Diva Ski Tips

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Why am I doing this?

Why am I doing this? The question floated around in the soupy haze of my tired brain as I struggled to make and eat breakfast on a Sunday morning . You see, I had been to a friend’s birthday party, stayed up too late, and imbibed enough the night before that I was struggling to remember why I was 60 miles from home and fighting to make it to my morning line up for a part time job to teach strangers to slide (ski) down a small hill in Pennsylvania. It’s a job which costs me far more financially than it makes me. It’s a job that requires me to take paid time off from my ‘real’ job to work it at times. It’s a job that causes me to have no more than 5 days off between December and March. It’s a job that cuts into my sleep and workout routines. It’s a job that often leaves me physically exhausted (and occasionally mentally exhausted as well). It’s a job that continually leaves me feeling as though no matter how much I’ve learned and mastered I have more and more that I don’t kno

Back on the 'horse'

I took a year off completely from teaching skiing. I took a year before that and mostly didn't teach either. I stopped stretching myself too thin and doing PSIA events and teaching and free skiing and working and, and, and... well, I skied a lot more. Just as my relationship with ski teaching has changed, so has that of some of the other Divas - relationships, jobs, kids, and other life changes mean we no longer rip around as a posse of L2s and L3 ladies on a little hill in PA together. But I'm back on the horse - at least a bit - at a new mountain. I guess you could say that it's hard to imagine not being involved in ski instruction after 20 years. I'm excited to be part of a school that reminds me of that hill in PA: Many part time (and fewer full time!) instructors who are passionate about teaching, skiing, and have a thirst to learn Folks who are accomplished in their 'other' careers Snowsports school leadership committed to training - and buildin

Questions to Ask for Movement Analysis

By Diva and Diva2 (Debbie and Kerry) Movement analysis is a process, and not something we can cover in one blog post. In fact, it’s not something you can learn from reading or watching videos either. Both of those should be part of your learning—you need to understand the fundamental movements and what they look like before you can start to identify them on snow. But to get you started on what you should be looking for, here are some questions to ask when you are looking at a skier: What are the skis doing? Do the skis leave a round arc in the snow? Is the pivot point under foot, at tip, or at tail of ski? Do the skis stay same distance apart? Do the skis grip snow or slip across snow? (Carved or skidded?) Are the skis on snow or off? (Catching air?) Do the skis move simultaneously or sequentially? Where is the snow spray coming from, front of ski, boot, or back of ski? Where in the turn do you see snow sprayed Are the edges engaged more a

Sarah’s Big Binder of Ski Teaching Geekery (and more!) (Updated/edited as of October, 2015)

UPDATE: October, 2015: This has been updated with new links, programs, and information. Please let us know if you have other references, we promise to update again before 2020! - Kerry (Diva2) Last year when I was preparing for my L3 Part 1 Skiing exam, the Dev Team Diva turned me on to these great task descriptions developed by Bob Barnes for the PSIA Rocky Mountain Division (the Pocket Summaries listed under "Skiing" below). (Kerry's edit: Those pocket summaries are not on the PSIA-RM site anymore. But I think what you're looking for is in the Skiing IDP linked below.) In my search for them online, I discovered lots of other valuable ski teaching resources tucked away on various PSIA divisional Web sites. So I printed them out, organized them into categories, and stuck them in a binder. The binder became an invaluable resource in discussions with my good friend and ski coach as I helped him to prepare for his Dev Team tryout and he coached me to success in my ski

Shannon Rucker's "My Level II Preparation in 10 Steps"

My Level II Preparation in 10 Steps by: Shannon Rucker It takes more than you think. I've always been good at tests and I didn't realize how much of a hindrance this was for me until recently. My first season at Liberty, I took my Level I examination and passed at the end of the season. I moved into my second year assuming I would clinic some and work on my Level II skiing for the following year and that's what I did. I went to ProJam and did the Level II ski prep group. I was excited and knew these 5 days were going to get me nearly ready to take the exam. I figured that coupled with a little extra work back at Liberty and I would be in great shape for an end of the season exam. I was horrifically wrong. I learned a lot at Pro Jam and my skiing definitely improved however; what I didn't realize was exactly how far away from the standard I was. I left somewhat frustrated and upset. This was compounded when I heard the same thing upon my return to Liberty.

Escaping Mental Quicksand Part 2 - When it's a Student

In part one I talked about how to avoid getting stuck in mental quicksand. Managing yourself calls for discipline, managing someone else's anxiety requires observation, empathy, trust and coaching. Your goal is to give your students the tools On the look out Some people are very aware and open of their issues with fear but many are not. So you need to be looking at their body language, listening to what they say and their expression. Building Trust My friend Brian has coached me through a lot of things that scare me. I trust him to know what I can do even if I think I can't. We build trust by: Showing that we care about our students as individuals Knowing their name, wants and skills Showing empathy and making sure they and their fear is accepted Choosing the right activities and terrain Demonstrating credibility Get to the Why You need to know what scares your student in order to give them the right tools to combat it. Are they afraid of speed, pitch, loo