Her stories were the things of fantasy, skiing every day in a land so beautiful that it would one day be known as Middle Earth, thanks to a particular movie franchise. I had to go!
beautiful that it would one day be known as Middle Earth, thanks to a particular movie franchise. I had to go! In June 2001 I set off for Te Land of the Long White Cloud, with absolutely no intention of taking any ski instructor exams or becoming involved in any other instructor systems. How wrong I was. Within a week of my
arrival I met fellow Scot Dave Taylor, who convinced me to become certified with the New Zealand Snowsports Instructors’ Alliance (NZSIA). Toward the end of that season I passed their Stage 1 exam (now the Level 2), and this completely solidified the fact that a life in the snowsports industry was for me. I love being in the mountains, because of the views, fresh air, and the ability to feel isolated and work outdoors, but also because of the camaraderie of working with like-minded people and the relaxed mindset we seem to share. I returned to New Zealand each (Northern Hemisphere) summer and at the end of the season in 2004 I passed the NZSIA Stage 2 (now Level 3). Te Northern Hemisphere winters were spent teaching at Mammoth Mountain and training with an array of Western Division superstars – Mark Spieler, Dave Mannetter, Eric Tanner, Finlay Torrance, and Robin Connors. Listening to how this group taught and conducted clinics (and watching them ski) inspired me to become fully certified in PSIA-AASI. In 2006 I attained the PSIA Level III and in 2007 became an examiner for Western Division. Achieving Level III certification is more than a means of qualifying for a higher wage, it gives you more tactical tools to create amazing guest experiences, adds invaluable layers of professional development, and connects you to a welcoming community of similarly driven colleagues. And the life skills I’ve learned extend far beyond the slopes.
SHARING WISDOM LEARNED ALONG THE WAY I learned a great deal along my path and I would like to share some of them in the
hopes of helping other members who are pursuing certification. Please bear in mind that this is not a roadmap to guarantee passing exams, but rather, upon reflection,
some knowledge I’ve gained on the way… Q Commit to training (it is vital). Create a schedule and commit to it. Te mountain lifestyle more than once lured me to drinking hoppy beverages some evenings, resulting in my being late to training or not attending at all. Te nights were fun, but I found that the inevitable post-party guilt set in the following day and when I did finally return to skiing with my trainer and other trainees, I was not progressing as much as I felt I should have been.
QUse teaching time to work on movement patterns. Demonstrating to your guests is a superb way for you to ingrain movements from previous training sessions. Some call this “getting paid to practice.” In hindsight, I now realize that there are some tremendous similarities between what the outside leg does in a wedge turn, for example, and in a dynamic turn. If I had realized this at the time, I could have effectively been
QTake days off. I used to think that days off snow were a luxury that I could not afford. I figured I needed to ski all day, every day, and study theory at night. Tese days, there are many high-level coaches and World Cup athletes who
progression (simple to complex, gross to refined movements, application of the VAK model, etc.). Nearly all of these things are covered by the trainer when we attend a clinic… we just have to open our eyes and ears to become aware that this teaching information is being covered. Many times I left a training session thinking that we had worked on our skiing a great deal and that I had made some breakthrough, but I felt like the teaching side was omitted. Looking back, I realized that all I had to do was change my perspective, as the information was always there. For example, the Teaching Model is a staple in nearly all presentations; see if you can pick out the introduction, skier analysis, goal setting, presenting information, guided feedback, checking for understanding, and summary in the next clinic you attend. Or, consider how your clinic leader incorporates different learning styles to cater to visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learners and builds upon them to create a progression.
Ζ XVHG WR WKLQN WKDW GD\V Rff VQRZ ZHUH D OX[XU\ WKDW Ζ FRXOG QRW DffRUG Ζ fiJXUHG Ζ QHHGHG WR VNL DOO day, every day, and study theory at night. These days, there are many high-level coaches and World Cup athletes who advocate planned rest days to allow the body to recuperate.
QRealize that every training session includes a sample lesson/progression. Every clinic is actually a fantastic example of how to structure a lesson (with regard to the Teaching Model, teaching styles, etc.) and build a
simultaneously working on my own higher-end skiing while giving a lesson on introducing turning.
advocate planned rest days to allow the body to recuperate. Halfway through a season, with no
days off snow, not only was my enthusiasm waning, I was sluggish and constantly fighting off illness. I wish that my mantra had been “perfect practice makes perfect,” rather than “practice makes perfect” and that I had scheduled rest days so I could
THESNOWPROS.ORG | 81
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