The Work Between the Outcomes

Through most of my snowboarding professional career, I’ve been involved with CASI and the instructor world. One of the things I’ve always appreciated about CASI is that it’s outcome-based. We start with a clear picture of what good riding or teaching looks like, and that outcome gives us something to aim for.

Having that clarity is powerful. It keeps our training focused, measurable, and purposeful. But the longer I’ve coached and developed riders, the more I’ve realized there’s a key question that sometimes gets missed:

How do we actually get there?

Being outcome-based doesn’t mean skipping the process — it means letting the outcome guide how we design it.

Why Outcomes Matter

Outcomes define the destination. They give shape to our goals and create shared understanding. This is actually the step a lot of newer instructors/riders actually miss, often trying to design lessons or sessions with a lot of tactics/exercises that seem like a generally good idea, with no real direction towards the big question: “What the f#%k is the point?”

When a rider knows what the finished product should feel or look like — whether that’s a strong, dynamic turn or a solid teaching performance — it builds alignment between coach and athlete.

But an outcome is just the snapshot at the end of the movie.

The story is everything that happens between “action” and “cut.”

The Process: The Work in Motion

The process is how we get there — the drills, play, exploration, and feedback loops that make the outcome possible.
And that process doesn’t always have to be formal or repetitive. Sometimes it’s messy. Sometimes it’s fun. Sometimes it’s spontaneous.

Progress might happen during a structured session or through a random challenge on the chairlift line. Both are part of the process if they’re done with intention.

That’s what separates just doing laps from training with purpose.

It’s Not Always Linear

One thing that’s easy to forget is that the process doesn’t always move in a straight line.
Sometimes it feels awkward. Sometimes it feels like you’re getting worse before you get better. And sometimes, it means hiking a feature over and over, feeling miles away from the outcome you’re chasing.

That’s all part of it.
Learning is often non-linear — it loops, it stalls, it accelerates, it resets.

If you can be mentally prepared for that — for it to feel weird, uncomfortable, or inconsistent — then you’re already doing the work.

Try to enjoy each small step, each rep, each tiny improvement. They’re all part of the same process that eventually builds the outcome you’re aiming for.

Linking the Two

The outcome tells us what success looks like.
The process is how we move toward it.

Without the outcome, the process lacks direction.
Without the process, the outcome lacks meaning.

They rely on each other — one defines clarity, the other builds capability.

For Coaches, Instructors, and Riders

Next time you’re working toward a skill — landing a new trick, passing a course, improving your carve — start with the outcome in mind.
Picture it clearly. Then ask:

“What’s the process that will get me there?”

Design that process intentionally. Keep it fun, keep it adaptive, but make sure it exists. Maybe you can identify a skill that can be developed through a fun butter trick or something you do a lot like getting off a chairlift with one foot and carving the board to where you strap in without sliding the tail of the board by applying pressure throughout the whole edge.

Because being outcome-based isn’t just about knowing what it should look like in the end —
it’s about understanding how to build it and being willing to work through the parts that don’t feel perfect yet.

— Cam