Diva Ski Tips

I've heard a lot of our instructors talking about "feeling the side of the foot" when turning the legs.  When I ask if they can feel the side of their big toe during bow-ties or figure 8's in boots, they say they do.   Here's a secret: I don't .  And no, it's  not  because I have boots three sizes too big.  So can we really expect our beginner skiers to feel a such subtle difference - resistance from the side of the boot versus pressure down onto the foot?   That downward pressure isn't desired at the beginner level - it means our skiers are either tipping the skis on edge without control over turn radius or (more likely) are pressuring the outside ski to turn, a strategy that will not promote progression to parallel.   Part of learning any sport is becoming familiar with and paying attention to the sensations.  In another post, I'll discuss how you can tune into sensations to improve your skiing.  For now, lets think about it fro...

This is from a series of posts based on my experiences at the The Hartford Ski Spectacular/PSIA-ASSI Adaptive National Academy in Breckenridge, CO.   Here’s a common scenario for me that happened at this event.  We do a drill, ski down to the group and the leader asks “How does that feel?”  So the group responds with all kinds of feelings and sensations and I keep quiet because all I felt was my hands on my but because the leader told me to put my hands on my but. Creating sensations in a skier is a powerful way to help them learn and self-coach long after you’re gone.   I’m not much of a feeler so I need help to develop sensations.  I also know people who feel everything who have a hard time making sense of it.  Here are some of the things I do with the unfeeling, over feeling and everyone in between. Start with sensations Skiing brings in all sorts of sensations, so when I introduce an activity standing still I try to create some feelings that m...