Before any lesson, I like to talk to my clients about their learning style and personality, what they enjoy, what their goals are, and what their previous ski experiences were. A good lesson is a mix of teaching and free skiing.
The first thing to do though, is to ensure the equipment is right. When I can, and for those who rent at Coles Sports on the resort plaza, I like to meet my clients either the evening before, or the morning of, to select or review your equipment: boot size and model if you do not already own your boots, and ski selection for the conditions of the day.
There can be up to 6 persons in a private lesson. Please note that I only teach through the Park City Mountain Resort Ski School.
I can teach at Deer Valley (full days only at Deer Valley) and other resorts but booking your lessons still need to go through the Park City Ski School. (there are a few additional constraints when skiing at resorts other than Park City). Check pricing here.
Beginner lessons
Most beginners are anxious and do not know what to expect. The day therefore begins by setting up the scene, checking our surroundings (isolated beginner zone, fences), and review the safe sheet Vail Resorts specifically designed for beginners.
We then preview the day.
A lesson typically includes the following:
- Show beginners’ carpet and First Time chairlift —> explain what is possible, assess client view of ideal progression.
- Check safety and make show off it. (eye protection, sunscreen, explain bindings release, gloves, cold protection). Get familiar with equipment, check boots
- Start learning progressively on a very gentle slope. Fits f get familiar with boots, boots only m’œuvre.
- Get familiar with sliding up-slope to slow down; give as much practice as needed for the client to feel comfortable
- Learn to slow down to a stop; this is the first feeling of being in control
- Learn to turn; this provides more feeling of being in control by avoiding potential obstacles in front.
- Progress as fast or as slow as required. Take as many breaks as requested (nature/ rest breaks).
- After lunch and a debrief, spend the afternoon practicing, refining movements, clarifying questions, and ENJOYING yourself!
- End the day by a recap of what we did, reinforce learnings and preview the next day. Offer suggestions donner, etc if needed
Intermediate to expert skier lessons
As mentioned already, I always start a lesson by talking about learning styles and goals.
Over the years, I have catalogued goals described by my clients into 3 major categories:
- The first type of goals are technical goals.
- Frequent requests from intermediate skiers are: “I want to master speed on blues” or “I want to learn to keep ski parallels” or “I want to learn small bumps”
- Frequent requests from advanced skiers are: “I want to ski fluidly in bumps” or ” I want to get better skiing ungroomed trails” or “I want to learn how to handle narrow terrain”.
2. The second type of goals are “social goals”, such as “I want to be able to ski a blue run with my grandchildren tomorrow”, or “I want to keep up with my spouse”, or “we want to ski as a family today and learn something in the process”.
3. And lastly, the third type of goals are experiential goals, such when clients want to discover the vast terrain Park City has to offer, explore the mining history or explore specific terrain such as trees.
And of course, last but not least of great goals, everybody likes the comfort the ski school offers, i.e. the special lines at the chairlift!
Based on these goals, I will design a game plan for the day. A typical lesson usually involves the following:
- Warm up and ski a bit to validate current ski level, observe frame of mind and physical ability
- Discuss a plan jointly for the day
- Propose an activity, explain then demonstrate according to client learning style
- Start a loop of practice and debrief / feed back
- Practice some more while changing the application; for example, ski different different terrain or snow, practice different size turns etc. ; debrief/feed back
- Assess if client wants to move on into progression
- Do regular recaps thru lesson
- Do final recap / celebration / next steps at the end of the day.
Other lesson examples
The family lesson
Many instructors cringe at the idea of a family lesson – a parent or 2, a child or 2, and perhaps even a grand parent or the odd uncle thrown in the mix…
I love to coach this kind of group through – everyone is having fun (hopefully) just being together and enjoying the moutain to start with. We can build a greater connection and this sets up the scene for a nurturing learning environment : everyone encourages the little one, Mom gets support building the skills needed to ski the same trails as her older daughter and everyone helps everyone…. Granted there are often large differences in ability, but with different exercises and the occasional split between a blue run and a black, everyone can be kept happy and challenged.
The kid lesson
How early can my child learn to ski? How young is too young ???
Some experts state that skiing can be learned as soon as a child walks. This is quite true although the progression will be slower for very young children than for teenagers or young adults, because sports movements are learned by reference to other movements learned in other sports or activities (this is called “transfer of learning”).
The younger the child, the less motor skills references their brain has – and the more work their brain and body will have to do to acquire skiing-related motor skills from scratch.
This is no reason to stop though – the best skiers almost all started very young!
Sometimes around 3 years old is a great starting point depending on the child acquired motor skills.
Depending on the sports the child plays and his or her motor skills, a good instructor will vary approaches, and select exercises, or even a teaching method, appropriate to the child motor-skill background.
Because a child cannot sustain long lessons, you may want to split a private lesson day among pour family, giving the child the opportunity to r est and keep motivation for the next day! It needs to be fun!