Happy New Year 2019!

Happy new year skiers & riders!  It's been far too long since I last posted; my new year's resolution: write more content!  I won't make any excuses, but the at the end of last season I was far too busy actually skiing to have any time to write about it!

It's January 1, 2019, and the busy holiday period is all but over.  I have the luxury of a day off today, which isn't such a bad thing as it's liquid snowing outside and I'm trying to get over a cold.  The end of last season was a real high for me.  I was awarded a Logan Scholarship to attend the PSIA National Academy 2018 at Big Sky, MT.  I've not skied out west for a few years so to do some big mountain skiing was amazing.

Mid-season check-in

This season is flying by, I don't want it to end!  I haven't had time to write much fresh content; I've been taking an EMT class, and spent all of my free time training for the PSIA-E Development Team tryout.  This team is the first step on the path to becoming an examiner in the Eastern Division.  It currently sits at about 50 athletes, and the fresh intake of 19 coaches were chosen with youth, athleticism, and coach-ability in mind.  I am so humbled to say I was selected for the team, and thankful to everyone who has helped me along the way!  I sit a 4 year term, in which I will understudy clinics and certification events, before trying out for the Examiner Training Squad (ETS).

Bump Skiing 101 - An introduction to skiing moguls

I had a 3 hour lesson the other day with a strong intermediate skier who wanted to improve his bump skiing.  By his own self assessment his mogul skiing wasn't very good!  We'd had a few inches of fresh snow at the mountain, so the conditions were perfect for an intro to bumps lesson.  After a quick warm up lap to check he could make a parallel turn on blue terrain, we dove right in.  I'll lead you through my progression, and give some explanation why.  I might have taken a different approach depending on the profile of the student.

Up & Over Ski Drill: Making 'C' turners out of 'Z' turners

The Up & Over drill was probably the biggest 'ah-ha' moment I've had on skis.  I think for most people it is difficult to understand and conceptualize.  Let's think about this in everyday skier terms.  Next time you ride the lift over a steep trail, count the number of skiers you see pushing their heels around at the top of the turn, with a heavy edge-set at the end of the turn to control speed.  This is usually accompanied by bracing against the outside leg/ski.  The stereotypical 'Z' turner (turn shape looks like the letter 'Z').

At this point, if you're not a contemporary ski coach, you're probably saying "what's wrong with that as long as they're having fun?!"  Well, you'd be right, but it is not a smooth or efficient way to slide down the mountain, especially when considering the technology in modern ski equipment.  Modern skis are parabolic in shape, so they naturally want to turn in an arc or the shape of the letter 'C'.  Why are we fighting that?  More so, how do we make 'C' shaped turns instead of 'Z' shaped turns?

Counter-rotation: What is it and when do we need it?

Counter-rotation should be evident in nearly every ski turn to varying degrees.  The only time I would not expect to see counter is in a very basic wedge turn, or in children that have not developed fine motor skills yet.  So what is counter-rotation?  According to the PSIA, "counter-rotation describes the movement when the upper body turns in one direction as the lower body (legs) turn in the opposite direction".  Out on the hill, counter-rotation is observed when you see the legs turn across the hill towards the end of a turn and the upper body stays focused facing more down the hill.  This is also known as turning the feet and legs against a stable upper body.  Counter-rotation is greatest during the transition between turns and smallest in the fall line.

Getting out of the wedge and into parallel (via a wedge christie)

A few weeks ago I wrote about how I teach a wedge turn, the primary fundamental input I focus on, and some reasons why a student might struggle.  You can read that post here.  Following on from that, how do we make wedge turners into parallel skiers?  There's a little step in-between called a wedge christie.  This is when the inside ski of a wedge turn spontaneously matches the outside ski and is parallel.  The key word here is spontaneous.  It is not forced by the skier and can happen at any point during the turn.  It will only happen if the skier is making effective and efficient movements that allow the skis to perform on the snow.

How Do You Coach Balance?

A few years ago when I was preparing for my Level 2 teaching exam, I called the trainer from the first mountain I worked at for some tips.  He told me not to coach balance at the exam.  Why?  Balance is a very intrinsic thing.  I can't balance for you, only create sensations that allow you to remain in balance.  This was when the PSIA only had 4 fundamentals; balance, edging, rotary, pressure.  (There are now 5 fundamentals, which go into more detail).

How I Structure My Lessons

When I first meet a new student I introduce myself and start asking questions to better understand why they are taking a lesson.  Questions like, "when was the last time you skied?", "what trails do you normally ski on?" or "do you play any sports?".  This may seem obvious but it's important to know your student's needs.  Ask as many questions as you can think of, the lesson is about the student and not about you.

Wedge Turns

I often see wedge turns taught in a variety of ways.  Some more effective, some less effective, and some which may create barriers preventing skill development further down the line for the student.  What is the main skill/fundamental of a wedge turn?  In the novice-beginner zone, the main fundamental we teach is turning, pivoting and steering the skis with leg rotation.  Before our students even click into their skis, we teach them how to draw bow-ties in the snow with their boots, how to herringbone and eventually make a wedge.  All these skills require leg rotation.  So let's break it down.