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John Russell

John Russell's sports column appears Sundays in Steamboat Today. Contact him at 871-4209 or e-mail jrussell@SteamboatToday.com.

Taylor Gold is in for a busy year. Not only does the sophomore have to keep up with his math, science and English classes at Steamboat Springs High School, but he also has to keep up with the always-changing world of snowboarding if he has any hope of reaching his Olympic-sized dreams.

Gold discovered just how quickly things change earlier this month, when Olympic snowboarder Shaun White pushed the limits of his sport at the Burton Open Snowboarding Championships.

White, who won the gold the last time he stepped into his board at the Olympics and is looking for a repeat in 2010, hit the fast forward button by landing back-to-back double corks.

The maneuver opened Gold's eyes and left guys like me wondering what the heck is a double-cork spin. I still think you can find a McTwist at McDonald's and that a rodeo somehow involves horses and bulls.

But my guess is that by the time White makes his final run at the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver, "double-cork" may be a household term - kind of like Jonny Moseley's 360-mute grab and dinner roll.

Earlier this month at the Cardrona Alpine Resort in New Zealand, several of the best snowboarders in the world incorporated snowboarding's newest tricks into their runs.

White's run to win the Burton event showed us what we can expect from the top competitors this season.

Gold left the event knowing that if he wants to keep up, he will have to keep working.

Gold is keeping up by traveling to places such as New Zealand to train and compete. He finished 32nd in a field of top riders. It's not the type of result that will make White nervous about his spot on the Olympic team, but it's where Gold is learning what it takes to make a run in 2014.

"It would take a miracle for me to make it," Gold said about the 2010 Olympics. "The top guys are going huge out of the pipe. Just watching them made my jaw drop."

Still, the young Steamboat rider managed to qualify for the semifinals in a tough international field.

But Gold also earned something else in New Zealand. He had a front-row seat to see the top riders in the sport, and got a glimpse of what it's going to take to be competitive in the future. Sure, Gold would love to surprise the world and earn his ticket to the Olympics, but that isn't why he's going.

He's going to fuel his desire to dominate the sport he loves.

"I definitely wish it was snowing," Gold said Friday. "I'm already fired up for the season."

That's what it takes to keep pace with guys like Shaun White.