Same Risk - Softer Landing

Lily Rice is inspiring and disruptive. She actively defies boundaries. Women in wheelchairs are not expected to be at the skate ramp nailing backflips. But that’s where Lily can be found.

Image copyright Spencer Murphy, sourced at .redbull.com

The risks that extreme athletes take are obvious - a slip or miscalculation can easily break bones or steal life. So how the heck do you practice for something that risky? Hard surface practice would make for a very short career.

Lily nailed her first backflip after a 6 hour session flipping into a foam pit. It’s the tool of choice for extreme athletes pushing extreme boundaries. The risk of stuffing the flip up is exactly the same, but the landing is safe enough to practice over and over again, until the skill is polished enough to stick it on a concrete ramp.

There’s something we can learn from the foam pit. Athletes like Lily are practising the actual skill they need. It’s not modified. It’s not a simulation. It's a well thought out progression of skill - the real deal without the bone busting crash.

When we are practicing something new, especially if it is high consequence, it’s worth finding a foam pit equivalent.