Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from 2015

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.