Woodward Park City: The rally place for the Carman Family

PARK CITY, Utah — The Carman family Amber and Wyatt, plus their children, Callie (13) and Cru (15), moved to Park City from Las Vegas over Memorial Day weekend. As a family immersed in extreme sports, their decision to move rallied around Woodward Park City. In four months, they’ve found comradeship with other Woodward folks and honed their athletic skills as a family.

“My husband and I were both involved in extreme sports in our youth, snowboarding, skating, BMX, and motocross. The kids were raised around all the sports we loved to do, and luckily they gravitated towards them as well,” Amber said. “Now we all do them together as a family.”

That’s why Park City’s renowned outdoor access, in combination with Woodward Park City, magnetized the Carman family to the area. Initially, Callie and Cru kept requesting to move closer to a Woodward. Amber and Wyatt realized a move was the best decision for everyone.

“Prior to relocating here, we were traveling out of town almost every weekend,” said Amber. Keeping up with the family’s extreme sports competition circuits kept them away from home way too much.

“During the summer, we did several back-and-forth weekend trips from Las Vegas to southern California for Callie’s skateboard contests. We made several day trips to Snow Summit in Big Bear for downhill mountain biking. Wyatt, Cru, and Callie were all doing Motocross races there as well. In the winter, we would drive an hour each way every Saturday to snowboard at Lee Canyon. We were driving a ton! We were never home. Making the decision to move our family to be close to Woodward was really important. The decision to relocate was based on finding a place that offered all of the outdoor activities our family enjoyed without having to travel out of town every weekend.”

Everyone in the Carman family agrees that moving to Park City and immersing in the Woodward lifestyle was the right choice. “Woodward is a gathering place for individuals and families who enjoy having fun the same way we do,” Wyatt said.

Beyond making friends, the Woodward coaches are integral in helping Callie and Cru achieve their athletic dreams. Before moving from Las Vegas, the family would travel to Park City for the kids to participate in the Snowboard Performance Camps at Woodward.

“Cru and Callie learned more in one week than they would in an entire season at our local resort Lee Canyon in Las Vegas. Brandon Hobush was their coach the first year, and they enjoyed the program so much we brought them back the following year,” Amber said.

Positive relationships with their coaches are helping to push Callie and Cru to higher levels of performance and enjoyment.

“Kids take advice from their coaches way better than from their parents,” Wyatt said. Training all summer paid off for Callie and Cru.

“This Summer, both kids participated in Woodward’s Mountain Bike Summer Race Series, and they both took 1^st place in their division. Having both kids on the podium for both races was super cool! The hard work and perseverance are paying off!” said Amber.

Cru shares Amber’s sentiment. “I love pushing myself, and I love having fun… Woodward helps me progress because they build rad stuff! They promote pushing the limits! The coaches are rad!” he said.

Callie dreams of competing professionally in skateboarding, snowboarding, or both. She credits Woodward for helping her grow in her chosen disciplines. “Woodward Park City is a great facility pushing everyone’s skills to the next level. The coaches are awesome, pushing you and helping you get better. They bring in a lot of professional athletes (and tons of rippers in general) that help push and motivate me,” she said.

For the Carman family, extreme sports draw them closer and create lasting memories. Woodward Park City helps facilitate friendships, physical accomplishments, and a good time.

Cru sums up their family’s relationship to extreme sports, “Ultimately, I just love these sports because they mix hanging with family and friends and getting sendy!” he said.