether Kyle realizes it or not.  Practicing every day at Raging Buffalo in Algonquin, as well as working there, he lives and breathes the sport and its lifestyle.  And to him, he’s just having a good time.

Most kids Kyle’s age that snowboard just do it as a hobby or for fun.  But Kyle has the opportunity to do much more than that.  For him snowboarding could easily become his career.  Over the last 4 years Kelley has won many events and competitions.

“I don’t know the exact number, but I’ve won somewhere between 17 and 20 competitions.” said Kelley. “I’ve gotten top 3 in many more.”

In late December of last year, Kyle competed in an X Games/USASA (United States of America Snowboard Association) qualifier.  The winner got $300 and a spot in the X Games.

“There were about 35 other riders and they were all pretty well rounded” said Kelley.

Kyle’s preparation for this event was different than some might think.  Instead of having a set routine and knowing exactly what he wanted to do, he went into the rail jam wanting to stick to what he knew.  He planned to do to what he was comfortable doing and it paid off.

“It was awesome when I found out I won, everyone was really happy for me and knew I deserved it,” said Kelley.

With this win in particular, Kyle is one step closer to making it to his dream: Snowboarding for a living.

“Now that I have won the qualifier I have a really good chance of getting my name familiar with people,” said Kelley.  “I have a chance to win some big money.”

Though he does not look up to anyone in particular, it does not mean he has no one he looks up to.

“I don’t look up to any snowboarders; I just like anyone who is living the dream.”

The dream he is referring to is making it big and competing in the biggest and most prestigious competitions with the biggest names in the sport.  As long as he continues what he is doing, signs are pointing up.

“The Olympics are the goal,” said Kelley. “That’s along way off, but I think I can get there eventually.”

-Joe Browne

Staff Writer