Kashima moved his family from Texas to Lake Tahoe at the age of four and learned to ski at Heavenly Mountain Resort , soon turning to freestyle skiing. From December 2004 he took part in the Nor-Am Cup, the North American continental championship, and three months later was able to post his first podium. In March 2006 he won the American championship title in the dual moguls discipline, which led to his inclusion in the national team. Kashima made his debut in the Freestyle World Cup on January 6, 2007 at Mont Gabriel , where he jumped to 12th place and immediately won his first World Cup points.
After four top 10 placements in the 2008/09 World Cup season, Kashima won his second championship title in March 2009. Due to a torn cruciate ligament , he had to end the 2009/10 season prematurely and thus missed the 2010 Winter Olympics . In the winter of 2010/11, Kashima caught up with the world's best. On December 10, 2011, he achieved his first World Cup podium finish with 2nd place in the Moguls competition in Ruka, Finland , followed by 3rd place in Méribel, France ten days later.
United States
