YOUR SPACE #SNOWPROS
CULTURE IN YOUR CLASS: USHER STUDENTS INTO UNIQUE SNOWBOARD COMMUNITY
%\ %UHQQDQ 0HW]OHU
he snowboard community is blessed with a rich history, built on the backs of rebel heroes and countercultural spirits. Unlike many other mainstream sports, snowboarding engages its participants in an identity beyond fundamental movements
T
and competitive outcomes. It has proven itself time and again to be a lifestyle; driven by a unique and ever-changing culture. AASI is all about developing “lifelong
learners,” and what better way to do that than to share our culture with snowboard students? It’s our responsibility as instructors to include students – whatever their age, background, or mindset – in the snowboarding community, and to allow them to fi nd their own sense of identity and belonging within our culture.
DEFINING CULTURE FOR A DEFYING CULTURE “A culture is a way of life of a group of people – the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept, generally without thinking about them.”
Behaviors. Values. Beliefs. Symbols. T ese are some of the ways we perceive and interact with culture. With respect to snowboarding, each of us has had diff erent experiences standing sideways. T erefore, each of us will also have a unique understanding of and relationship with snowboarding’s culture. And so will our students. Modern snowboarding is a mix of passionate subcultures united by a common snowsliding device. T ere are the jibbers. T ere are the carvers. T ere are the soul shredders. Splitboarders. Pipe jocks. Recreationalists. Athletes. Freestylers. Freeriders. All born of the same spirit of play and progression. All with unique sets of values, beliefs, and styles. T e aim of this article is not to defi ne the vast characteristics of snowboarding’s numerous cultures. Rather, it’s to encourage all of us to engage with these cultures and create a lesson environment in which our students can do the same.
COACHING CULTURE WITH THE TEACHING CYCLE “Culture is passed along by communication and imitation from one generation to the next.”
6 | 32 DEGREES • WINTER 2017
Instructors have lots of opportunities to connect students with snowboarding culture during the course of a lesson, starting with the fi rst component of the PSIA- AASI Teaching Cycle: Introduce lesson the and develop trust (which often involves establishing rapport). T is step is often presented or interpreted as an exclusively interpersonal dynamic. But why not step outside of that box by introducing the culture of snowboarding, and encouraging students to begin establishing a rapport with its community? Try asking a group of beginner students what they know about snowboarding, or what they think is cool about riding. Chances are the students will reveal bits of their perception of snowboarding’s culture. Maybe you’ll hear that one student “Saw the X Games on TV,” and that another is “a surfer, and snowboarding looked fun.” With a bit of understanding of a student’s grasp of the culture of snowboarding, we can better shape our actions to help increase their sense of belonging, or even compliment their existing perception with another perspective.
AASI Snowboard Team Member Brennan Metzler fi QGV D GHHS WXUQ LQ WKH 9DLO EDFNFRXQWU\ engaging with the freeride culture with which KH LGHQWLfi HV
alleyoop double rodeo in the halfpipe wouldn’t have happened without her mastery of a toeside traverse to get her to the wall with speed. Nicolas Müller has several video parts in which he garlands across a powder fi eld, pumping and surfi ng a terrain feature. Even feedback can be presented through a cultural perspective. “Wow, you have an amazing style to your turns. T e way you slash with your board is old school!” Simple as they may be, these quick phrases and references to snowboard heroes can increase a student’s connection to the greater snowboarding community.
PSIA-AASI Snowboard Team Coach Scott Anfang airs it out below Corbet’s Couloir at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, circa 1988.
During the guided practice component
of the Teaching Cycle, simple tasks and drills can be brought to life by incorporating a snowboard legend. After all, even Jeremy Jones has to sideslip through an icy choke every now and again. And Elena Hight’s breakthrough
COMMUNICATING CULTURE THROUGH IMITATION Both the content of what we present (our specifi c words) and how we present it (nonverbal communication and demonstrations) influence a student’s perception of what snowboarding is, and what it isn’t. Some of the most vivid memories students have from their lesson will involve the persona of their instructor, or other snowboarders on the mountain. Did their instructor have a gregarious laugh? (Snowboarders enjoy life.) Was their coach perpetually open and encouraging of diff erent ideas? (Snowboarders value individual styles.) Did their pro have a good time instructing? (Fun seems to be the bottom line for snowboarding). Our students may not remember specifi c joints to be fl exed, extended, or rotated, but they certainly will remember their instructor’s personality and how snowboarding was presented. How we look, how we speak, our personalities and responses… all communicate
COURTESY OF SCOTT ANFANG
COURTESY OF BRENNAN METZLER
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86 |
Page 87 |
Page 88 |
Page 89 |
Page 90 |
Page 91 |
Page 92 |
Page 93 |
Page 94 |
Page 95 |
Page 96 |
Page 97 |
Page 98 |
Page 99 |
Page 100 |
Page 101 |
Page 102 |
Page 103 |
Page 104 |
Page 105 |
Page 106 |
Page 107 |
Page 108 |
Page 109 |
Page 110 |
Page 111 |
Page 112 |
Page 113 |
Page 114 |
Page 115 |
Page 116 |
Page 117 |
Page 118 |
Page 119 |
Page 120 |
Page 121 |
Page 122 |
Page 123 |
Page 124