Wheaton teen finds passion in snowboarding

Not all spectators knew what Trevor Speranske pulled off on his way down the ski hill is known as a “shifty,” but anyone watching was undoubtedly impressed by the snowboarder's skill and agility.

A “shifty,” Speranske explains, is when an airborne snowboarder first shifts his board about 90 degrees in one direction, then shifts it in another direction, all before landing back on the snow.

“I'm not really a jumper,“ the 14-year-old Wheaton North High School freshman said. “I do rails.”

Speranske competed Saturday in both the “rail jam” and “big air” competitions as part of the SnoFest 2011 celebration at the Four Lakes ski area in Lisle. The event celebrated Four Lakes' 50th anniversary.

“This is my first year riding,” he said, although he has been involved in football, baseball, soccer and cross country.

He said he became interested in snowboarding because many of his friends were doing it. “I said I'd be interested to go.”

At the beginning of the winter season, he won a season pass to Four Lakes while attending a winter sports convention in Schaumburg.

Now the sport consumes his free time.

“I really like it. I go, like, all the time during the winter,” he said.

Spectator Sophie Slezak, a snowboard instructor at Four Lakes, said she knows Speranske from Wheaton North, where she is a junior. The snowboarders hang out and have lunch together in the cafeteria. And, of course, they meet on the slopes, she said.

“I know he (Speranske) snowboards about every day,” she said.

Speranske said he doesn't shirk his academic responsibilities to chase after a day of snowboarding.

“I'm in a lot of advanced classes at school. I try to balance it with my schooling,” he said.

Speranske said he especially likes to ride the rails as a snowboarder.

“I don't really focus on the jumps,” he said.

He likes it so much that, with his father's help, he's constructing a rail, made of galvanized steel pipe, for his Wheaton backyard that he hopes to practice on, even in the warmer months.

Speranske said while he's aware the sport can be dangerous, and he admits he once suffered a bruised tail bone, he puts it in perspective.

“I don't really focus on the danger. I'm usually very focused when I'm snowboarding because I know all the risks,” he said.

Speranske said his favorite aspect of snowboarding is learning new tricks. Winning competitions is pleasant, but it's not all about winning, he said.

“I won't be upset if I lose. This is not what I focus on,” he said. “I know if I don't win, it's because it's my first year.”