When I first started to learn to ride switch, I couldn’t figure it out. I’d try it out halfway down the run, struggle to turn, and just go back to my regular way of riding.

Until I found the ultimate hack.

Someone told me I needed to “never miss a switch day.”

What that means is, one day a week, you just go up and ride switch the ENTIRE day. No exceptions. 

Eero Ettala, one of the greatest snowboarders of all time is notorious for religiously adhering to switch days. He also won the X-Games doing a switch double wildcat over the biggest jump on the course.

So I went up to the mountain for my first switch day, and the first run… I was still horrible.

But a couple hours later, I wasn’t so bad, and a couple weeks of doing a switch day every week, and I could actually ride.

It turns out, if you already know how to snowboard, so it doesn’t take nearly as long to learn how to ride switch. 

Start out learning to stop toeside and heelside switch, and then progress to small s-turns, and then bigger carves across the slope. Stick to a mellow slope until you get a little more comfortable.

When I stuck with it for a while, I improved much faster than I thought.

These days, I force myself to ride switch in all situations. I hit jumps switch, ride on to rails switch, and even challenge myself to ride moguls and trees switch. I’m still working on that one.

The key here is to attack what makes you uncomfortable.

If you can’t turn toe side switch, make it a rule that you’re ONLY allowed to turn toeside. 

Practice it over and over and over again until it’s not as uncomfortable. You will surprise yourself with how fast you progress.

As Arnold says, everything is reps. 

In addition to one switch day a week, you should ride at least one run switch every day you ride. I try to ride switch every single run.

Back in the day, there was a pro snowboarder named Travis Parker who has since retired from the game. Once season he announced he was switching to regular, after being goofy his entire snowboard career. At the time i thought this was ridiculous, but now I’m actually considering switching to being goofy for an entire season.

I think You could get to the point where you don’t have a natural stance, even on jumps and rails. 

Now, some people think they need to get better at riding in their natural stance before learning to ride switch. I’m beginning to think everyone should be learning to ride both directions from the beginning.

The caveat here is, I’m not supporting you only doing falling leaf, never turning toeside, and just riding heelside regular, then goofy.

I’m talking about full turns both directions. The more you do it, the easier it becomes.