Surrounding myself with a good group of people, who were taking the same exam, was sensational for my motivation and drive.
QTune it up. Learning how to tune my own skis was invaluable to my development, skill, and bank account. When my skis were sharp, I trusted them and I could feel when small changes of input to the skis created a more desirable outcome. My top two pieces of advice for tuning are 1) take a diamond stone to your base edge and side edge every day after skiing, as this will keep your edges smoother for longer and therefore keep your skis sharper for longer, and 2) over the course of a season, try diff erent base and side bevels to work out what feels best for you. For me, I prefer a 0.5° base bevel and an 88° on the side.
focus on the theory and teaching.
Q Consult diverse resources. Use every educational resource possible. Reading every PSIA manual is a given, but there are concepts and teachings from other systems’ manuals that really resonated with me. Furthermore, the PSIA- AASI Movement Matrix – a free video resource that is currently being retooled for availability at T
eSnowPros.org in early 2017 – is an incredibly useful tool for movement analysis, visualization purposes, and understanding the necessary movement patterns. In recent years I have combined watching the Movement Matrix with YouTube and social media off erings. T e Facebook page “Elite Skiing” is a great place to start as it hosts some fantastic videos by our very own PSIA Alpine Team member Jonathan Ballou. Also, look up Canada’s J.F. Beaulieu and Australia’s Riley McGlashan on YouTube for more excellent video.
Q Say no to summer! Doing a Southern Hemisphere winter was an integral part of becoming the instructor I am today, and not solely because it allowed me more training time. T e snow in New Zealand and Australia is signifi cantly diff erent in volume and consistency (lots of wind crust, Super Glue-like spring sludge, rain saturated, etc.) than what I had experienced in California and Utah. As a result, I had to learn versatility in my movements and desired ski outcomes, which allowed me to not only ski a variety of diff erent movement patterns, but also made me more malleable and adaptable. Furthermore, it provided me with
would have been a wiser choice. By and large, our trainers have taken the exam that we are about to go through, or if we are lucky enough, they have actually led those exams, meaning that they know where we sit in relation to the national standards. My two thoughts/suggestions that tie in with this “appropriate timeframe” are 1) skiing is like walking; in the end all able-bodied people learn to walk, we just learn it at our own pace, and 2) aim to take the exam when you will pass even on your worst day of skiing.
$XWKRU $OL 0DF*UDLQ V FHUWLfi FDWLRQ MRXUQH\ KDV WDNHQ KLP WR VSHFWDFXODU VQRZfi HOGV LQ WKH Northern and Southern Hemispheres.
and the “we are all in this together” attitude made me rally. Additionally, we were able to off er support in both our failures and our successes, whether that be run to run, day to day, or season to season.
Q Set a realistic time frame to pass. Committing to taking the exam before I was ready put me under additional stress and exacerbated my frustration at times. Looking back, speaking with my trainers and getting their input on when would be appropriate for me to take the exam
82 | 32 DEGREES • WINTER 2017
QRecognize that it’s a group thing. Surrounding myself with a good group of people, who were taking the same exam, was sensational for my motivation and drive. At times, my enthusiasm diminished and my desire to have “impromptu additional rest days” was perhaps a little all too encompassing, but, the emotional support of the crew
more opportunity to put into practice all that I had learned, in front of the guest. T is additional face time with the public allowed me to refi ne my delivery, and ultimately, made me feel more comfortable teaching skiing at the level expected for the teaching portion of the exam.
T roughout my journey I met some truly inspiring individuals, who coached me to not only become a better skier and instructor, but, I believe, a better human. I learned humility, patience, empathy, and emotional intelligence through my struggles, failures, and successes. To everyone who trained me, mentored me or provided support along the way, I want to say thank you and that I am truly grateful for all that you have done for me. To you, the reader, I say “keep your chin up and your head down.” All of your hard work and perseverance will pay off ! Best of luck!
Ali MacGrain LV D VWDff WUDLQHU DW &DOLIRUQLDȇV 1RUWKVWDU 5HVRUW DQG 1HZ =HDODQGȇV &DUGURQD $OSLQH 5HVRUW DV ZHOO DV D IRUPHU H[DPLQHU LQ 36Ζ$ $$6ΖȇV :HVWHUQ 'LYLVLRQ DQG DQ H[DPLQHU ZLWK WKH 1HZ =HDODQG 6QRZVSRUWV ΖQVWUXFWRUV $OOLDQFH 1=6Ζ$ 2YHU WKH \HDUV KH KDV DOVR ZRUNHG LQ VNL VFKRRO PDQDJHPHQW
COURTESY OF ALI MACGRAIN
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