5 Things That Make A Great Ski Or Snowboard Instructor
Just like teaching in a classroom, people who decide to become ski and snowboard instructors have many different reasons as to why.
They enjoy the outdoors
They love skiing or boarding and think they’ll make a great teacher
They’re looking to build a career in the outdoor industry
They love teaching children
But when it comes down to the experience and skills your paying for your child to receive on your next vacation, WHAT really makes for a great snow sport instructor or coach?
#1 Develops Trust
The basis for the best lesson you or your child receives on the ski mountain is trust. Like any other learning experience, trust is a two way street.
Skiing and snowboarding being outdoor learning lessons with many more variables, you can start to see how it is even more imperative for trust to be built between the instructor and your child.
The Instructor:
Needs to succeed in the lesson to know his/her teaching model is viable
Is attentive to outdoor risk management that requires the student to follow instructions of safety
Has confidence in their knowledge, experiences, and prior successes which translates to their students potential
The Student:
Needs to know the instructor will take care of him/her
Has a desire to be liked and fit in, not made fun of
Has expectations of fun, adventuring, and learning something new
None of the above aspects of the teacher/student relationship can play out successfully unless trust is first built between the snow sport instructor and the student.
#2 Works The Learning Environment
After a basic layer of trust is initiated and built by your ski or board instructor, they don’t stop there and just travel around the mountain with your child. A good snow sport instructor will customize their lesson module to fit your child. This is where the fun challenge begins!
As ski and snowboard teachers we have four basic concepts that steer every lesson we teach:
Description
Modeling
Feedback
Participation
Your amazing ski or board coach that you’ve hired will know just when to apply these four concepts throughout the lesson and at what intensity. They are now “working the learning environment”, attending to your child’s physical needs, and continuing to build trust ALL while sliding around a mountain at low temps, possibly in a blizzard. Whew! Now that’s one heck of a dynamic teacher!
#3 Knows How To Manage Outdoor Risks
There are many factors that go into assessing risk when you venture outdoors. For example, you may or may not have your child wear a bicycle helmet when they head out to ride their bike. If you live in the desert, you might take two water bottles if you hike in the summer and one water bottle if you hike in the winter.
When in comes to skiing and snowboarding our beautiful mountains, there are risks involved that your instructor double checks and factors into the lesson.
Temperatures
Weather activity
Appropriate clothing
Nearest bathrooms
Safe gear
Emergency snacks
Communication tools
A good ski or board instructor is trained and equipped with protocols and judgement for their outdoor lesson with your child.
Check out this link on Outdoor Ed for a more comprehensive understanding of all that goes into outdoor risk management while we’re having fun and exploring.
#4 Gives Feedback
When you sign up for a lesson, YOU have goals for YOUR CHILD and the money you spent. But what your ski or board instructor really wants to know is YOUR CHILD’S GOALS.
Believe it or not, a good instructor can interpret what your child says, sell them what they want, and give them what they need.
Feedback then becomes two-fold:
Movement analysis comprehension from instructor to child
Movement analysis comprehension from instructor to parent
An awesome instructor gives feedback to their student to reinforce positive change and redirect unproductive movements or actions. The instructor gives feedback to the parent in a “wrap-up” with the student present by pulling all the learning together in simple colorful or catchy nuggets that the family can take with them. For example fun words to describe a drill or an explanation of a game played on snow to refine a desired movement.
#5 Makes The Difference
Your local ski resort isn’t just selling you an outdoor skill. They are selling you an entire experience just like Disneyland is. So, when you and your child show up for lessons, a good instructor knows that you’re here for the entire experience.
What makes the difference in your experience? A good instructor that knows how to:
Show genuine interest in who you are as a customer
Actively listens to your responses and lets your input shape the experience
Fosters a feeling of accomplishment and desire for future visits
Creates a sense of belonging
Recommends local restaurants and fun activities
Acknowledges when a mistake has been made and corrects the situation
Shows you fun short cuts around the mountain
Let’s you know when they’re available if you’re returning for a future visit to the mountain
When you have a found a ski or snowboard instructor with these five attributes, hang on to them! They are worth their weight in gold. You and your child will thrive under their instruction in snow sports.
