Matt Morison Interview

[yyzcanuck]

From the interview at this LINK:

Favourable Forecast

Posted Monday, March 16, 2009

CTVOlympics.ca staff

Watching snowboarder Matthew Morison in front of a camera it is hard to detect the fierce competitiveness that has put him on the World Cup podium this season.

The bright-eyed and bashful 21 year old is so polite and unassuming reporters trying to mete out the components of his success must press him about his career ambitions.

"I want to win," he said in an interview with CTV earlier this year.

Morison is referring to the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympic Games where he hopes to secure a gold medal in the parallel giant slalom event. It is a goal on which he is so focused that to question his intentions seems asinine.

His conviction creeps up.

"When I race in 2010, I want to win," he says.

"I want to win a gold medal, that's obviously my goal to win a gold medal.

"That's it, that's all I can think about. I don't want anything less than that. I'd be happy with silver or a bronze, but I think anything less than that, that'll be a bad day."

Following this moment of seriousness, Morison flashes a smile.

His easy charm may in part be explained by his snowboard success in a relatively short amount of time. While he was eliminated in the quarter finals at last weekend's race in Spain, Morison has had a strong season.

His third place finish in January at the World Championships in South Korea confirmed him as an Olympic medal hopeful and brought to five the number of World Cup medals he has secured this season.

The relaxed atmosphere of Morison's upbringing in Burketon - a small Ontario town where locals have been known to decorate streetlight poles with posters bearing his name - may also explain his affability.

He has travelled the world snowboarding, but remains attached to his roots: preferring country music over the punk-rock music popular with his shredding peers and carrying an old cowboy belt his father gave him.

Morison began snowboarding at Oshawa Ski Club when he was six years old. His father, Paul, provided him with the proper equipment to help conquer the 300-foot elevation and honed his own snowboarding skills alongside Matt, elder son, Chance, and wife, Cathy.

When Matt's superior skill became apparent, Paul recruited one-time World Cup circuit competitor Brandon Hune to further develop his son's ability.

It was an intuitive next step for Morison.

"When I was a kid [snowboarding] is what I did on weekends. Instead of going to the hockey rink, I went to the hill," he says.

"It was just always something I liked doing and if it's something I liked doing, why not do it all the time, do it as a profession so that's what I do now?"

Morison's results quickly surpassed that of Hune who competed in five World Cup events and whose best finish was 29th.

His passion for the sport remains irrepressible, but he is not one to offer his opinion without first being asked.

"What I like best about snowboarding - it's kind of tough to describe - but, it's those days you go out, it's awesome weather, you're up in the mountains," he says.

Pause.

"I don't even need to be hitting gates, I could be flying down the hill in perfectly groomed conditions on my race board, you know, going fast, making turns, it just feels so good.

Unprompted, he continues.

"You get out on the hill, you feel those feelings of turning, it's, I don't know, it's almost like having a super long work week and being able to hop in your vehicle and floor it away from work. You get that sort of ‘Here we go' feeling. [it's Friday.] Yah, everyday, all the time."

Having qualified for the Canadian National Team, Morison is now intent on becoming a world-class athlete. He works out five days a week, ever compelled to push himself to the limit and to make certain that no other teams on the World Cup circuit are working harder.

"Being dubbed No. 1 going into this year makes me feel like I've got a huge target on my back and everybody is aiming for me," he says.

"I've never felt the pressure like I do now.

"I know why it is. It's because now I've had the results. I've had World Cup victories, I've had a pretty big amount of success in such a short time and now everybody expects that I have to better that every year.

"I feel like I have to do that. A lot of the pressure comes from me, some of it is external. People want to see me do better and expect me to do better. Why should I do worse?"

[crucible]

Hmmmmm. The Force is strong with this one.

Geo

[Guest Boardbum]

Great interview, I know Matt from his early days in Ontario racing and I'm not surprised how well he has done. We all felt back then watching him race with Mike Lambert, Pat F. that he was the next great one to replace Jasey when was done. Watching him over the past few years he has matured into a great athlete. I just hope that he can handle the pressure that will come in the months leading to the Olympics. because the pressure is only just getting started. he will be expected to win a metal by the media. Good luck Matt I believe you can.