Sam Mercer, an eighth-grader at at Carrabassett Valley Academy in Maine, just returned from two weeks of early season snowboard training in Saas Fee, Switzerland. ‘I’ve skied since I was two and I got into snowboarding when I was nine because my older brothers and sister did it,’ said Mercer, whose family moved from Huntington Palisades to the Riviera last summer. ‘I first started at Beaver Creek in Colorado and loved it. You can do more tricks.’ Prior to enrolling at Carrabassett Academy, Mercer attended Brentwood School. He found out about Carrabassett when it was mentioned on the news last year in association with one of the school’s alumni, Seth Wescott, won the Snowboardcross gold medal at the 2006 Olympics. ‘There are different events’Boardcross, Halfpipe and Slope Style,’ he said. ‘I like Slope Style best because it’s rails and jumps.’ The 14-year-old shows rare dedication to his sport, practicing six days a week when there is snow and cross training in the summer months by skateboarding, jumping on the trampoline, running and lifting weights. ‘No matter what you do there’s still stuff to learn,’ Mercer said. ‘Right now, I’m working on my backside 360s. My goal is to become a pro and make my living snowboarding.’ As much as he loves Carrabassett, located at the base of Sugarloaf Mountain, Mercer’s favorite place to practice his craft is right here in Southern California’at Bear Mountain in Big Bear. Mercer, who rides a Burton Dominant because he likes the feel and durability of that particular board, most admires pro Danny Davis, who has appeared in several movies. Mercer enjoyed his trip to Switzerland with his school teammates. ‘Saas Fee provides great early season conditions that allowed Sam and his teammates to prepare for competitions in early December and strengthen the bonds between athletes and coaches,’ Carrabassett Coach Chris Clark said. Mercer and his teammates experienced another culture and the value of speaking and understanding another language while completing their normal schoolwork on the trip. Carrabassett Headmaster John Ritzo said the main goal of the fall camps is for student-athletes to establish goals, enforce fundamentals, and help coordinate a balance for their academics, athletics and physical conditioning. Founded in 1982, CVA is a fully accredited co-educational boarding school for grades eight through post-graduate. Notable alumni include Wescott, Bode Miller (silver medalist in 2002), Brenda Petzold (bronze medalist in 1998), Kirsten Clark and Emily Cook. In 25 years, CVA has produced 10 Olympians, 71 national titles, 16 NCAA All-Americans, one overall alpine world cup title, two individual alpine world cup titles, 20 national team members and six world champions. Mercer has never been seriously hurt snowboarding, although he understands the risk involved in such a dangerous sport, where speed and height on jumps is critical. When he’s home in the Palisades, Mercer enjoys skateboarding and going to the beach.
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