Seeking instructors

[Ryan]

Are there any other insturctors that post in this place?

This seems to be the part of the board for it but thus far there is nothing here.

A simple yes or no would be a start

[JimG.]

I was an instructor/coach for years (starting in the late 80's) at Hunter until about 2 years ago when I became a paying customer so that I can ski with my 2 oldest boys (8 and 10) before they're both leaving me in the dust.

My experience with giving skiing advice is that people rarely want to hear it unless they are paying to hear it, probably why nobody has posted anything here.

[Ryan]

I understand fully what you are talking about with people not wanting to read skiing advice without soliciting it. There is a lot of things to talk about though like body mechanics and teaching techniques that I think could make for good discussions. I love trying to pick up ideas of how to show someone a new movement or a way to get an intermediate out of the back seat and forward in their stance.

I am still a young instructor though. I am a second year at Peek N'Peak and a PSIA level 1

I have been skiing for 20+ years though and the teaching thing just fit in wonderfully to hepling me make my own skiing better.

[Patrick]

My experience with giving skiing advice is that people rarely want to hear it unless they are paying to hear it, probably why nobody has posted anything here.

Especially your kids!!! I know what you mean, that one of the reason I got my daughter into ski lessons when she turned 5. She didn't want to turn or control her speed.

As for comments, I don't mind hearing them as long as the person knows what he's talking about.

PS. I never taught skiing except for my daughter, wife and ex-girlfriends.

[JimG.]

Especially your kids!!!

I'm fortunate; I have 3 boys and my 2 oldest are heavily into the sibling rivalry thing. They are both very competitive and they're always looking for ways to get an edge (sorry, bad pun). They've also learned that I know what I'm talking about, so they listen to me and learn in an effort to earn bragging rights as the second best skier in the family (until they both start kicking dad's ass which won't be too long now).

One of my enduring moments of pride was watching David and Peter last March at Sugarbush blasting down the bump course on Stein's and both winding up as yard sale victims as a result. I expected someone to be crying or hurt, but both just put their equipment back on and resumed their runs. At the bottom, Peter asks me whose wipeout was better. That's when I knew they were totally hooked!

[Ryan]

Getting kids to turn and not jus tgo straight in a "death wedge" can be a huge challenge. One of the best things that I have ever found it to make it a game that they can have fun with. Ski backwards in front of them and challenge them to try to catch you. As you turn they will come after you. It work especially well with kids who are having fun but don't know how to turn. When you take the thinking out of it they will tend to just do it and not think.


Another great kids game is "red light green light"
Yell green when you want them to go and as soon as they get going with a bit of speed yell Red and have them stop as fast as they can. make it into a game and the stopping/slowing down becomes part of the fun for them.

[Patrick]

I was missing an important comment about my daughter skiing (ie. Not wanting to turn, etc). We knew how, HOWEVER she didn't necessarly want to listen to her dad.

Anyhow, she is 7 now, and judging how she was going on Saturday (first time out, first time with a helmet, first time with poles, new (used) skis)...

I was really impressed, it's not going to be long before I will have to kept up with her.

Anyhow, I will still be able to ski with her younger sister (2yrs now) which might start skiing next Spring.

[Ryan]

HA! kids crack me up when they do that. It is cute when it is your kid. It gets very old very fast when it is someone elses and they don't want to listen.

I think that this winter I am going to gear my teaching a lot more toward adults. Actually my personal favorite is teenage boys. They are fearless and fun. They want to learn anything that is going to make them look good in front of friends/girls and if you can ski bumps and do any jumping it is instant respect from them.

Don't try at first to work on perfect turn shape and clean turn initiation but if you can teach them moguls, or do fun games and competitions to work on better balance, you can have a great class. Nastar is a big hit too usually.

[JimG.]

Adults are ALOT tougher than kids...with kids, as long as you make it fun they will follow you anywhere and do whatever you say.

Adults ask alot of questions that lead many instructors into that horrible place I call "technical hell". You've seen it, that place off the side of the trail where you can listen to an instructor babble on about what they do/don't know.

Nobody pays for a lesson to stand around talking and getting cold...lessons are about movement and mileage.

[Ryan]

Jim you could not possibly be more right.

When you get a class stuck on the side of the hill with an instructor yammering on and on about some specific movement analysis or techno jargon crap and even though he/she understands exactly what he is saying, without 10 years of experience talking in that "instructor slang" that develops, no one knows what he is saying.

[iskiwaytoofast4u]

Hey everyone, 'fng' here checkin' in from Southern New England...please send snow! I've been teaching skiing & snowboarding (no tele though, gotta nail that for the trifecta!) for around 6 years now, and I've had just about every imaginable combination of personalities, abilities, & ages. While the techie-lecture style may not appeal to everyone, it does work for some. People learn differently, and I'm oversimplifying this, but oh well, here goes...There are 3 basic "styles" of learning -- Auditory, Visual, & Kinesthetic (sp). The first two are somewhat self-explanatory, i.e. by hearing or by seeing. That K word though, means to feel. Combinations and variations about, of course. For example, I am strongly visual/kinesthetic. If you tell me something, even if I'm looking you in the eye and nodding, I will immediately forget it (if I ever truly process it) the moment a pretty girl walks by. Or I get distracted by a shiny object. Or I'm really thinkin about dinner...SHOW me something, however, and I begin to get it. Ultimately, however, I have to physically DO IT to connect the visual w/ the feeling. Straight auditory learning styles, however, may be more inclined to listen to detailed explanations on the side of the trail. When you find an instructor whose style fits yours, or even better, an instructor who is half athlete/half shrink, you will be capable of learning not only more, but faster.If this sounds crazy, I've been studying/taking exams all week & haven't slept much! Only 48 hrs, 1 Economics Exam, & 1 day of work stand between this frazzled student & a solid 3 week stint in Vermont, teaching roughly 40% of the time...What goes down during the 60% of my time not spent teaching is a story for another time, unfortunately!

[JimG.]

All right on the money waytoofast, and welcome aboard! I didn't mean to downplay the importance of figuring out teaching styles, and a certain amount of talking time is essential.

I guess my point was more that I feel it is best to talk as much during lift time and less when it's ski time. I don't like to stand a class off to the side of a trail when I can make the points I need to discuss on a lift line instead.

You sound like you understand well how to teach and I think you agree that customers pay to ski as much as possible, so I try to talk when we're dealing with standing/sitting around time anyway.

[HDHaller]

As for comments, I don't mind hearing them as long as the person knows what he's talking about.

Here, here! There's a small bit of good ski instruction in the world -- written and spoken -- and a whole lot of techno-babble. It's not easy to talk accurately and effectively about ski technique. But it's easy to fake, if your audience lets you. BTW, I've seen, in this forum, some good stuff (Moderator JimG).

-HDH

[JimG.]

As for comments, I don't mind hearing them as long as the person knows what he's talking about.

Here, here! There's a small bit of good ski instruction in the world -- written and spoken -- and a whole lot of techno-babble. It's not easy to talk accurately and effectively about ski technique. But it's easy to fake, if your audience lets you. BTW, I've seen, in this forum, some good stuff (Moderator JimG).

-HDH

Thanks HD!

[HDHaller]

As for comments, I don't mind hearing them as long as the person knows what he's talking about.

Here, here! There's a small bit of good ski instruction in the world -- written and spoken -- and a whole lot of techno-babble. It's not easy to talk accurately and effectively about ski technique. But it's easy to fake, if your audience lets you. BTW, I've seen, in this forum, some good stuff (Moderator JimG).

-HDH

Thanks HD!

My pleasure, Jim.
-HDH