Networking has been all over the media for the past two years as one of the most important tools for getting and keeping a job, especially in this economy. But networking is not just important for your summer job, or your full-time job, whatever the case may be. Networking can also serve you well in your quest to become a better ski instructor too.
The first network you need to build is your fellow newbie ski instructors. This will start in your training class, hopefully before you even get on snow. These are the people you will be standing alongside at lineups, and working in the children’s learning center with, and grabbing lunch quickly in between those 3 hour beginner classes. While discussing your first lessons , the successes you have, the challenges you encounter, you all can learn a lot from each other. Plus it is less boring to stand at lineup when you have other people to talk to… You will go through a lot with your newbie peers, get to know them!
You should also tap into the veteran instructors network, we’re very open to new people and always want to help newbies experience the addiction to ski instruction that we have. Where else will you learn that instructors can join PSIA and reap all of the benefits Jess discussed, what trips other instructors are planning after the end of the season that we want more people to join, or where the golf tavern is that sells beers at 30% of the prices that the ski area tavern? (Note to Liberty noobs: the golf tavern is in the Carroll Valley hotel across the street from Liberty and has $2 Yuneglings and $0.45 wings.) We’re also happy to let you know that not every beginner lesson ends three hours after it starts, that 8:00AM clinics on Saturday and Sunday are totally worth getting out of bed early for, and what the best shifts to work are for maximum learning/earning potential. If you don’t have the opportunity to strike up a conversation while we’re at line-up or the locker room, try a few other places: the cafeteria (just look for the bright employee jackets on the back of our chairs and join us at a table), in the tavern (come drink a soda, hot chocolate, or beer in a Mountain mug… the tavern is a social place and EASY to meet us!), or on the way in from the parking lot when we’re all trying to wake up.
Of course some of those veteran instructors are members of your mountain’s training staff. These people have been recognized for their ability to ski as well as teach, and are available to dispense this expertise during clinics and other informal sessions, even discussions on the chairlift. At Liberty we’re lucky to have a very established clinic program with a wide variety of clinicians who each have their own specialty as well as being all around great ski instructors who can discuss just about any topic you can think of. Jess posted the benefits of attending training earlier so I won’t say much about that… but don’t forget that very often the same clinicians you have in a morning clinic may be teaching alongside you in the afternoon. Get to know your trainers, how their personality meshes with yours, and tap their fount of knowledge. Hey, we all know they like to talk. :)
Some of our mountain trainers are also staff members of PSIA-E; we’re lucky to have four of these talented people based right at Liberty. Get to know them, they will help bring the benefits of the organization alive, especially if you ski with them and continue conversations off the snow. These folks get paid to ski all over the East Coast, teaching other ski instructors, and learning from the PSIA National Team. You won’t find a better resource for information regarding so many topics: of course the obvious ones of skiing and teaching skiing, but don’t forget they may have taught the PSIA course you’re thinking of taking, and can give you a snapshot of the curriculum and what you’ll get out of it… or can give you insight into the exam process from the scoring side. It’s always nice to be able to ask questions about the stuff you’ve been reading in the Alpine Exam Guide (download this from the PSIA-E web site before you even think about taking an exam!) or one of the other multitude of skiing books you’ve recently purchased from the PSIA web site. Regardless, it’s good to know who these people are—both as people (because they’re awesome) and as resources for your growth as an instructor.
Another resource that is helpful to growing your network is instructors from other mountains. When you go to a PSIA event, make an effort to ski with people who are not from Liberty and get to know them. They are (almost) as fun as we are, and it’s great to get insight into how other mountains run their programs… you might even bring back a nugget of wisdom (or many) that will help you get through that next beginner lesson. You’ll also have someone you can email if you’re going to take a trip their home mountain to find out details about conditions or hotels or a ski buddy. They’ll be the ones who tell you to hit the South Street Station in Clarks Summit, PA instead of Damon’s (Thanks Tim!), or the ones who help you figure out where the best place is to ski the day before Pro Jam.
With all of these great people in the ski instruction world, you couldn’t ask for a more fun network to build. Let’s go skiing!
The first network you need to build is your fellow newbie ski instructors. This will start in your training class, hopefully before you even get on snow. These are the people you will be standing alongside at lineups, and working in the children’s learning center with, and grabbing lunch quickly in between those 3 hour beginner classes. While discussing your first lessons , the successes you have, the challenges you encounter, you all can learn a lot from each other. Plus it is less boring to stand at lineup when you have other people to talk to… You will go through a lot with your newbie peers, get to know them!
You should also tap into the veteran instructors network, we’re very open to new people and always want to help newbies experience the addiction to ski instruction that we have. Where else will you learn that instructors can join PSIA and reap all of the benefits Jess discussed, what trips other instructors are planning after the end of the season that we want more people to join, or where the golf tavern is that sells beers at 30% of the prices that the ski area tavern? (Note to Liberty noobs: the golf tavern is in the Carroll Valley hotel across the street from Liberty and has $2 Yuneglings and $0.45 wings.) We’re also happy to let you know that not every beginner lesson ends three hours after it starts, that 8:00AM clinics on Saturday and Sunday are totally worth getting out of bed early for, and what the best shifts to work are for maximum learning/earning potential. If you don’t have the opportunity to strike up a conversation while we’re at line-up or the locker room, try a few other places: the cafeteria (just look for the bright employee jackets on the back of our chairs and join us at a table), in the tavern (come drink a soda, hot chocolate, or beer in a Mountain mug… the tavern is a social place and EASY to meet us!), or on the way in from the parking lot when we’re all trying to wake up.
Of course some of those veteran instructors are members of your mountain’s training staff. These people have been recognized for their ability to ski as well as teach, and are available to dispense this expertise during clinics and other informal sessions, even discussions on the chairlift. At Liberty we’re lucky to have a very established clinic program with a wide variety of clinicians who each have their own specialty as well as being all around great ski instructors who can discuss just about any topic you can think of. Jess posted the benefits of attending training earlier so I won’t say much about that… but don’t forget that very often the same clinicians you have in a morning clinic may be teaching alongside you in the afternoon. Get to know your trainers, how their personality meshes with yours, and tap their fount of knowledge. Hey, we all know they like to talk. :)
Some of our mountain trainers are also staff members of PSIA-E; we’re lucky to have four of these talented people based right at Liberty. Get to know them, they will help bring the benefits of the organization alive, especially if you ski with them and continue conversations off the snow. These folks get paid to ski all over the East Coast, teaching other ski instructors, and learning from the PSIA National Team. You won’t find a better resource for information regarding so many topics: of course the obvious ones of skiing and teaching skiing, but don’t forget they may have taught the PSIA course you’re thinking of taking, and can give you a snapshot of the curriculum and what you’ll get out of it… or can give you insight into the exam process from the scoring side. It’s always nice to be able to ask questions about the stuff you’ve been reading in the Alpine Exam Guide (download this from the PSIA-E web site before you even think about taking an exam!) or one of the other multitude of skiing books you’ve recently purchased from the PSIA web site. Regardless, it’s good to know who these people are—both as people (because they’re awesome) and as resources for your growth as an instructor.
Another resource that is helpful to growing your network is instructors from other mountains. When you go to a PSIA event, make an effort to ski with people who are not from Liberty and get to know them. They are (almost) as fun as we are, and it’s great to get insight into how other mountains run their programs… you might even bring back a nugget of wisdom (or many) that will help you get through that next beginner lesson. You’ll also have someone you can email if you’re going to take a trip their home mountain to find out details about conditions or hotels or a ski buddy. They’ll be the ones who tell you to hit the South Street Station in Clarks Summit, PA instead of Damon’s (Thanks Tim!), or the ones who help you figure out where the best place is to ski the day before Pro Jam.
With all of these great people in the ski instruction world, you couldn’t ask for a more fun network to build. Let’s go skiing!
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