When you're born in West Texas, it usually takes something dramatic to get you skiing. Sho Kashima grabbed the opportunity when, at age four, his dad was transferred to South Lake Tahoe’s Heavenly Mountain Resort. He responded to what he calls "a drastic change in climate" and started skiing, eventually cultivating thoughts of skiing on the World Cup and maybe at the Olympics.

After having his career-best season in 2009 (8th in the World Cup rankings), Kashima started the 2010 season looking strong with a pair of World Cup top-10 finishes. However, a blown knee sustained while preparing for the Deer Valley World Cup in January ended his season early and put his Olympic dreams on hold.

Another knee injury in 2012 put him back on the rehab road, but that didn't stop him from a late-season comeback in 2013. With only five starts, Kashima locked in three top-ten results and earned both a second and a third place finish at the U.S. National Championships, held on his home mountain.

SHO SAYS
I started the year coaching the Winter Park Freestyle team. I was there from November to January doing that and getting some training for myself. I didn't return to competition until February, so I gave myself plenty of time to get strong and get the training I needed to return to World Cup. I was pleasantly surprised by my results and how much better my mental game was than the last knee injury comeback I went through. My skiing is right where I was hoping it would be and I'm looking forward to a great summer of healthy training with my teammates.

FIRST TRACKS

When Dad, head golf pro at a course near El Paso, took a new administrative job with Heavenly Mountain Resort, young Kashima learned to ski. Heavenly has the photo-perfect Gunbarrel bump run looking straight at Lake Tahoe, which likely influenced Kashima as a young skier. "I'd see Travis Cabral, Chris Hernandez, Travis Ramos and I thought moguls were pretty cool, so I started doing moguls. I was 11 or 12."

OFF THE SNOW

During the summer, Kashima attends Westminster College in Salt Lake City and coaches two camps: Mogul Logic in Whistler, BC and CVA Trampoline/Skate camp in Sugarloaf, ME. “I also get very excited for football season,” says Kashima.