PSIA Western Division Resort Trainer Manual 2013-2014
PSIA Western Division DEFINING QUALITY SKI INSTRUCTION & INSPIRING A LIFE LONG PASSION FOR SKIING Resort Trainer Manual 2013-2014 This Manual should be supplemented with all PSIA distributed manuals and newly posted materials on the psiaw.org website under Alpine Education Materials. Please read the Western Division Certification & Study Guides for all levels. A complete daily module outline including requirements, sample evaluation forms, and teaching scenario descriptions can be located in the Western Division Certification Guides. 1 PSIA WESTERN DIVISION TABLE OF CONTENTS: SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION PAGES: User’s Guide General Membership Information Certification Flow Chart 3 SECTION 2: RESOURCES FOR RESORT TRAINERS 7 Resort Trainer’s Guidelines Resort Trainer’s - Guide for Training New Instructors New Hire Orientation Clinic Training Instructors - How to Teach Discovering How Turns Work – A Clinic for New and Senior Instructors (Adapted for PSIA-W from the APSI training clinic “The Package”) Formula For Success with Beginners [Developed by Kim Seevers, PSIA-E] SECTION 3: LEVEL I CERTIFICATION GUIDE 26 Level 1 Certification Requirements Level 1 In-House Certification Trainer’s Guide 3-Day Module, 6-Day Module, SECTION 4: LEVEL II CERTIFICATION GUIDE 35 Level 2 Certification Requirements SECTION 5: LEVEL III CERTIFICATION GUIDE 37 Level 3 Certification Requirements SECTION 6: TURN MECHANICS FOR DEMOS & TASKS LEVELS I- III 38 SECTION 7: MOVEMENT ANALYSIS SHEETS LEVELS I – III 50 SECTION 9: NATIONAL STANDARDS CERTIFICATION DESCRIPTIONS 54 SECTION 10: ACCREDITATION OUTLINES Children’s Specialist Level 1 Accreditation Children’s Specialist Level 2 Accreditation Children’s Specialist Level 2 Sample Teaching Assignments Freeride Accreditation Senior Specialist Level 2 71 SECTION 11: EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES 77 Skiing Concepts – Alpine Team Training – 2005/06 Skiing Model for a New Millenium - Peter Howard A Simple Plan for Delivering a Effective Lesson – Mermer Blakeslee Visual Cues to Effective Movements for Beginning Children Skiers – Alison Clayton-Cummings General Information for Resort Trainer’s Clinics – Ted Pitcher Level I Clinic Topics for Resort Trainer’s – Ted Pitcher Technical Team Description 2 USER’S GUIDE This manual contains information about the Alpine Certification Program for the Professional Ski Instructors of America – Western Division. It also outlines training suggestions for Member School Managers and Resort Trainers. The manual is updated annually; check that you have the most recent copy. PSIA-W certifies ski teachers in the American Teaching System (ATS), our national model. Candidates are expected to demonstrate a comprehensive, working knowledge of ATS throughout the examination process. Certification is awarded to those who demonstrate the required level of proficiency in skiing, teaching, and professional knowledge during the assessment and have met the prerequisite requirements. Training and continuing education in these areas are acquired through PSIA-W educational programs, ski school clinics, personal study, and experience. Certification is offered as a benefit to our members. Although we encourage all members to become Certified Instructors, it is not required. PSIA-W provides a variety of educational events that are designed to help our members develop personally and professionally, create positive learning experiences, and to have fun. Additionally, our examination and assessment process strives to provide a fair, consistent, and structured environment. GENERAL MEMBERSHIP INFORMATION: You must be 16 years of age to become a member of PSIA-W REGISTERED: $96 Annual Dues [Includes Division & National Fees] For: New members working towards Level I Certification. ACTIVE / CERTIFIED: $96 Annual Dues [Includes Division & National Fees] For: Certified members who are actively instructing at a resort. MEMBER REINSTATEMENT: Back dues fees [$35 for each year lapsed – max. of $140] plus current year dues ($96). Education requirements to be fulfilled the same year as reinstatement,(1) day if you are a Level I Cert. or (2) days if you are Level II or III Certified. For Additional Information on Membership visit: www.psia-w.org PSIA –W 9709 Hwy 267 Truckee CA 96161 V- (530) 587-7642 F- (530) 587-427 3 THE WESTERN DIVISION ALPINE LADDER FROM REGISTERED MEMBER TO EDUCATION STAFF PSIA/AASI–W BOARD OF DIRECTORS Education Staff Education Staff Development Group ATTEND REQUIRED TRAINING ASSESS/EXAMINE LEVELS DESIGNATED BY THE ALPINE VP SERVE DESIGNATED DAYS AS A CLINICIAN CONTRIBUTE TECHNICAL ARTICLES TO THE EDGE Divisional Trainers Prep: Two, single day preps. After attending both preps candidates will be able to attend exam. If successful they can begin shadowing, if unsuccessful they must re-attend preps. LEVEL III CERTIFIED SKIING MODULE LEVEL III TEACHING MODULE LEVEL III *MUST PASS SKIING MODULE FIRST 2-DAY EVENT INCLUDES SKIING ASSESSMENT, FEED BACK, AND COACHING FROM CLINICIAN. 3-DAY EVENT INCLUDES TEACHING ASSESSMENT, FEEDBACK, AND COACHING FROM CLINICIAN SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES ELIGIBLE TO TAKE THE LEVEL III TEACHING MODULE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES PASS LEVEL III LEVEL II CERTIFIED TEACHING MODULE LEVEL II SKIING MODULE LEVEL II *MUST PASS SKIING MODULE FIRST 2-DAY EVENT INCLUDES SKIING ASSESSMENT, FEEDBACK, AND COACHING FROM CLINICIAN. 3-DAY EVENT INCLUDES TEACHING ASSESSMENT, FEEDBACK, AND COACHING FROM CLINICIAN. SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE ELIGIBLE TO TAKE THE LEVEL II TEACHING MODULE SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES PASS LEVEL II LEVEL I CERTIFIED LEVEL I MODULE LEVEL I IN-HOUSE CERTIFICATION 3-DAY COURSE COMBINES COACHING AND EVALUATION OF CANDIDATES: FREE SKIING & DEMONSTRATIONS TEACHING & MOVEMENT ANALYSIS SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES WITH 20 HRS OF SKI & SNOWBOARD SCHOOL EXPERIENCE PASS LEVEL 1 CERTIFICATION 3 OPTIONS CANDIDATES ARE PREPARED BY QUALIFIED TRAINERS AT THEIR RESORT & COMPLETE A WORKBOOK & TRAINING LOG CANDIDATES MUST ATTEND A 1 DAY “VALIDATION CLINIC” TO BE EVALUATED BY A PSIA-W EXAMINER. SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES PASS LEVEL 1 LEVEL I NEW INSTRUCTOR MODULE 6-DAY PROGRAM IS FOR MEMBERS NOT ACTIVELY INSTRUCTING AT A SNOWSPORTS SCHOOL. MODULE INCLUDES EDUCATION, COACHING, AND EVALUATION FOR LEVEL I CERTIFICATION. SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR LEVEL I PIN AND CERTIFICATION AFTER COMPLETING 20 HRS. OF TEACHING (THERE IS A 2YEAR/SEASON CAP ON COMPLETING TEACHING HOURS). 4 RECOMMENDED RESORT TRAINER GUIDELINES TRAINERS ARE EXPECTED TO TAKE AN ACTIVE ROLE IN IMPROVING THEIR PERSONAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT IN ALL AREAS OF THESE GUIDELINES. The following curriculum outlines recommended material resort trainers need to study and prepare: 1. Teaching instructor’s how to teach using the PSIA Education/Certification Standards: Ability to give instructors feedback and correction after a practice teaching session using the ATS Teaching Cycle and Skiing Model. Explain and teach how to use The Learning Partnership and how to apply Stepping Stones 2. Teaching instructor’s how to ski: Need a high level of demonstrations and free-skiing Ability to do movement analysis at a high level Good understanding of movements for demonstrations and free-skiing Ability to teach free-skiing Ability to teach demonstrations Ability to teach racing and freestyle 3. Teaching instructor’s professionalism: Need to set a good example of professionalism both on and off the snow Able to discuss principles and philosophies of professionalism Complete understanding of how to be Customer Service Oriented 4. Teaching instructor’s “Technical Knowledge”: Complete knowledge of all PSIA manuals Ability to prepare and lead discussions on: biomechanics, physics, equipment, skills concept, and movement analysis. Good at preparing, planning and pacing clinics Ability to combine information in the manuals into easy to understand content blocks 5 RESORT TRAINERS GUIDE FOR TRAINING NEW INSTRUCTORS This information below should be supplemented by the PSIA Western Division Level 1 Certification & Study Guide, available at www.psia-w.org on the Alpine Education Materials page. This guide includes an overview of the ATS Skiing and Teaching Model as well as detailed lists of exercises and teaching progressions for levels 1-3 adults and children. Also included are important aspects of safety including: lift riding, class handling, and the Responsibility Code. In addition to the online study guide, The PSIA Accessories Catalog carries an Adult & Children’s Alpine Teaching Pocket Guide that covers exercises for levels 1-9 in a concise and easy to use format. It is highly recommended for all new instructors. NEW HIRE ORIENTATION CLINIC THIS IS A BASIC GUIDELINE RECOMMENDED FOR RESORT HIRING CLINICS Professionalism & Customer Service: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Cover all aspects of Guest Service in the alpine environment Discuss the role of ski instruction within the snow sports industry Discuss the specific behaviors of ski instructor professionalism Discuss how to demonstrate professionalism at home resort Discuss customer-oriented behaviors & services for guests Introduce ATS Teaching & Skiing Model: 1. Cover Instructor Behavior and Student Behavior nd 2. Cover Lesson Content and 7 Parts to Teaching Cycle (p. 48 Alpine Tech Manual 2 ) 3. Cover Skills Concept 4. Cover Learning Preferences Progressions & Teaching Tactics – (Beginner Area to Green Trails): 1. 2. 3. 4. Teach a balanced athletic stance, straight run, gliding wedge, wedge stop Teach wedge turns Identify basic principles of Stepping Stones Teach slow open parallel turns for new skiers with right mix of: terrain, equipment, & athletic background 5. Discuss Teaching & Learning Styles and Demonstrations, as they relate to new skier success 6. Practice teaching new skiers in beginner area to turning on green trails 6 NEW HIRE ORIENTATION CLINIC – CONTINUED Class Handling, Lift Riding, Equipment, Clothing: 1. Review how you organize and manage the group throughout the lesson 2. Review teaching progression for using lifts in your beginner areas 3. Review characteristics of rental equipment including proper fit of boots, ways to check fit of student boots and recommendations, length of skis for beginner zone skiers 4. Review proper clothing and safety items: goggles, sunglasses, gloves, sunscreen ect. Teaching Children Overview, CAP Model, Spider Webbing, PDAS 1. 2. 3. 4. Review and discuss CAP Model Review and discuss spider webbing and creating children’s progressions Review Teaching Cycle for Children – Play Drill Adventure Summary Practice Teaching for Children’s lessons from beginner area to green trails Develop Skiing Skills for Basic Parallel and Short Turns 1. Review Skills Concept 2. Review Athletic Stance 3. Describe and discuss appropriate flex in all joints to keep hips over feet, proper hand and arm position, forward vision, appropriate stance width, basic movements which facilitate fore-aft and lateral balance 4. Create an understanding of the basic parallel turn (simultaneous release and reengagement of both edges) 7 TRAINING INSTRUCTOR’S – HOW TO TEACH A teaching system is imperative for successful teaching. Instructors use the ATS (American Teaching System) Teaching Model with 7 essential components while teaching their guests. Trainers also need a system when teaching instructors how to teach (the guests) because there is a fundamental difference between an instructor teaching the guests how to ski, and a trainer teaching instructors how to teach (skiing). If you are a guest, all you need to know is how and why you make a wedge, then you practice and learn it. If you are the instructor, you need to know a whole manuals worth of information to be able to teach the guest successfully. For example, what sort of terrain, the progression, when is the guest ready to move on, what ability level is the guest, how long is the lesson, what are the snow conditions like? Etc. There are literally hundreds of bits of information that an instructor has to be taught in order to be able to teach well. If there is no system for passing on all this information it would be difficult for the trainer to teach, and impossible for the instructor to learn. A classic example is the person that takes their buddy skiing. They drop their friend to the top of the slope, show them a wedge and tell them to go for it. In this situation the guest is certainly being taught, but the teacher is doing everything wrong because they have not been trained or taught how to teach. 1. INTRODUCTION – The Teach to Teach system has 5 parts: What – Are you going to teach the instructors to teach Who – Are the Students you are going to teach this to Where - Terrain you will use to teach this information Why – Do we teach this What – Are the mechanics needed to learn this information Regardless of the clinic you conduct, you introduce these 5 easy to remember points. 2. SAMPLE LESSON – This includes the ATS Teaching Model & 7 Essential Components of the Teaching Cycle. In the “sample lesson” you go through a normal lesson, as if you were teaching the public. It’s crucial that you cover the 7 elements of the Teaching Cycle and illustrate how to implement them in the lesson. You will need to continually explain what to do if the terrain is particularly icy that day, tips on class handling so you can watch them and provide feedback. 3. COMMON PROBLEMS – Here you discuss, demonstrate, and show the instructors common problems students display at the particular level. Have the instructors try each problem, and use relevant exercises to correct the problems. 4. DURATION – Give the instructors an idea of the time it takes to teach the particular task to both athletic and non-athletic students with an example of extreme cases. Some students can learn to make a wedge in 5 minutes and others can take 4 days. 5. SUMMARY- Give a summary of the “teach to teach” session. Briefly go through the 5 points again. 8 “DISCOVERING HOW TURNS WORK” A CLINIC FOR NEW AND SENIOR INSTRUCTORS (ADAPTED FOR PSIA-W FROM THE AUSTRALIAN PROFESSIONAL SKI INSTRUCTOR’S CLINIC “THE PACKAGE”) THE PURPOSE OF THIS CLINIC IS TO GIVE INSTRUCTORS AN EFFECTIVE WAY TO: Gain an understanding of how all turns work in skiing. Gain an understanding of the mechanics of skiing. Teach/coach themselves and not solely rely on a “trainer” for feedback Clarify the words used to describe how turns work (skidding, carving, pure carving, and railing). NEARLY ALL THE STEPS (all the way to step 11) are conducted in a wedge and on green trails. STEP 1: Ask the instructors to make three or four turns with a totally flat (zero edge) outside ski (a contradiction of course). o It takes about three attempts for the instructors to understand what their outside ski is doing, how to flatten it and actually accomplish the task of sliding straight down the hill with no direction change. o Ask the group how they flatten the outside ski and get, as you can imagine, half a dozen different answers. We attempt to perform the task, trying a couple of alternate ways. o Ask the group which part of our body we use to FEEL what happens between the ski and the snow. We discuss the receptors on the bottom of the foot. o Standing across the hill we put a hand on our downhill knee and roll it from side to side but keep the ankle and foot completely dead or numb inside the boot (this, we mention to the group, is how many of our guests ski). We repeat the exercise this time actively rolling the foot inside the boot and discuss the difference in feeling. We acknowledge that the foot/ankle/knee all move as one. o We have another try at the flat ski “turns” actively rolling the foot flat and using the receptors on the bottom of the foot to tell us what it feels like to have the outside ski so flat. We discuss the uncomfortable sensations resulting from the task. STEP 2: Ask the group, this time, to have a go at making three or four turns with the ABSOLUTE minimum amount of edge necessary to have the ski change direction ever so slightly. o Again it takes a couple of practice tries before they develop the sensitivity to apply the smallest increment of edge necessary to make a slight veer to one side and then the other. 9 o Ask the group how they roll the ski on edge. Again a variety of answers so we try them out and discuss what feels the best for each of them. o We make some turns and focus on feeling the whole inside of the foot (big toe, ball, arch, and heel). o At this stage it is already obvious who understands how to stand on the ski correctly, i.e., balancing on the whole foot without using the back or front of the boot as a crutch. o Ask those members of the group who do stand correctly what they feel etc., and then spend some time working in pairs, for example, to help those who lack the understanding. STEP 3: Ask the group to do the same as step 2 but add another increment of edge. STEP 4: Same as above with yet another increment of edge. o At this stage (about the third increment of edge increase) we have progressed from slight direction changes to proper turns. o Ask the group HOW we guide the skis around the corner, or what part of our body we use to apply the twisting force. o We discover that there are some who use the hip and sometimes even the upper-body as well as the legs to provide the guiding force. It takes a bit of time to show them how to twist the leg inside the hip socket without twisting the pelvis as well (building an awareness is about all that can be done at this stage. The process of correcting this error takes time). o Ask them whether we apply the twisting force in equal increments throughout the turn or whether we apply the twisting force more abruptly at various stages of the turn. o We have a go at the turns concentrating on applying a consistent turning force throughout the turns (this may seem silly and obvious however there are instructors (even level 3) who are not aware that they do not provide a smooth twisting force. o We discover that everyone naturally moves up and down in these turns and discuss why we move up and down in skiing. o Ask the group what else they feel during the turns. We discover that the start of the turn feels lighter and the end of the turn feels heavier. o We have another go at these turns and then ask them to feel HOW the pressure builds up (abruptly or smoothly) and WHEN OR EXACTLY WHAT PART OF THE TURN the pressure starts to build up. We discuss the results of their discoveries. o Ask the group WHY there is a pressure build up in the turn. As you can imagine there are several impressive sounding words that are thrown around, however in general the groups struggle for a clear answer. Draw a 10 turn in the snow and use succinct and clear descriptions to explain how and why the pressure increases during the turn. o Ask the group what we do to deal with this pressure increase during the turn. Firstly we discover that the outside ski’s edge angle needs to keep increasing in order to steer across the hill in a continuous turn or arc. I demonstrate to the group a slow wedge turn starting across the hill. I roll the outside ski on edge very early (and make sure they see that) but then keep the edge angle the same for the rest of the turn and we notice that I drift down hill rather than turn across the hill. I repeat the demonstration but this time I keep increasing the edge angle and I am able to steer the turn to completion in a continuous arc (again this is easily observed by everyone). So we discover that no matter what sort of turn one makes (wedge, parallel, short, long) one always has to progressively increase the edge angle to complete the round arc. We make some turns and consciously feel ourselves increasing the edge angle through the turn. o Ask the group what else we do to deal with the gradual building of pressure through the turn. We discover that the leg muscles (gluteals and quads) need to be tensed to prevent ourselves from collapsing against the outside ski. We make some more turns and feel ourselves smoothly increasing the tension in our leg muscles. The stronger the carving, the stronger the pressure build up, and the more we feel like we push back at the ski. STEP 5: Ask the group to make four more turns and add another increment of edge angle STEP 6: Same as above with another increment of edge angle. By this stage we are making some pretty strongly steered wedge turns. o Ask the group what else we are starting to add in order to get the strongly edged ski to come around the corner. We discover (much to the surprise of many lower level instructors) that a substantial amount of strength, power, muscle, grunt, uuuggghh, etc., is needed from the leg muscles to guide the skis through the turn. o We summarize all the bits and pieces of the turn so far: Early rolling with the foot/ankle (and of course knee) A smooth but powerful guiding force from the thigh muscles. A progressive increase of edging and muscle tension (thigh and buttocks). A smooth up and down movement. STEP 7: Ask the group to perform turns increasing the edge angle to the point where there is TOO much edge angle this time. o We discuss what happens to the ski, the turn, and the muscles in the 11 turning leg (compared to a turn that is carved but not railed). The lower end instructors often do not understand what railing is and what the difference is between a railed turn and a carved turn. STEP 8: So we’ve gone to the extreme of edging and now go back again to a carved turn. Ask the group to perform the most powerfully steered/carved (not railed) wedge turns they can manage; ONE AT A TIME so that you can watch everyone. Although the group is clearly starting to understand how to make a carved turn, the following typical errors crop up: o Not rolling the outside ski early enough. o Not enough edge angle through the turn (not carved strongly enough). o Stomping onto the ski right at the start of the turn rather than smoothly and progressively pushing against the ski as the pressure increases. o Not increasing the edge angle enough through the turn. o Not powerful enough with the turning force from the leg. o Too much upper body tilting to the outside of the turn. o Hip rotation. o Not able to blend the rolling, turning, pushing, grunting etc., well enough to make the smooth carve. THE MOST EXCITING THING IS THAT THE FEEDBACK YOU GIVE TO THE GROUP IS EASILY UNDERSTOOD AND ABSORBED BECAUSE WE HAVE JUST GAINED A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF THE MECHANICS OF TURNING. IT IS QUITE AMAZING TO SEE BECAUSE FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THEIR SKIING CAREER THEY REALIZE THAT THEY HAVE GAINED THE TOOLS TO START TEACHING THEMSELVES. MAKE SURE THAT THE GROUP IS ABLE TO SEE AND RECOGNIZE EACH OTHER’S MISTAKES. STEP 9: We dedicate several runs to improving the weaker areas. Vary the group management (them rotating while you stand in one spot, you circulating with the group, them working in pairs or threes, back to one at a time etc.) o We discover and discuss all the differences between a strongly carved turn and a skidded turn. This is hugely beneficial because the group becomes aware of all the different feelings and ways to tell whether you are carving or skidding. o We do several turns switching between skidding and carving to heighten the awareness development. o We add some fun variations such as: who can make turns leaving the narrowest, deepest tracks (not railed though). Who can grunt the loudest? Who can produce the most lactic acid build up after ten turns? Who can make the smoothest carved turns. Who can get on the edge the earliest in the turn and still carve it smoothly? 12 STEP 10: We are still on green terrain. Ask the group to make the carved wedge turns with MORE SPEED (still no railing). o We discover that MORE edge angle is required and I ask the group how we achieve this. o For the first time we discuss the role of the hip and hip angulation. o We discuss how to achieve natural hip angulation (i.e., not too countered and not too square). o We discover that creating edge angle comes from a combination of the foot/ankle/knee, the hip and whole body. We practice the angulation/inclination movements stationary using the poles and against each other. o We discuss the need to have an appropriate blend of the above mentioned areas. Too much knee or too much hip is counter productive. o We make turns without poles and hands on the hips focusing on being aware of increasing the edge angle through an increase of angulation and inclination. o We discuss how to move from one turn to the next (crossing over) with the correct angulation/inclination. Wedge turns with the hands on the hips (first stationary if necessary) are not a bad way of gaining a feeling for the cross-over movement. STEP 11: We now start varying the radius. The radius of all the wedge turns thus far has been 'mediumish'. o We discover the difficulty of maintaining a smooth carving action, as the turns get shorter and shorter. Each instructor has their own threshold, below which they find themselves having to push the back of the ski out rather than carving the turn .We discuss the fact that it takes a season or more to develop the ability to carve turns of all different radii. o We discuss the fact that the BLEND of the rolling, guiding, pushing, powering, is always necessary for what ever radii but that it is either performed more quickly (shorter radii) or more slowly (longer radii). STEP 12: We also start applying the same carving skills to parallel turns (but at least hip width apart). o Initially it is common to see the carving skills disappear as soon as parallel turns are made. o The good news, however, is that the group is able to discover themselves (to a large degree) how to transfer the carving skills from the wedge turns to the parallel turns. o These skills can now be taken further to shorter turns and pure carved turns. 13 POCKET GUIDE VERSION: PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE CLINIC DESCRIPTION AND KEEP A COPY ON HAND, BEFORE, RELYING ON THE CONSOLIDATED VERSION LISTED BELOW. CUT – OUT DISCOVERING HOW TURNS WORK (CONSOLIDATED): GOALS: 1. Understand how turns work 2. Understand turn mechanics for skidded, carved, pure carved & railed turns 3. Tools to teach yourself and develop self - training skills 4. Clarify terminology for how turns work. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________ 1. 0’ Edge * How to roll foot vs. knee 2. Turns with minimum amount of edge/staying balanced over outside foot 3. Add direction change -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------4. Increase edging “slightly” /discuss how we guide skis through turn -where does guiding force come from -make sure it is a consistent turning force -discuss pressure at start and finish of turn -review why pressure builds in turn -practice Progressive Edging -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------5. More turns with a little more edging -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------6. Review what we are doing to get a strongly edged ski to also turn -summarize steering/guiding forces with thigh muscles -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------7. Perform turns with so much edge angle the ski rails -review difference between carving & railing -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------8 & 9 Watch each other and work on common problems with steering -not rolling outside ski early enough/not enough edge angle though turn -not enough turning force though leg -hip rotation/not able to blend the rolling, turning, balance over outside ski -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------10. Add speed to turns, rv use of hip for angulation/ rv x-over -resist forces with strong outside leg – This is now carving -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11. Vary the radius & find how short you can go before you begin to skid -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12. How to transfer carving skills from wedge to parallel -Take skills to working on shorter turns and pure carved turns FORMULA FOR SUCCESS WITH BEGINNERS 14 FORMULA FOR SUCCESS WITH BEGINNERS The Formula for Success with Beginners was developed by Kim Seevers, former Director of Education for PSIA-Eastern Division. Its purpose is to help ski school trainers and individual members make their training efforts more manageable and productive. It is intended to complement existing area training programs by providing a framework and guidelines for more effectively organizing training programs that target teaching and retaining beginner skiers. The Formula for Success with Beginners has been divided into four sections. Each section is comprised of: A training goal, training objectives, and course content Indoor training activities On snow training activities A suggested reading list Formula for Success with Beginners Because of our customers, we exist. Our existence as ski teachers revolves around creating a safe and exciting experience for our students. We exist to meet their expectations for skiing. We exist to create and manage an environment to which they will want to return time and time again. Perhaps the most crucial part of teaching beginning skiers is preparation of the “game plan”; what you are going to do, why you are going to do it, and how you are going to encourage your students to accomplish movements that will lead to skillful skiing. Your credibility with your students rests on your choices here. Your degree of success (and that of the student) will depend on your strategy for your student’s development and your ability to improvise and change your lesson plan given the experiences that occur during the lesson, and your energy and judgment. As with any equation, the Formula for Success with Beginners has many variables. A ski lesson for a beginner or group of beginning skiers invariably leads to a variety of variables, thus has many solutions. A great teacher has a solid understanding of the fundamental movements of efficient skiing, how variables will affect the outcomes, and how to manipulate the variables to create a solution that leads to success for the student. Snow sports schools across the country use many different teaching systems, but the fundamental movements that lead to effective skiing remain the same. To be effective as a teacher, it is critical to make accurate technical analyses, while keeping the customer’s goals (as well as your goals) in mind. Remember, you exist to give your beginning student an exciting introduction to skiing. You exist to help your guest develop the skills that will lead to successful skiing and riding. BECAUSE THE CUSTOMER… Because the customer has a need, We have a job to do. Because the customer has a choice, We must be the better choice. Because the customer has sensibilities, We must be considerate. Because the customer has an urgency, We must be quick. Because the customer is unique, We must be flexible. Because the customer has high expectations, We must excel. 15 Because the customer has influence, We have the hope of more customers. Because of the customer, We exist! The goal of The Formula for Success with Beginners is: To help area managers meet ski school improvement and retention initiatives successfully. To provide clear, concise, easy-to-use guidance for trainers in a convenient package. To provide a framework for training that incorporates the ski school and ski area’s unique culture and business goals into a set of customized training materials. To encourage ski teachers to clearly describe the characteristics unique to their ski area and to develop a teaching program based on these qualities. To encourage ski teachers to clearly describe movement related problems and process related problems, to isolate root causes, and to find creative and effective solutions. FORMULA FOR SUCCESS WITH BEGINNERS Program Overview Your resort is in the business of creating memorable experiences. Those experiences are shaped by interactions with resort staff members. From the moment a hopeful resort enthusiast picks up a phone or logs onto the web to make a reservation, until the gear is packed and the trip home has begun, hundreds of interactions with staff members contribute to the overall impression of the resort. Snowsports teachers, through the relationships they build with students, have the power to enhance the resort experience exponentially. Important qualities for instructors in the modern world of ski teaching include Understanding and responding to guest expectations Providing value to the guest through skill development An understanding of their responsibilities to the ski industry, their home resort and their guest. There are four elements that, when artfully combined, create the magical environment where a connection is made between the teacher, the guest, and the mountain environment. The effective use of these elements combines to create a complete and satisfying learning experience. Developing Trust: Trust is the cornerstone of the new guest’s successful experience. If at any time the instructor/student relationship is compromised the guest may leave the sport never to return. A competent instructor is skilled at: Developing a trusting relationship Understanding their students and how they learn. Questioning and listening effectively. Creating an environment that puts guests at ease. Observing student behaviors to determine underlying emotions. 16 Assessing Movements: Because the teaching/learning environment is fluid by nature, and circumstances change as learning proceeds, teachers must be able to accurately assess student performance and adjust goals as the lesson progresses. A competent instructor is skilled at Understanding efficient and effective movements of beginning skiers and riders. Working the Learning Environment: An artful instructor is able to work the learning environment effectively so that the student/teacher bond of trust remains intact. A competent instructor is skilled at Using available terrain effectively. Using a variety of activities with new participants that will help establish a comfortable, fun environment. Developing and using fun skiing formats Providing information and suggestions for the use of alternative snow tools. Closing the Loop: Effective communication is the final element in the learning loop. As with the other three elements, the ability to communicate well can make or break a learning experience. It can provide direction, reinforce a positive change, and redirect unproductive movements or actions. An effective communicator also understands information on teaching and learning styles. A competent instructor is skilled at: Providing effective feedback. Effectively debriefing a student at the end of a lesson. Developing Trust Training Goal To improve the instructor’s ability to build a trusting relationship with new participants in the sport To provide information about the instructor’s contribution to the growth of the snow sport industry Training Objectives To describe the role of the teacher in the guests’ resort experience To explore typical new customer expectations in the resort environment To share tactics for initiating a learning partnership with the new participant To provide tools that will help the teacher generate return visits by helping the learner fit the sport into their lifestyle To share methods for teaching beginning skiing fundamentals To define the teaching, technical, and people skills that contribute to teacher success Course Content The role and image of the instructor and the snowsports school: What defines success? Guest expectations and teacher solutions (Core Concepts, “Developing Trust”) 17 Previewing: Purpose; Why you are there, Process; How you will proceed, Payoff; The potential benefit to them from the lesson and for continued participation in the sport Questioning and Listening Skills Basic skill development and application for learners Retention, Conversion, and the role of the teacher www.thesnowpros.org See Who We Are for an overview of Vision, Mission, Values, and Service Relationships. This shows the importance of partnerships in the ski industry and how we can support growth initiatives for the sport. • Trial and Conversion Best Practices: NSAA Model for Growth, National Ski Areas Association, 2001. Discusses the growth initiative for skiing and gives examples of strategies that have worked. Build Your Training Around These Activities! Activity 1: The role and image of the instructor and the snow sports school: What defines success? With a partner, discuss why you are teaching snow sports. Choose one word that sums up your feelings about skiing and teaching. Place the word on a card and go looking for others with the same or a similar word. In the groups formed, discuss what it will take to keep you in teaching. Apply that to teaching beginners; how will you stay interested, successful, and contributing to the resort and industry? Activity 2: Guest expectations and teacher solutions Participants list what people expect for service when they come to our resorts to learn to ski. Compare the ski industry with the cruise industry, beach resort vacations, Disney, and other types of vacations. Tour your home resort. Visit all departments and list the services offered by each member of your team. List your strengths. Discuss areas in which improvements might be beneficial and make suggestions for implementing changes. Activity 3: Participants role play “reverse psychology” and try NOT to build trust. Each smaller group illustrate for the entire team. Trainer facilitates a discussion after the presentations. Activity 4: Previewing: Purpose (Why you are there), Process (How you will proceed), and Payoff (The potential benefit to them from the lesson and for continued participation in the sport) See Purpose, Process, Payoff: Previewing Your Lesson (next page). Explain the “Purpose, Process, Payoff” idea. Participants pick an activity they will “teach” from a hat (activities may or may not be related to teaching beginning skiing). Then they must interview the group to find out “about” them. Share a “Purpose, Process, Payoff” statement that makes sense for the group and their topic. Purpose, Process, Payoff: Previewing your Lesson Previewing is the act of telling a learner where the clinic is going and what they can expect to do and accomplish. It is a critical component of decreasing tension and 18 reaffirming what they are there for. It is the time to define the exact process that will allow the student to achieve their goals. When your student knows and understands the basic format of the lesson, they will be more likely to contribute. Even if the contribution consists only of anticipating and moving more efficiently from one part of the lesson to the next, the student will be a part of the process as well as the product. One way to preview the lesson effectively is to use Purpose, process, payoff. Purpose; Why you are there Process; How you will proceed Payoff; The potential benefit to them from the lesson and for continued participation in the sport Example: Purpose: “I am here to guide you all in your first experience on snow.” Process: “Today you will learn to use your new gear and movements that you already know from your experience playing tennis, and other common activities, to ski/ride. We will begin with an indoor orientation, and then move outside to our learning terrain.” Payoff: “By the end of the day you will understand how much skiing/snowboarding has to offer. You will have experienced the first in what could be many joyful days on the snow, and you will be a part of a very special group of people who play in the mountains.” After conveying “Purpose, Process, Payoff”, check for understanding and ask to proceed. “Are you ready?” Most Teachers Forget to Let People Know The Payoff… It’s Not As Obvious as You’d Think, and It Is Specific To Each Student. Activity 5: Questioning and Listening Skills One member of each group thinks of a famous person. The remaining members of the group ask questions that will let them know who the famous person is. Group members may ask any question but “what is your name?” Try not to ask “yes or no” questions. The amount of time it takes to find out the names is recorded. After the names are discovered, discuss the “good” questions that were asked. Discuss use of “High Gain Questions”. How do good coaches use the information gained in their initial conversations with students to help set lesson goals? What are the qualities of a good listener? Activity 6: Formula For Success worksheet: As a group, complete questions 1-6 on the Formula for Success Worksheet found in Appendix A. Activity 7: Retention, Conversion, and the role of the teacher The group lists reasons why people DON’T continue skiing after their first experience. Propose positive solutions to those reasons. On Hill Application: Application of skill development as it relates to beginners and developing trust. 19 Activity 1: Ski through the basic movements necessary for a beginning skier to progress effectively (see Stepping Stones) Orientation with no skis Stepping, walking on skis Sliding and gliding Turning and stopping Activity 2: The group leader models a “bad” lesson for beginning skiers. The group debriefs the experience Activity 3: In small groups, plan a “good” lesson. Share the lesson plan with the group. Follow with debrief. Activity 4: Play “Tag-team beginner lesson”. One teacher begins the lesson with an exercise, then hands off to a second instructor, who continues the lesson with a second activity. Continue until all instructors have contributed to the Beginner Zone lesson. Activity 5: Experience, from the customer’s perspective, different skier services and activities at your area (e.g. rental shop, parking, cafeteria, purchasing a lift ticket, purchasing a lesson and being in a class line-up). If possible, try to observe a family as they go through these processes. Activity 6: Using other instructors in your training group, practice three different activities or methods to develop group dynamics and interaction. Suggested Reading PSIA Core Concepts Manual (2001) PSIA Alpine Technical Manual (2002) www.thesnowpros.org See Who We Are for an overview of Vision, Mission, Values, and Service Relationships. This shows the importance of partnerships in the ski industry and how we can support growth initiatives for the sport. Purpose, Process, Payoff: Previewing Your Lesson--Handout Assessing Movement Training Goal To develop the teacher’s understanding of basic movements and their effect on the performance of new participants Training Objectives To describe, observe, and perform basic movement patterns used by learners To prioritize skill blending and fundamental movements of learners To determine cause and effect relationships of beginner’s movement patterns and how they affect successful learning To help teachers develop activities that target a new participant’s needs To help teachers develop a set of solutions to movement problems and challenges To provide information about how equipment and proper alignment can help or hinder student performance Course Content ATS Skills Concept; Beginner application 20 Assessing levels of proficiency and potential Observing movements and describing results and solutions Activity suggestions for developing and enhancing performance while increasing the “fun factor” Build Your Training Around These Activities! Indoor presentations Activity 1: Introduction to ATS Skills Concept and the Cues To Effective Skiing adapted specifically to Beginner/Novice Zone application Activity 2: Discuss equipment issues, problems, and potential solutions with beginning skiers. If possible, invite a knowledgeable instructor or local ski shop employee to help with this presentation and to answer questions. Activity 3: Using the PSIA Core Concepts and Alpine Technical manuals, develop a written plan for assessing the movement patterns of your Beginner/Novice Zone guests. Activity 4: As a group, complete questions 10, 11, and 12 on the Formula or Success Worksheet found in Appendix A. On hill application Activity 1: Experience basic movements and the related skill blends for the effective development of beginning skiers. Activity 2: Develop a variety of solutions and ski through activities for troubleshooting typical Beginner/Novice Zone problems. Activity 3: Identify defensive movements of skiers in the Beginner/Novice Zone. Does the movement appear to be a result of fear? An inappropriate terrain choice? Equipment problems? Other factors? Activity 4: Watch skiers from the chairlift. Identify one positive movement, as well as one movement that could be improved. Give three activities to help the skier improve the movement you identified. Activity 5: View videotape of Beginner/Novice Zone skiers. Develop an accurate description of the movement patterns you see using the plan you developed in Indoor Activity 3: Practice being positive and descriptive, as well as prescriptive. Activity 6: Discuss how poor equipment fit could adversely affect your students’ success and enjoyment. Materials: � PSIA Core Concepts Manual (2001), see Chapter 3—Assessing Movements � PSIA Alpine Technical Manual (2002), see Chapter 4—Movement Analysis � Video of learners; include some learners with equipment issues � Written formatted plans for development (movement assessment sheets) � The Professional Skier, Fall 2001. (See www.thesnowpros.org and look under the TPS Archives to find the articles online): • What’s the Big Idea?, by Greg Hoffmann 21 • Lower Leg Alignment, by Victor Gerdin • Ankle Flex, by Allan Tencer • Vail and Beaver Creek Adult Alpine Teaching Handbook (Vail Resorts Mgt. Co., 2001). Available through PSIA. Working The Learning Environment Training Goal To provide tools for creative teaching that will help the instructor provide a safe and fun learning experience To provide information on levels of learning and tactics for achieving them To share information about the latest snow tools and their application for learners Training Objective To provide information on risk awareness and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs that will allow the teacher to develop a fertile learning environment To illustrate “fear” from the student’s perspective and provide tactics for understanding and coping To provide tools to help the teacher choose effective terrain for appropriate speed and turn shape choices To provide options for group management that will help the teacher to individualize instruction while taking advantage of group dynamics To develop a variety of skiing formats that are fun and effective for use with learners To experience movements on specialized snow tools and explore the application to learning To share tactics for determining the level of learning achieved by the students, and ways to take the learning deeper via lateral learning, teaching for transfer, etc. Course Content � Risk awareness and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs � The “fear factor” and how to adjust goals and activities � Choosing effective terrain and tactics � Describing and modeling learning activities � Creative group strategies � Using activities that target the individual needs of the student or group members � Emerging technology: new snow tools and the application for learners � Cues for determining learning progress Build Your Training Around These Activities! Indoor Presentations Activity 1: Introduction to Working the Learning Environment An overview of “Working the Learning Environment” from the Core Concepts manual. Activities 2 through 4: Consider working through the following team initiatives from “The Bottomless Bag; Again!” by Karl Rohnke and debrief each one. Activity 2: Your responsibility for student comfort (Risk awareness) � Do a “Sherpa Walk” and then debrief the activity. Discuss the trust-building aspect, and lead into risk considerations on the hill. 22 Activity 3: Maslow’s hierarchy of needs � Play “The Burning Ski Lodge” and debrief: How could issues such as hunger, pain, cold, heat, fatigue, and other physical discomfort distract from the learning situation? How might feeling unsafe, or worry about possible injury affect the environment? Was there any time when anyone felt fearful? How did we deal with that? How did the need for belonging play into the learning environment? Was there an opportunity for everyone to feel self esteem? Did that become an issue at any point? How could that affect the outcome? Activity 4: Levels of learning Play the game “Pole Passing” and then debrief the activity. Discuss the levels of learning involved in coaching, the “close and confusing” teaching situations, and the many variables that must be understood by teacher and learner. Activity 5: As a group, complete question 13 on the Formula for Success Worksheet located in Appendix A. On Hill Applications Activity 1: The “fear factor” and how to adjust goals and activities: Participants write down a personal “scary moment” and trade them, each develops a way to handle their assigned challenge while the group discusses and guides “Blind Person and Guide”; With management approval to perform this, the blindfolded person makes turns with the other person as guide. This needs to be done in a VERY controlled environment, and the leader must be able to watch carefully. Vary partners and types of turns if possible. Encourage as much exploration as possible. Debrief using fear principles outlined in the Core manual. Activity 2: Experience alternative snow tools and the application for learners Activity 3: Practice Beginner/Novice Zone movements wearing your own equipment, rental equipment, short shaped skis. Activity 4: Develop an understanding for how the available terrain at your home area affects skill application and student success. Activity 5: Identify defensive postures shown by beginning skiers. Create and ski through activities that will help your guests become more comfortable with the skiing stance. Activity 6: Explore the similarities and differences in skill application and blending with regard to traditional skis, shaped skis, short shaped skis. Activity 7: Relate the skill blend necessary to perform Beginner/Novice Zone movements for different populations of skiers (i.e. seniors, children, women, well conditioned athletes). Does the skill blend necessarily change? 23 Activity 8: Lead your group on terrain exploration runs. Discover all of the terrain features available on your teaching terrain. Activity 9: Using your training group as your class, place the group in call down mode. Using your poles as guides, practice guiding each individual down to you by dictating turn shape, direction, and size as well as stopping and straight-running. Pay particular attention to your use of terrain. Pointing your pole left or right indicates a turn, crossed poles indicate a stop, and poles straight over your head and parallel to each other indicate a straight run. Materials: � PSIA Core Concepts (2001) � PSIA Alpine Technical Manual (2002) � Teacher directions for initiatives: Sherpa Walk, Burning Ski Lodge, Pole Passing from Bottomless Bag: Again!, by Karl Rohnke, 1994. � Good Things To Know About Sliding On Snow,” by Stu Campbell and Tim Petrick, Mountain Sports Press. Available from mountainsportspress@skinet.com Closing the Loop Training Goal To make the teacher aware of different learning styles To help the teacher give effective feedback To provide tools for effective debrief and closure Training Objectives To provide information on the learning process and how different learning styles affect communication and performance To share teaching tactics that will address different learners To provide information on effective feedback and experience the results through practice To provide information on debriefing and where and how it fits into the teaching cycle To experience effective debriefing through practice and group interaction Course Content � Learning Styles � Feedback: Giving and Receiving � Effective debriefing skills Build Your Training Around These Activities! Activity 1: Work on creating a great opening impression and on successful closure to your lessons. Activity 2: Discuss and practice how to give positive reinforcement during a lesson and accompanying practice. Activity 3: Practice using both verbal and non-verbal communication while teaching a mini-lesson to the group. Discuss the effect on student outcomes and enjoyment. Activity 4: Split into two groups. Teaching the same exercise line, demonstrate the difference between task and command style teaching. 24 Activity 5: Practice using different class arrangements during lessons. Discuss what seems to work best with students of differing skills levels, speed, or endurance in the Beginner/Novice Zone. Activity 6: As a group, choose one specific teaching activity. Each person present that activity while addressing one specific learning style. Activity 7: Identify clues that will help identify a student’s learning preference. With the permission of a fellow coach, shadow a lesson. Attempt to categorize each student by looking for these clues. At the close of the lesson, ask each student how (s)he best learns. How many did you get correct? Activity 8: Develop the skill to teach a visual or kinesthetic learner by teaching a minilesson to a group of “deaf” skiers. Activity 9: Complete question 14 of Formula for Success worksheet. Appendix A: Formula for Success with Beginners Worksheet 1. Characterize your home ski area: 2. Characterize the type of beginning student you teach most frequently: 3. Characterize the type of beginner lesson you generally teach (i.e. hour privates, 1 ½ hour group, half-day groups/privates, full-day groups/privates). 4. What type of rental equipment are your beginning students most likely to have? 5. What kind of shape is the rental equipment in? Does your rental equipment help or hinder the learning process at your resort? Why? 6. Are there any physical barriers to the development of a trusting relationship with your guests in existence at your area? Is there anything you can do to alleviate the problems created by these barriers? 7. What type of learning terrain is available at your area? What type of lift service do you have for your beginner terrain? Characterize your terrain by describing the pitch, contours, any physical barriers, and accessibility for students. Would you characterize your terrain as user friendly? 8. What do you do at the beginning of your lessons to help develop a trusting relationship with your guests? 9. Can you pinpoint any place in your lessons where the bond of trust sometimes breaks down? 10. What are realistic goals for the first time skier you listed above at your area? 11. Given your typical student profile, the type of rental equipment available, and the terrain and lift service available at your home resort, list an IDEAL selection of activities for a beginning student that you have found to be both appropriate and effective. 12. List two challenges that you frequently encounter and discuss how you solve them. 13. List two skiing formats you use to make your beginner lessons fun and exciting. If you have learned any new teaching formats here that you intend to add to your repertoire please list them here as well. 14. How do you most frequently provide feedback to your students? List a second method of feedback that you would like to develop and incorporate into your lessons. 25 Appendix B: Additional Resources • www.thesnowpros.org See Who We Are for an overview of Vision, Mission, Values, and Service Relationships. This shows the importance of partnerships in the ski industry and how we can support growth initiatives for the sport. • Stepping Stones to Parallel chart is available in the following formats: See PSIA Alpine Technical Manual (2002): Appendix F. PSIA website: PSIA members can go to the Alpine Education section of the website and log in to access the Stepping Stones chart with associated hyperlinks. • Visual cues for skiing are available in the following formats: Alpine Movement Assessment Pocket Guide, PSIA, 1999. In, Alpine Technical Manual (PSIA, 2002): Appendix E. Movement Assessment Made Easy, by Katie Fry and Megan Harvey, The Professional Skier, fall, 1999. See, TPS Archives on the PSIA website. • Trial and Conversion Best Practices: NSAA Model for Growth. National Ski Areas Association, 2001. Discusses the growth initiative for skiing and gives examples of strategies that have worked. 26 LEVEL I CERTIFICATION Level I In-House Certification Training scheduled by resort trainer Validation clinic date scheduled by resort trainer This program allows members who are actively instructing at a resort the opportunity to train for their Level I Certification with an In-House Resort Trainer. After all study sessions and on-hill trainings have finished, candidates will be validated by a PSIA/AASI-W Examiner – to assure they meet the National Level I Certification Standards. Candidates that meet these standards and are validated – pass their Level I Certification. Level I Module *3-day program for members who are actively instructing at a snowsports school This Level I Certification Event covers teaching and skiing/riding demonstrations, movement analysis, and technical knowledge to meet our National Standards for Level I Certification. Successful candidates that pass the Module and have completed 20 hrs of teaching at their snowsports school, become a Certified Level I Instructor. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Level I New Instructor Module *6-day program for members not actively instructing at a snowsports school This Level I Certification Event combines 3-days of education with the 3-day Level I Module. Candidates will cover teaching progressions, skiing/riding demonstrations, and movement analysis skills for levels 1-4. This course should help candidates gain a basic understanding of the technical knowledge that makes up instructing while improving their skills and personal skiing. Successful candidates are eligible for Level I Pin and official Certification after 20 hrs. of teaching (2yr/season cap on completing teaching hours) and passing the on-line test (candidates have 1 week after the exam to pass the test). Dec-Jan. 1) The Resort Trainer must be certified Level 3 and have completed two days of the Resort Trainers Series. (Level 2’s need approval by Discipline Chair). 2) In-House candidates need to join PSIA-AASI-W. This can be done on www.psiaw.org, click on “Join Now” 3) In-House candidates locate and download Level 1 In-House portfolios, certification and study guides available at no charge at www.psia-w.org under “Library”. 27 Feb. 1, 1) All candidates have joined PSIA/AASI-W. 2) The following will be submitted to the PSIA.AASI-W office a. A roster of participants and their member ID# b. A ‘tentative’ date of the validation c. Resort must have FOUR candidates to schedule a validation. Conflicts or issues need to be resolved in advance with the discipline chair. Two-Weeks Before Event 1) Candidates must pay the $90 validation fee. Candidates must pay the $90 validation fee online at www.psia-w.org “Event Calendar” page. Select the Discipline (Alpine, Snowboard, Adaptive) and the “Session” which will be your resort. 2) PSIA/AASI-W Office will mail certificates and pins to the Resort Trainer for distribution at the validation. Questions or concerns should be directed to PSIA-W, 9709 Hwy 267, Truckee, CA 96161 /fax: 530-587-4273 Please contact Western Division office (530) 587-7642, events@psia-w.org, 28 Level I In-House Certification – Instructions for Candidates This program allows members who are actively instructing at a resort the opportunity to train for their Level I Certification with an In-House Resort Trainer. After all study sessions and on-hill trainings have finished, candidates will be validated by a PSIA-W Examiner – to assure they meet the National Level I Certification Standards. Candidates that meet these standards and are validated – pass their Level I Certification. Dec-Jan. Instructions for candidates on getting started: 1. Check that your snowsport school offers this option for Level I Certification. 2. Find out who coordinates your resort training and let them know you are interested in joining an InHouse Level I Certification program. 3. Become a Registered Member of PSIA-W. This can be done on www.psia-w.org. Click on “Become a Member.” Membership and payment of fee can be done online or in person. 4. Attend all the study sessions/on-hill trainings that your trainer schedules. 5. COURSE MATERIALS: Locate and download the Level 1 In-House Portfolios and Certification and Study Guide available at no charge at www.psia-w.org (click on Alpine, Adaptive, Snowboard or Children “Education Materials” pull down menu). Manuals: The Alpine Technical Manual, Core Concepts Manual, and Snowboard Instructors Guide are optional and can be purchased from the Western Division Office. Candidates must bring the completed Portfolio and any required Workbooks to the validation day. Feb 1. Find out when your resort is holding the validation date. Two-Weeks Before Validation Date 1) Candidates must pay the $90 validation fee. Fee may be paid online at www.psia-w.org “Event Calendar” page. Select the Discipline (Alpine, Snowboard, Adaptive) and the “Session” will be your resort. The charge for the Validation is $90 and should be paid in advance and coordinated with your trainer (who can forward the payment to the PSIA Western Office). 2) Candidates must pass the on-line test prior to the on-hill validation. After signing up for the validation the link to the test will be e-mailed to the candidate 3) Upon successful completion of the Validation Clinic, candidates will be awarded their Level I Certification. If all steps above are completed, the candidate will receive his/her certificate and pin at the validation event. Prerequisites: Must be at least 16 years old, and a Registered Member of PSIA/AASI – W Participants must be capable of linking turns (parallel for skiers) on blue intermediate terrain. Participants must download and complete the PSIA Western In-House Portfolio (available at www.psia-w.org under Alpine - Education Materials). Participants must read the PSIA Western Level I Certification & Study Guide (available at www.psiaw.org under Alpine - Education Materials). Participants must pass the on-line test prior to the on-hill validation. Participants are strongly encouraged to purchase the following education materials for their discipline available a www.thesnowpros.com in the Accessories Catalog: PSIA Alpine Technical Manual – second edition Core Concepts for Snowsports Instructors PSIA Alpine Handbook (teaching exercises for adults) Children’s Instruction Manual 29 8-WEEK ALPINE LEVEL 1 IN-HOUSE PROGRAM RECOMMENDED SYLLABUS The Level 1 In-House Training Guidelines are based on 8 weeks of on-snow and indoor training. The content and objectives follow the Level 1 National Standards. Please use this table as a guide for your training sessions. Weather and snow conditions as well as instructor experience will effect how you tailor the program. The following education materials should be used to supplement In-House training (please encourage participants to use these resources). The items listed below are available at psia-w.org under the alpine education materials page. PSIA Western Certification and Study Guide PSIA National Study Guide Biomechanics and Physics Materials The manuals listed below can be purchased online at www.thesnowpros.com in the Accessories catalog. PSIA Alpine Technical Manual PSIA Core Concepts Manual The Goal is to develop instructors who are having FUN learning as well as teaching. If the candidates are not having fun, they aren’t learning. SOME TIPS Throughout all the training activities, include the candidates in feedback to each other as well as self-analysis. By getting the candidates to be involved in discussions, their ability to speak in front of a group is improved. Always include free skiing in each clinic - ones that have no focus except to have FUN. Give feedback on everyone’s skiing as often as possible - both improvement tips and recognized improvement. Give the candidates direction of what materials they can read before clinic so they can focus their off-hill training/reading. Use Indoor Sessions to go over materials, workbooks and study guides. Use the WORKBOOK as a teaching tool in the In-House Program. Emphasize the SKILLS CONCEPT and TURN MECHANICS as the basis for everything we do. 30 WEEKLY TOPIC & GOALS WEEK 1 SKILLS CONCEPT BUILDING BLOCKS or INGREDIENTS of SKIING. Identify skills and develop understanding of skills as the building blocks of all that will follow This is a great opportunity to assess the candidate’s skiing and equipment (especially boot fit) WEEK 2 TURN MECHANICS FOUNDATION or IDEAL RECIPE FOR TURNS Identify the skills and how they are blended in order to make a turn. Learn the critical components necessary to make the respective turn. WEEK 3 MOVEMENT ANALYSIS COMPARISON or JUDGING HOW THE RECIPE TURNED OUT. Learn that movement analysis is comparing a student?s movements to the ideal turn mechanics. WEEK 4 TEACHING MODEL/CYCLE HOW WE TEACH Putting together what was ON SNOW ACTIVITIES Relate skills to candidates own skiing. Isolate skills in their skiing so they can understand what each skill involves. Use static and skiing exercises to demonstrate how the body moves, how it effects the skis and what results in their skiing. Finish off with a blending of the skills and understanding that the skills do blend in order to ski During this clinic, introduce the concept of the Teaching Cycle - and point out the aspects as you run the clinic. Do this throughout all clinics. Introduce DEMOS. Going back to the Skills Concept, experience and discuss how the skills relate to the turn mechanics. Before demonstrating or doing the demos, have candidates go over the turn mechanics. Get in the habit of talking in terms of the skills in instructor-toinstructor discussions. Discuss ways to talk about these very same ideas without using technical words to make it simple for students Learn a systematic approach to verbalizing movement analysis. Ski like the students and feel what?s going on. What went wrong? How should it feel? What needs to be done to make it feel better/correct? Discuss how what you are seeing differs from the ideal turn mechanic for the turn/task Discuss the Teaching Model and Teach Cycle. Trainer should have been demonstrating the Teaching Cycle during previous weeks. Use Teaching Cycle to let candidates experiment with various ways to express themselves and relay INDOOR ACTIVITIES Basic Biomechanics Review: Major joints & what they do The joints we use for all and each of the four skills Ideal v. Realistic Movements in children *See biomechanics handout on alpine education materials page of website under general education resources Review Turn Mechanics in Level 1 Study Guide Discuss: Carving v. Skidding Importance of good leg turning Mechanics of demos Review: Forces in Skiing: ski-snow interaction, gravity, friction, centripetal force, centrifugal force See online Alpine Education Materials General Resources section for physics handouts. Use video of skiers to allow students more practice in conducting movement analysis and expressing themselves. Guest Service Model: Professionalism, Safety – Responsibility Code Class Handling Review teaching Student make up + instructor behavior = learning partnership 31 WEEKLY TOPIC & GOALS ON SNOW ACTIVITIES covered in Weeks 1-3 in a format to instruct the general public in Level 1 scenarios information on what/why/where/when and how of whatever they want to teach. INDOOR ACTIVITIES Explain learning styles: VAK; Watcher, Doer, Listener What, where, when, why and HOW! WEEK 5 TEACHING KIDS HOW WE TEACH How we teach kids: CAP & PDAS WEEK 6 CAUSE & EFFECT WHAT WE TEACH Honing MA to identify what needs to be taught and why WEEK 7 EXERCISES/PROGRESSION/ STEPPING STONES WHAT WE TEACH Experiment and Share exercises, progressions and cover the difference between teaching blindly and using the stepping stones concept. WEEK 8 REVIEW PUT IT ALL TOGETHER The opportunity to now use everything the candidate has learned and be able to teach off movement analysis as well as from a hypothetical VALIDATION Now we begin to apply everything that?s been covered to children. Introduce CAP and PDAS. Give an example of PDAS. Have candidates take on hypotheticals individually or in groups and experiment with CAP & PDAS Team Building and Problem Solving Behavior Management & Class Handling Introduce Piaget’s Cognitive Development of Children Spiderwebbing A culmination of everything covered to date, the candidate is now asked to hone in on what is being taught and figuring out why one is better than the other. Get to the root of the problem. This goes back to having to look at the SKILLS CONCEPT and TURN MECHANICS Review and explain: The culmination of six weeks of training is to have the candidate now fill their bag of tricks, share with each other, and take on teaching scenarios using new and different exercises. Teaching Special Populations: Seniors Children Women Teens Go back to the skills - what skill does the exercise emphasize and why. How does it relate to a turn mechanic? Why and when would you use the exercise? Basic skiing and teaching terminology in the Alpine Technical Manual and Core Concepts Manual Review: progressions, pacing, equipment needs Go over exercises again. Let candidates teach off hypotheticals as well as off movement analysis. Practice DEMOS. Answer QUESTIONS. Leave them all with a strong sense of accomplishment and confidence going into the validation Review Technical Knowledge Its THEIR SHOW Be there for them to give them support. Show up with a big smile and encouragement. No matter how well they are prepared, and no matter how many times you tell them it’s a validation, the candidates will still feel like it’s an exam and be nervous. Do what you need to give them confidence going out the door. Review National Certification Standards CELEBRATE! 32 LEVEL I MODULE 3-DAY COURSE LEVEL I MODULE 3-DAY COURSE WILL COMBINE FEEDBACK AND EVALUATION OF CANDIDATES: FREE SKIING & DEMONSTRATIONS TEACHING & MOVEMENT ANALYSIS SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES WITH 20 HRS OF SKI & SNOWBOARD SCHOOL EXPERIENCE PASS LEVEL 1 CERTIFICATION **The on-line test must be successfully completed before the on-hill Module. The test will be e-mailed to the participant once they sign up for the exam. . The Certified Level I Module consists of an assessment of basic skiing skills, teaching skills, and professional knowledge (which refers to technical and mechanical knowledge as well as to knowledge of guest service, PSIA, the ski industry, and risk management). The Level I is a combination of evaluation and training. Candidates should be prepared to lead a group through some basic ski instruction scenarios. LEVEL 1 NEW INSTRUCTOR MODULE 6-DAY COURSE THE 6-DAY COURSE WILL COMBINE: AN INTRODUCTION TO PSIA, THE SKILLS CONCEPT, TEACHING MODEL& CYCLE, STEPPING STONES, SKIING CONCEPTS, LEVEL 1 CERTIFICATION STANDARDS. THE MODULE WILL ALSO INCLUDE COACHING AND EVALUATION OF CANDIDATES: FREE SKIING & DEMONSTRATIONS TEACHING & MOVEMENT ANALYSIS SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR LEVEL 1 PIN AND OFFICIAL CERTIFICATION AFTER 20 HRS OF TEACHING (2YR/SEASON CAP ON COMPLETING TEACHING HOURS) AND SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETING THE ONLINE TEST WITHIN ONE WEEK OF PASSING THE MODULE. The Level I Module for New Instructors is designed for candidates that are not currently working at a resort. This program begins with 3 days of education that introduce the candidate to the association and provides them with an overview of understanding skiing movements and a framework for how to teach adults and children levels 1-4. The Module Outline includes details for morning and afternoon discussions on: the CAP model, biomechanics, customer service, guest retention, physics, and an equipment tech talk to complement on-hill activities. Supplemental hand outs for these discussions are available on the Education Materials page from the web site. Candidates should begin the course having read the PSIA Level I Study Guide, Alpine Technical & Core Concepts Manual. They should have completed the Level I Workbook by the second half of the course. Assessment Notes will be completed for each candidate on days 3-5, with the final Assessment Form completed on the last day. 33 The second half of the program is very similar to the level 1 (3-day) module, but should be tailored to the individual needs of the group. ` Level I Skiing Tasks: Basic Parallel Turns – Short & Medium Wedge Christie Wedge Turns Gliding Wedge to a Wedge Stop Side Slipping Traverse on Downhill Ski Level I Teaching: Level I-certified teachers demonstrate a solid foundation of information, and experience necessary to be an effective teacher of Beginner/Novice zone skiers. A basic understanding of how to manage the learning environment for different age and gender situations is required. Participants will be evaluated while teaching adults or children from beginner through wedge Christie. SAMPLE TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS MAY INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TOO: Teach a level one group using exercises in boots and 1 ski up thru making a straight run Teach a level one group to stop Teach a group who can stop how to make their first turns Teach a level one beginner group consisting of 5 athletic, 14 y.o. inline skaters Teach a level two group who wants to learn how to turn, they can make a wedge stop Teach a group of 7 y.o.’s from warming-up in the beginner area to learning to change direction Teach a group of Adults who want more confidence turning on green trails (wedge-wc) Teach a group of Adults who need several exercises to learn how to turn 34 LEVEL II CERTIFICATION SKIING MODULE LEVEL II 2-DAY EVENT INCLUDES SKIING ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK FROM CLINICIAN. SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATE ELIGIBLE TO TAKE TEACHING MODULE TEACHING MODULE LEVEL II *MUST PASS SKIING MODULE FIRST *MUST PASS ON-LINE TEST PRIOR TO ON-HILL PORTION *Must bring skiing final evaluation from to teaching module 3-DAY EVENT INCLUDES TEACHING ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK FROM CLINICIAN. A complete daily module outline including requirements, sample evaluation forms, and teaching scenario descriptions can be located in the L2 Western Division Certification Guide. The Certified Level II member is one who has demonstrated commitment and dedication to the ski teaching profession and to his/her own personal development. Level II members are considered qualified to provide valuable instruction to a majority of ski school guests. A Level II certified instructor demonstrates the ability to understand movement patterns and is able to apply that knowledge to teaching situations common to intermediate zone skiers. Level II certified instructors have a broad understanding of the ski industry and are able to classify their responsibilities as a part of the resort team. LEVEL II SKIING TASKS Wedge Christie Basic Open Parallel Moderate Bumps and Steeps Medium Turns Short Turns Leapers Outside Ski Turns Pivot to Edge Set with Blocking Pole Plant Skating LEVEL II TEACHING: Candidates will be evaluated on their use of the Teaching model, ability to communicate and demonstrate, use of methodology "tools", tasks, drills, exercises, as well as overall instructor presence and technical understanding. Candidates will be asked to teach adults and children ATS levels 1-7. Scoring for this event is pass or fail. Essential elements of all teaching demonstrations must appear regularly at a satisfactory level to pass. SAMPLE TEACHING SCENARIOS MAY INCLUDE BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TOO: Teach beginning WC turns Improve beginning WC turns Teach Basic Parallel turns Introduce a pole plant Improve a student that makes an advanced WC turn with banking Improve a student who makes a beginning WC turn with upper body rotation Improve inside leg steering with a wedge turn skier Improve edge control movements with an open parallel skier Improve pressure control movements with a beginning WC skier Teach children demonstrating use of the CAP Model and Play, Skill, Adventure, Summary Introduction of moguls to a level 6 skier 35 A SAMPLE OF “ROUND TABLE” FORMAT QUESTIONS WHICH MAY BE ASKED AT THE LEVEL II TEACHING MODULE: 1. Explain how physics, biomechanics, fundamental concepts and turn mechanics pertain to teaching and skiing at Certified Level II? 2. How would you teach someone to get down a very steep hill for the first time? 3. What skills do your students need to possess before you introduce: -a pole plant, independent leg action, skidding, simultaneous leg action? 4. What will cause a student’s skis to “skid out” at the end of a turn? 5. What is the difference between pivoting, carving and steering the ski? 6. Name several factors that would help in the matching of skis in the Wedge Christy. 7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using garlands? 36 LEVEL III CERTIFICATION SKIING MODULE LEVEL III TEACHING MODULE LEVEL III *MUST PASS SKIING MODULE FIRST 2-DAY EVENT INCLUDES SKIING ASSESSMENT, AND FEED BACK FROM CLINICIAN. SUCCESSFUL CANDIDATES ELIGIBLE TO TAKE TEACHING MODULE *Must pass the on-line test prior to the on-hill portion of the Module. *Must bring skiing final evaluation from to teaching module 3-DAY EVENT INCLUDES TEACHING ASSESSMENT AND FEEDBACK FROM CLINICIAN A complete daily module outline including requirements, sample evaluation forms, and teaching scenario descriptions can be located in the L3 Western Division Certification Guide. The Certified Level III instructors teach beginning, intermediate and advanced adults and children, ATS Levels 1-9. They are able to analyze movements in advanced skiers, beginning recreational racers, and basic park and pipe maneuvers. They can develop lesson plans based on student’s needs, terrain, and snow conditions. Due to the constantly changing environment and the diversity of students at the advanced levels, Level III instructors have alternatives for the basic lesson plans. Certified Level III instructors can ski any slope, with any snow condition commonly skied by the general public AND can do so skillfully and dynamically. Instructors must demonstrate strong leg action, a quiet and stable upper body and powerful use of the ski as it has been designed. LEVEL III SKIING DEMONSTRATIONS/TASKS: Basic Parallel Turns Dynamic Short Radius Dynamic Medium Radius Bumps Off Piste Hop Turns Extension/Retraction Turns Pivot Slips in a corridor One Ski Situational Skiing: Candidates may be asked to do 1 or more of the following based on conditions. Steeps Race Course Park & Pipe LEVEL III TEACHING: The candidates will be evaluated on their use of the Teaching Model, ability to communicate, actual demonstrations by the candidate, use of methodology “tools”, tasks, drills, exercises, and overall instructor presence. Candidates shall describe how to combine a variety of teaching styles with different learning preferences in a group or private lesson to ATS levels 1-9. They should also be able to demonstrate use of the seven phases of the Teaching Cycle. Candidates should be able to demonstrate appropriate feedback, pacing considerations, and relate how they can contribute to both positive and negative experiences for their students. 37 Turn Mechanics for Levels 1-3 Certification Demonstrations and Tasks This section highlights the turn mechanics for certification demonstrations and tasks. Further Turn Mechanics information can be found in the following resources: General Education Resources, posted on the psia-w.org website under alpine education materials – new documents on biomechanics/physics/archived manuals are being posted on an ongoing basis – check this area frequently. The Movement Matrix – online (psia.org) video of national skiing standards Alpine Technical Manual – second edition The Skier’s Edge & Ultimate Skiing, by Ron Lemaster available on amazon.com Certified Level 1 Demonstrations/Tasks Gliding Wedge to Wedge Stop Terrain: Suitable for first time beginning skiers. Description: Skier begins in a small gliding wedge and gradually increases the size to finish in a wedge stop. Mechanical Priorities: Athletic stance, similar flex at ankle/knee/hip Balanced over base of support Legs twist at same rate/time Look for: Athletic stance Centered stance during the stop Active twisting of legs, not bracing against tails of skis. Wedge Turns Terrain: Green terrain. Description: Linked wedge turns with consistent speed, turn shape, rhythm and flow. Mechanical Priorities: Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Consistent wedge size Flexion/extension movements are present throughout the entire turn Skis tip/turn at constant rate/time Speed control is managed through rounded turn shape Look for: Progressive extending and flexing Consistent speed and turn radius. Rotary movements coming from the legs Wedge Christie: Terrain: Groomed green terrain. 38 Description: Wedge christie turns begin with steering both skis into a wedge and is finishing in a christie (skis skid during the turn on corresponding edges i.e. parallel). The inside ski is matched through speed, rotary, and edging movements. The timing of the match is dependent on speed and slope of the hill. Mechanical Priorities: Balanced over base of support Flexion/extension movements are present and observable throughout the entire turn radius Both skis are steered into a wedge Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Inside ski is steered to parallel Speed control is managed through rounded turn shape Look for: Blending of skills Turning to come from legs Steering of inside ski to match Round turn shape, no traverse between turns Side Slipping: Terrain: Groomed blue terrain. Description: Side slipping is a movement of the skis sideways down the fall line, controlled by maintaining a balanced stance over the skis and engaging the edges with the ankles and knees. The upper body remains facing downhill while the skis stay parallel facing across the hill. From a stop the edges are released and the skis travel down the fall line. The edges are then engaged to slow down or come to a stop. Turn Mechanics: Align center of mass to outside ski and manage pressure foot to foot Legs remain under stable upper body and pelvis Angulation manages edge angle Skis tip at same time/rate Look for: Fore/aft balance Countered position with the hips and upper body Skis remaining in a corridor 1 cat track wide Edging from ankle/knees to control speed Simultaneous edging Traverse on downhill ski Terrain: Green groomed trail. Description: Skier begins traversing across a green trail with both skis on the snow and parallel. Once the skis start to glide the skier balances more weight on the downhill ski 39 and lifts just the tail of the uphill ski while continuing to a designated stopping area (where the tail of the uphill ski is placed back onto the snow). Mechanical Priorities: Athletic stance, similar flex at ankle/knee/hip. Balance over outside ski, allowing inside tail to be picked up (tip may remain on snow) Legs are under stable upper body and pelvis Angulation manages edge angle Tails follow tips Look for: Good fore/aft balance Skier stays balanced over downhill ski Skis leave track in snow Starting in functional body position which does not change when ski is picked up Skier is able to traverse across hill Short Radius Turns: Terrain: Groomed blue terrain. Description: A basic short radius turn is a parallel turn that has a quicker twisting of the legs against a disciplined and stable upper body. The turns stay in a corridor that is about 1 cat track wide. Mechanical Priorities: Center of mass moves to direction of travel Legs turn at same rate/time Tails follow tips Flexion/extension movements are present and observable throughout the entire turn radius Align center of mass to outside ski and manage pressure foot to foot Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Pole use enhances turn Speed control is managed through rounded turn shape Look for: Balanced stance throughout turn Flexion/extension from all joints Turning from legs, upper/lower body separation Round turn shape Medium Radius Turns: Terrain: Groomed blue terrain. Description: A basic medium radius turn is a parallel turn about 3 cat tracks wide. It’s a faster turn with enough speed to release and then engage both edges simultaneously. Progressive edging from ankles, knees, and hip helps to minimize skidding of skis. 40 Mechanical Priorities: Center of mass moves to direction of travel Legs turn at same rate/time Tails follow tips Flexion/extension movements are present and observable throughout the entire turn radius Align center of mass to outside ski and manage pressure foot to foot Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Pole use enhances turn Speed control is managed through rounded turn shape Progressive leg turning Progressive edging Blending of skills to create rhythm and flow from turn to turn Round turn shape and speed control Certified Level 2 Demonstrations/Tasks Wedge Christie: Terrain: Groomed green terrain. Description: Wedge christie turns begin with steering both skis into a wedge and is finishing in a christie (skis skid during the turn on corresponding edges i.e. parallel). The inside ski is matched through speed, rotary, and edging movements. The timing of the match is dependent on speed and slope of the hill. Mechanical Priorities: Balanced over base of support Flexion/extension movements are present and observable throughout the entire turn radius Both skis are steered into a wedge Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Inside ski is steered to parallel Speed control is managed through rounded turn shape Look for: Blending of skills Turning to come from legs Steering of inside ski to match Round turn shape, no traverse between turns Basic Parallel Terrain: Blue groomed terrain. Description: The skis remain consistently parallel throughout the turn. The extension allows for a simulations edge change and leg steering throughout the turn. Speed control comes from skidding and a round turn shape. A pole touch is timed at the turn initiation. 41 Mechanical Priorities: Center of mass moves to direction of travel Legs turn at same rate/time Tails follow tips Flexion/extension movements are present and observable throughout the entire turn radius Align center of mass to outside ski and manage pressure foot to foot Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Pole use enhances turn Speed control is managed through rounded turn shape Look for: Rhythmical and round turns Simultaneous steering of legs Simultaneous edge change Progressive extension and flexion movements Short Radius Turns: Terrain: Groomed blue terrain. Description: A basic short radius turn is a parallel turn that has a quicker twisting of the legs against a disciplined and stable upper body. The turns stay in a corridor that is about 1 cat track wide. Mechanical Priorities: Center of mass moves to direction of travel Legs turn at same rate/time Tails follow tips Flexion/extension movements are present and observable throughout the entire turn radius Align center of mass to outside ski and manage pressure foot to foot Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Pole use enhances turn Speed control is managed through rounded turn shape Look for: Balanced stance throughout turn Flexion/extension from all joints Turning from legs, upper/lower body separation Round turn shape Medium Radius Turns: Terrain: Groomed blue terrain. Description: A basic medium radius turn is a parallel turn about 3 cat tracks wide. It’s a faster turn with enough speed to release and then engage both edges simultaneously. Progressive edging from ankles, knees, and hip helps to minimize skidding of skis. Mechanical Priorities: 42 Center of mass moves to direction of travel Legs turn at same rate/time Tails follow tips Flexion/extension movements are present and observable throughout the entire turn radius Align center of mass to outside ski and manage pressure foot to foot Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Pole use enhances turn Speed control is managed through rounded turn shape Look for: Progressive leg turning Progressive edging Blending of skills to create rhythm and flow from turn to turn Round turn shape and speed control Moderate Bumps and Steeps Terrain: Blue to easy black terrain with small to medium bumps. Description: Basic short turns linked together in the fall line through moderate bumps or moderate steeps. Turns are round with good blend of leg turning, pressure control and edging. Pole plant is appropriate to the turn and may include a blocking pole plant. Mechanical Priorities: Balanced over base of support Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Skis tip/turn at same time/rate Flex/extend/absorb are present throughout turn Manage pressure applied to skis/snow Skis maintain parallel relation Pole use enhances turn Speed control is managed through rounded turn shape Look for: Round turn shape. Linking turns in the fall line, minimal traverse. Speed control. Active absorption (good range of motion) Stable upper body Leapers Terrain: Blue groomed or ungroomed terrain. Description: A medium radius turn where the edge change occurs in the air. The skis are leaped off the snow before the turn transition/edge change and landed on the new edges. After landing on the new edges, a blending of all skills is used to shape and finish the turn. 43 Mechanical Priorities: Muscular extension from ankles “pops” skis off snow Center of mass moves to direction of travel Angulation/inclination manages edge angle Skis tip/turn at same time/rate Manage pressure applied to skis/snow Skis maintain parallel relation Pole use enhances turn Look for: Edge change in air Land on new edges, not a flat ski Minimal rotary while in air No traverse between turns Skating Terrain: Green terrain or flat area. Description: Skating combines a good athletic stance and solid edging skills to roll from outside edge to inside edge. The skier pushes off an edged ski to glide forward on the opposite ski. The upper body diagonally crosses the skis, but remains stable and moves in direction of travel. Mechanical Priorities: Balanced over base of support Center of mass moves to direction of travel Angulation manages edge angle Pole use enhances skate Look for: Edging movements from outside edge to inside side Edged skis – skis should not remain flat on snow Propulsion forward Pivot to Edge Set with Blocking Pole Plant Terrain: Green or blue groomed terrain Description: This demo begins with sliding in a fall line corridor with the skis parallel, and ends when the skis are twisted across the hill and edged until the skier comes to a stop. The upper body and pelvis should remain stable while twisting movements come from turning just the legs. The skier should demonstrate good stance and balance while coming to a stop, by increasing angulation and staying balanced over the downhill ski. Mechanical Priorities: Balanced over base of support Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Legs turn at same rate/time Angulation/inclination manages edge angle Skis tip/turn at same time/rate 44 Manage pressure applied to skis/snow Pole use enhances stop Look for: Balanced stance Legs turning under stable upper body and pelvis Pole plant at edge set Outside Ski Turns Terrain: Green or blue groomed terrain Description: Outside ski turns are a series of basic parallel turns where the inside ski tail is lifted for the duration of the shaping phase. The turns stay in a corridor approximately 2 cat tracks wide. The skier should be able to demonstrate good balance over the outside ski while blending rotary and edging skills to link round turns with good speed control. Mechanical Priorities: Balanced over base of support Center of mass moves to direction of travel Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Tails follow tips Align center of mass to outside ski and manage pressure, allowing inside tail to be pick up from snow Look for: Ski tail remaining off snow for entire shaping phase Progressive turn shape Linked turns, no traverse between turns Certified Level 3 Demonstrations/Tasks Basic Parallel Terrain: Blue or black terrain. Description: The skis remain consistently parallel throughout the turn. The extension allows for a simulations edge change and leg steering throughout the turn. Speed control comes from skidding and a round turn shape. A pole touch is timed at the turn initiation. Mechanical Priorities: Center of mass moves to direction of travel Legs turn at same rate/time Tails follow tips Flexion/extension movements are present and observable throughout the entire turn radius Align center of mass to outside ski and manage pressure foot to foot Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Pole use enhances turn 45 Speed control is managed through rounded turn shape Look for: Rhythmical and round turns Simultaneous steering of legs Simultaneous edge change Progressive extension and flexion movements Dynamic Short Radius Turns: Terrain: Groomed blue terrain. Description: A basic short radius turn is a parallel turn that has a quicker twisting of the legs against a disciplined and stable upper body. The turns stay in a corridor that is about 1 cat track wide. Mechanical Priorities: Center of mass moves to direction of travel Legs turn at same rate/time Tails follow tips Flexion/extension movements are present and observable throughout the entire turn radius Align center of mass to outside ski and manage pressure foot to foot Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Pole use enhances turn Speed control is managed through rounded turn shape Look for: Balanced stance throughout turn Flexion/extension from all joints Turning from legs, upper/lower body separation Round turn shape Dynamic Medium Radius Turns: Terrain: Groomed blue terrain. Description: A basic medium radius turn is a parallel turn about 3 cat tracks wide. It’s a faster turn with enough speed to release and then engage both edges simultaneously. Progressive edging from ankles, knees, and hip helps to minimize skidding of skis. Mechanical Priorities: Center of mass moves to direction of travel Legs turn at same rate/time Tails follow tips Flexion/extension movements are present and observable throughout the entire turn radius Align center of mass to outside ski and manage pressure foot to foot Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Pole use enhances turn Speed control is managed through rounded turn shape 46 Look for: Progressive leg turning Progressive edging Blending of skills to create rhythm and flow from turn to turn Round turn shape and speed control Bumps Terrain: Black terrain ungroomed with bumps. Description: Dynamic short turns that remain in the fall line through bumps. Turns are linked with good rhythm and speed control showing strong leg turning skills, extension/retraction pressure control management, and a stable upper body with a blocking pole plant. May be asked to make varying turn sizes. Mechanical Priorities: Center of mass moves to direction of travel Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Skis tip/turn at constant time/rate Flexion/extension/absorption movements are present throughout the entire turn Manage pressure applied to skis/snow Pole use enhances turn Speed control is managed through rounded turn shape Look for: Staying in fall line with minimal line changes Consistent speed Pressure control management Steeps & Off Piste Terrain: Black / double black terrain variable snow conditions. Description: Linking dynamic short or medium turns in steep terrain and off piste snow conditions. Mechanical Priorities: Center of mass moves to direction of travel Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Angulation/inclination manages edge angle Skis tip/turn at constant time/rate Flexion/extension/absorption movements are present throughout the entire turn Manage pressure applied to skis/snow Pole use enhances turn Look for: Dynamic parallel turns, no stemming, stepping, non-functional hopping skis around Ability to adapt technique to variable snow conditions Progressive movements that enable speed control & consistent turn shape Appropriate choices of flexion/extension/retraction/absorption 47 Hop Turns Terrain: Blue or black terrain Description: Linked turns where the skis are hopped off the snow from one set of edges and rotated across the fall line landing on the other corresponding edges. Extension movements to hop originate in the ankle and knee joint, not at the hip. A blocking pole plant may be used to help stabilize the upper body. Mechanical Priorities: Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Legs turn at same rate/time Angulation/inclination manages edge angle Pole use enhances turn Extension movements are rapid and bring skis off snow Manage pressure applied to skis/snow Look for: Countered position Minimal slipping down the hill on landing Minimal forward movement of skis on landing Extension/Retraction Turns Terrain: Blue or black terrain, groomed or ungroomed. Description: The ext/retraction turn is made by keeping the upper body at the same height while the legs extend and retract. As pressure increases through progressive edge and pressure against the outside ski, the legs retract and cross under the body while it continues extending into the new turn. The center of mass stays the same height above the snow while linking turns together. The candidate may be asked to perform short or medium radius turns. Mechanical Priorities: Balanced over base of support Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Angulation/inclination manages edge angle Skis tip/turn at constant time/rate Tails follow tips Extension/retraction movements are present and observable throughout the entire turn Align center of mass to outside ski and manage pressure foot to foot Manage pressure applied to skis/snow Skis bend most at shaping phase of turn Pole use enhances turn Look for: Center of mass staying at same height Shaping of turn from initiation Legs move away from body in extension 48 Pivot Slips in a Corridor Terrain: Blue or Black groomed terrain. Description: Beginning with a sideslip the legs are pivoted 180º across the hill while the upper body remains facing downhill. Pivot slips are linked together with a smooth continuous twisting of the skis and legs, no pausing across the fall line. Skis remain in a corridor demonstrating strong fore-aft balance to stay in the fall line. Mechanical Priorities: Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Legs turn at same rate/time Center of mass moves to direction of travel Skis tip/turn at same time/rate Skis maintain parallel relation Look for: Pivot of skis, not turning Parallel skis Countered upper body One Ski Terrain: Green and blue terrain. Description: A medium or short radius turn on one ski blending progressive leg turning and edging to achieve a round turn shape. The candidate may be asked to perform skidded or carved turns. Mechanical Priorities: Center of mass moves to direction of travel Turn legs under stable upper body and pelvis Angulation/inclination manages edge angle Tails follow tips Flexion/extension movements are present and observable throughout the entire turn Pole use enhances turn Look for: Effective/appropriate blending of skills Rounded turn Balancing on ski 49 Movement Analysis The following MA sheets are designed to help candidates develop the skills to effectively match what students are doing and then develop a solid lesson plan. This is also an opportunity for candidates to build their technical knowledge of turn mechanics, biomechanics, and physics as they increase their understanding of how turns work and how to develop logical progressions. The following MA sheets provide a basic overview of what is required at each level. Trainers are encouraged to supplement this information during their resort training and at prep clinics. The list below highlights what candidates should be able to accomplish while practicing the movement analysis system. Assess a student’s skiing ability & goals Identify movement patterns, skills, skill blending Identify cause and effect relationships Understand ski performance and turn mechanics Develop progressions that are logical and based on a solid understanding of turn mechanics and biomechanics. Create a lesson plan that can be adapted to the guest’s needs and goals. 50 Level 1 Movement Analysis Profile: Briefly describe the skier? Male/Female Adult/Child Comfort level on terrain Athletic/non-athletic Turn Type: What type of turn is the skier attempting to make? Straight run, Gliding wedge, Braking Wedge, Wedge Turn, Beg. Wedge Christie Other Turn Shape (round, z, asymmetrical, skidded) Skills Assessment (use the skills concept to identify the skiers movements): Balance movements: Athletic stance: similar flex at ankle, knee, and hip Leaning on back of boot for support Laterally (side-to-side) Fore/aft Rotary movements: Where does the rotary or twisting force originate from to turn the skis? Legs & feet (lower body), hip & shoulders (upper body), whole body Edging movements: How does the skier roll or tilt the skis onto the edges? Active edging movements from: ankles, knees, and/or hips Passive edging movements from: slope of hill, shape of wedge, other Banking Pressure control movements: How does the skier manage pressure changes while skiing? How and when does the skier transfer weight from ski to ski? Active flexion and extension movements Active foot to foot movements / Equal weight on both feet Static Fore/aft leverage against front or back of boot Summarize the Skills Assessment: Describe how the skier uses the skills during the initiation, shaping, and finishing phases of the turn. Equipment Factors: Skis: traditional, modern, length appropriate Pole use: Boots: rear entry, 4 buckle, buckled, unbuckled Using the skills assessment evaluate, prioritize, and develop a lesson plan to meet the goals of your student. Identify a Primary & Secondary Skill Focus What would you work on first with this skier? What progression & exercises would you use to develop their skills? What terrain would you use for the progression & alternative exercises? How do you address different learning styles in your progression? 51 Level 2 Movement Analysis Skier Profile: What are the psychological & physical factors that may affect motivation during the lesson? Gender / Comfort Level on Current Terrain / Athletic/Non-Athletic Turn Type: Beg. WC Adv. WC Parallel Turns: short, medium, other Turn Shape: z, s, skidded, carved, symmetrical, or asymmetrical Pole Use: appropriate for turn type, functional (rhythm & timing), blocking (bumps) Skills Assessment: Describe Balance/Stance: Is the skier in a balanced athletic stance throughout the turn? Similar flex in ankle, knee, & hip joints? Fore/aft, Centered, Stance is: appropriate, wide, narrow, Alignment: knock-kneed, bow legged, asymmetry, Describe Rotary Movements: What body movements or combination of movements does the skier use to turn the skis? Leg turning (legs & feet) Upper body rotation (hips & shoulders) Whole body rotation Counter rotation Other Describe Edging Movements: How and when is the skier using edging movements? Angulation (which body parts are actively used): ankle, knee, and/or hip Banking Other Describe Pressure Control Movements: Weight transfer: Foot to foot, static, stepping, stemming, Timing of weight transfer: early, late, effective for turn type Flexion / Extension Movements: active/static, timing through turn phases and to manage terrain Fore, Aft, Lateral - management of pressure control movements through turn Other Equipment Factors: Describe equipment factors that may influence the skills assessment. Ski Performance/Phases of the Turn: Using the skills assessment from above, briefly describe what is happening at the initiation, shaping, and finishing phases of the turn. Describe the cause and effect relationship between the movements of the body and the effect on the skis performance. Determine Goals for Lesson: Identify Lesson Goals: Primary Skill Focus: Explain how this relates to achieving lesson goals Secondary Skill Focus (skill specific and related to goal) Progression: 3-5 steps Skill / Drill / Hill (example: static, traverse, fans/garlands, full turns, linked turns) Alternative tasks, drills, exercises / Adapt for children vs. adults How Could you Adapt your Lesson Plan to different learning styles 52 Level 3 Movement Analysis Skier Profile: What are the psychological & physical factors that may affect motivation during the lesson? Gender, Comfort Level on Terrain, Athletic/Non-Athletic Turn Type: What type of turn is the skier making? What ability level is the skier? Turn Type: Short turns, Medium turns, Long turns, other Performance: Skidded, Carved, Pure Carved Turn Shape: z, s, symmetrical, asymmetrical Pole Use: appropriate for turn type, functional (rhythm & timing), blocking (bumps) Terrain: groomed, off-piste, steeps, bumps, crud Skills Assessment: Describe Balance/Stance: Is the skier in a balanced athletic stance throughout the turn? Similar flex in ankle, knee, & hip joints? Fore/aft, Centered, Stance is: wide, narrow, appropriate (for conditions & terrain) Alignment issues: Fore/aft: over flexed at ankle / no flex at ankle Lateral: knock-kneed, bow legged, asymmetry, Describe Rotary Movements: What body movements (combination or sequencing) does the skier use to turn the skis? Leg turning (legs & feet) / Upper body rotation (hips & shoulders) / Whole body rotation Counter rotation Other Describe Edging Movements: How and when is the skier using edging movements? Angulation (which body parts are actively used): ankle, knee, and/or hip Banking Crossover (active/inactive/timing) Other Describe Pressure Control Movements: Weight transfer: Foot to foot, static, stepping, stemming, Timing of weight transfer: early, late, effective for turn type Flexion/Extension Movements: active/static, timing throughout turn, managing terrain Extension/Retraction Movements: active/static, timing throughout turn, managing terrain Fore, Aft, Lateral -management of pressure control movements through turn Other Equipment Factors: Describe stance or ski performance issues as they relate to possible alignment (knock-knee’s / bow legged / canting / other issues) and the cause and effect relationship this may have on the skiers performance. Ski Performance/Phases of the Turn: Using the skills assessment from above describe each skill and what is happening at the initiation, shaping, and finishing phases of the turn. Describe the cause and effect relationship between the movements of the body and the effect on the skis performance. Determine Goals / Develop Progressions & Exercises for the Lesson: Use the cause / effect relationships to identify exercises that change body movements Use a 3-5 step progression to teach the exercise/s Include skill specific & skill blending exercises to improve ski performance Describe how you would change the lesson plan to using exercises for improving technique, and exercises for improving tactics in different terrain and snow conditions. Describe teaching alternatives for adults, children, senior, athletic, non-athletic guests. 53 NATIONAL STANDARDS: 54 \ 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 ACCREDITATION PROGRAMS CHILDREN’S SPECIALIST 1 CHILDREN’S SPECIALIST 2 SENIOR ACCREDITATION 2 71 CHILDREN’S SPECIALIST 1 COURSE OUTLINE DAY 1 8-9:30 – Registration, introduction, itinerary for the 2 days 9-12 – On-hill session Discuss how kids in different age zones approach the world. Explore the cognitive and affective aspects of each age zone and what methodology works best for teaching each zone. Discuss dealing with good and bad behavior in kids lessons. (May be done in small groups where each group explores the characteristics of an age zone. Using real life examples they are familiar with may be helpful). 1-4 – On–hill session Explore movement patterns of kids in different age zones (“moveology”). Set expectations and develop methodology for building skills which take them from the real to the ideal. (This should be applicable to all kids – snowboard and skiing). Compare with adult movement patterns and adult rate of development. (Use real life problem situations the participants bring to the forum or watch kids on the hill). 6-8 – Evening Indoor session Review of the Level 1 Children’s Credential Workbook Questions and answer session Assignment of the presentation topics for day 2 (This gives the candidates a little time to prepare). DAY 2 8:30 – 11:30 On Hill Session Explore building kid-friendly progressions. Create fun and appropriate skill building game progressions. Play, Drill, Adventure, Summary, and Cue words. (Lots of examples will be given for new instructors and more experienced instructors can share their expertise). 11:30-12:30– LUNCH 12:30-3:30 – On Hill Session Informal Presentation of individual creative progressions assigned on the evening of day 1. These will be presented on chair rides or on the hill depending on the participant’s level of comfort. Skiing and/or demo improvement. (This session should be light and fun but strongly guided by the trainer. It can be more interactive if the group has some experience. This is not a test!) 3:30-4 – Wrap up and brief question and answer session. 4:00 – Candidate assessment and congratulations! 72 CHILDREN’S SPECIALIST LEVEL 2 CLINIC OUTLINE Day 1 - Education AM –On-Hill Explore children’s movement patterns and physiology Real vs. Ideal for each age group Realistic expectations for kids – How good can they get? Balance & Stance Rotary movements Edge control Pressure control Review of CAP Model/ Movement patterns Applying to Little Kids, Big Kids, Teens Other things for consideration Speed Turn shape Overall coordination Developmental stage – CAP Model Body size Age Sports experience – especially riding or skiing PM –On-Hill Each participant will give a 5 minute prepared presentation using props. *Clinician may cover exploring exercises that will address different movement patterns and how to improve them (if time allows). Evening – Indoor (Optional) Video and/or indoor topic to be chosen by clinician. Equipment Skis & Boards (stance, equipment length, etc.) Ski pole introduction Helmets 73 Day 2 - Education / Evaluation AM –On-Hill Movement analysis on video tape 2 hour session for a 5–6 person group includes a short practice time then each person does a movement analysis and lesson plan. Obstacle course Effective use of toys, tools, and equipment Building props and creating your own play area Creativity Spider webbing Explorer, Artist, Judge, Warrior Multiple Intelligences Linguistic Logical / mathematical Spatial Body / Kinesthetic Musical Interpersonal Intrapersonal Maslow’s Hierarchy Physiological Needs Need for safety & security Need for belonging Need for Self-esteem Need for self-actualization Play, Drill, Adventure, Summary (talking to parents) Task, Cue, Challenge Alternate lesson formats – Make a deal Games and activities –why we play the games we play Checking for understanding / Motivating for the future Talking to parents PM Group Teaching Presentations DAY 3 – Teaching/ Evaluation Individual Teaching presentations - see attached teaching scenarios (next page). CHILDREN’S SPECIALIST 2 SAMPLE TEACHING ASSIGNMENTS 74 Skier: 8 year old boy. Makes higher speed, shallow, short radius turns with large heel push to engage/steer outside ski on intermediate terrain. MI: Interpersonal, Body or Music Skier: 11 year old girl. Makes medium radius parallel turns with well timed pole plant. Stance is relatively centered but stiff in the ankles, with minimal leg steering. MI: Music, Interpersonal, Word (linguistic) Skier: 10 year old race team boy taking a 3 hour private. Can tip skis up and carve higher speed medium turns with good balance. Braces leg and skids skis at turn completion in shorter turns, moves to rear. MI: Body, Spatial, Logical/Mathematical Skier: 7 year old girl. Her family has a condo at ski area, skis 30+ days per year. She is comfortable on black diamond terrain if the snow is good. In general, she skis to the rear and rotates her upper body to release and steer the skis. On steeper terrain her rearward stance becomes very pronounced and she braces outside leg and pushes heel to engage the ski at turn completion. MI: Spatial, Intrapersonal, Word(linguistic) Skier: 12 year old girl, athletic and rides horses at home. Makes medium and short radius turns in good balance with a pole plant. Has some leg steering but basically pivots through the turn on a flat ski. MI: Logical/Mathematical, Music, Spatial Skier: 13 year old boy tall for his age. Likes soccer and plays video games. Skis blue and black terrain with parallel turns. Stance is slightly back with minimal leg rotation. MI: Spatial, Intrapersonal, Logical/Mathematical Skier: 6 year old girl, daughter of Ski School Director and has been skiing since the age of 3. Rips around the mountain and is comfortable on easy black diamond terrain. Has a well timed pole plant. Makes highly edged/carved turns in blue groomed terrain and has a strong stem christie turn on black terrain. MI: Interpersonal, Spatial SENIOR SPECIALIST LEVEL II ACCREDITATION 75 This is a 3 day event. Successful candidates will receive the Senior Specialist pin on the third day. Our curriculum and handbook are on the PSIA-W website. The accreditation is open to any Level II or Level III instructor. This is a teaching clinic/exam. Your skiing will be coached but there is no skiing exam. We will also use video analysis to help improve your skiing. On snow training and testing will consist of: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. Technical elements of contemporary skiing as applied to seniors. How modern technique can optimize strength and balance in senior skiers. Tactical elements and changes in tactics for seniors to optimize balance and strength in terrain and snow conditions. Equipment-How modern skis (and the contemporary technique they allow) can expand the enjoyment and limits of the senior skier. Methodology-How to work with seniors to “buy in” to the new equipment and technique. Pace-How to establish a suitable pace for seniors. Physical limitations, etc. Group Dynamics-Many seniors have led interesting lives with long skiing histories. Ways to use those backgrounds to establish group interaction develop life long passion for snow sports! Adapting teaching model to seniors. Goal setting. Working with advanced and expert senior skiers. Working with intermediate and novice senior skiers. Candidates will teach and be evaluated on the 3rd day. Some of our senior instructors no longer ski bumps or steeps. Because this is not a skiing test, groups will be divided into two groups: Cruisers, we will stay on the groomers and the all terrain groups will ski a small percentage of moderate steeps. And moderate bumps. And develop teaching strategies for seniors on this terrain as well as contemporary technique on the groomers. Indoor sessions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. Review of Senior Handbook. Demographics of senior skiing population. Physiology of aging (strength, flexibility, vision, hearing, balance and preseason training). Psychology of Aging and Sports. Equipment information-boot geometry and ski selection for older skiers. How to establish a senior program at your ski resort. RESOURCE MATERIALS 76 SKIING CONCEPTS – ALPINE TEAM TRAINING – 2005/06 SKIING MODEL FOR A NEW MILLENNIUM PETER HOWARD A SIMPLE PLAN FOR DELIVERING AN EFFECTIVE LESSON MERMER BLAKESLEE VISUAL CUES TO EFFECTIVE MOVEMENTS FOR BEGINNING CHILDREN SKIERS – ALISON CLAYTON-CUMMINGS GENERAL INFORMATION FOR RESORT TRAINERS TED PITCHER LEVEL I CLINIC TOPICS TED PITCHER In addition to the resources listed above, professionals should combine the components of this manual with: PSIA ALPINE TECHNICAL MANUAL PSIA CORE CONCEPTS PSIA ALPINE MANUAL PSIA ALPINE STUDY GUIDES FOR LEVELS 1-3 PSIA ALPINE HANDBOOK PSIA CHILDREN’S INSTRUCTIONAL MANUAL PSIA ALPINE ENTRY LEVEL GUIDE FOR CHILDREN’S INSTRUCTORS PSIA PARK & PIPE GUIDE INSTRUCTORS GUIDE PSIA (NATIONAL) INTERNET LEARNING CENTER THE PROFESSIONAL SKIER – ARCHIVES RESOURCES DISTRIBUTED BY THE PSIA-W ALPINE COMMITTEE 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 General Information for Resort Trainer’s Clinics Written by: Ted Pitcher, PSIA-W Examiner/Board Member PSIAW has expanded our ed-core training this year into an ongoing education series designed to provide Resort Trainers with Tech Team type training and support to help trainers make their resort Training Programs better. The Art of the Clinic Ideas that will help a Good Instructor Become a Successful Clinician/Trainer These general ideas apply to all levels of clinics you may give, from hiring and training new instructors all the way to Level III exam training and education for your experienced staff. 1. Don’t change your teaching personality when you clinic! That’s what makes you great! Although the specific goals, content and depth of knowledge can be very different in a clinic versus in a lesson, the skills and experience that make you a gifted instructor will serve you well when you clinic/train instructors at any level. 2. Establish the “Clinic Culture” with your instructors... Make sure your staff knows that one of the great perks for instructors is to be able to train and ski with good clinicians in a solid ski school training program. A good clinic program should be fun, challenging, specific in its educational goals, very interactive and fast paced. If your clinics are boring, it will be very difficult to develop and sustain that clinic culture in your instructors. 3. Goal setting and planning for the Training Season. Sit down and set goals with your instructors for the training year. Their input is critical to the success of your program. For new instructors the Level I in house study guide, trainer guide and portfolio will help them understand the “game plan” for the season. Your Level II and Level III instructors will usually have a good idea of where their strengths and weaknesses are. Knowing their specific goals and needs will help you develop training priorities. It’s really helpful to get this stuff in writing from them if you can. 4. Invite all members of your staff to train and clinic. Every staff has a few people who never clinic regularly. Personally invite them to come. Encouragement to train can impact their motivation. You may be surprised who may turn into a clinic junkie! 5. First Day on Snow- The first on snow, all day clinics should include equipment and skills assessment, boot fit and boot geometry/canting needs and ski selection. If you can solve equipment problems early in the season, your instructor’s progress will be much quicker. Like it or not our sport is a dependant on proper equipment and fit. 6. Safety is no accident. Safety is always for real!! You should always address safe procedures whether the clinic is teaching or skiing. It’s easy for an instructor to become so involved in the clinic that he/she becomes unaware of an obvious safety issue. Re enforce their awareness all the time in every clinic situation. I like to remind them that sitting on the couch is not a good way to spend the winter. Its safety, fun and learning. 7. Do your homework. Prepare for every clinic in advance. Written handouts help many teaching clinics in two ways. Your instructors will not have to take notes during the clinic 87 and if they are given the handout in advance, they will have some background and knowledge before the clinic starts. 8. Focused Clinics. Clinics should be very focused. Cover a manageable amount of material in depth. Don’t overload your instructors! Leave some time to take a run. 9. How am I Looking Coach? No matter what the clinic topic, always ski a run or two and coach their skiing a bit. Every good skier is driven to get better. If you do this, they will come to all your clinics (even the ones with the boring titles). 10. They are watching you! Instructors tend to teach the way they have been cliniced, especially rookies. Your clinics should mirror the way you want your instructors to teach. If you stand on the side of the run and lecture for 20 minutes in your clinics, don’t be surprised if your instructors do the same thing when they teach! Your clinics should be fun, fast paced, educational and interactive no matter what the clinic topic. Use the teaching model! 11. Just a Little Smarter! No matter what level instructor you are clinicing, be “just a little smarter” than they are. It’s very easy for an experienced instructor to overwhelm less knowledgeable instructors with too much information. Keep it simple but don’t be condescending. Treat them as peers and respect them for the knowledge they are acquiring. Remember if they already know this stuff they wouldn’t need your clinic! 12. Request and Expect Feedback. Request and expect feedback and critiques from your instructors. Clinicing is a two way street. At the end of each clinic I’ll ask each instructor to give me one thing they learned about teaching and one thing they learned about their skiing. I learn a lot about my effectiveness by the answers I receive. Their feedback and critique can help foster the learning partnership, teacher to student, coach to athlete, instructor to instructor. 13. Establish a reading list and keep a training log on each level of training you clinic. Encourage your instructors to keep training logs and check with them regularly to keep your training program on track. Level I in house instructors will have a training log in their portfolio. 14. Be Available. You are a mentor to the people you are training. You should always be available to answer questions and help your instructors. Often the most learning takes place in the locker room after a tough day teaching. Don’t be stingy with your time! 15. Auditing Classes. Part of your training program should include encouraging your instructors to observe/audit more experienced instructors teaching. It’s also very helpful for you to audit your instructor’s classes so you know where you need to direct your training program. 16. Indoor Clinics. Indoor clinics can be a great help: 1. 2. 3. 4. In reviewing teaching and skiing clinics that have to take place on hill. Using video analysis to coach skiing and movement analysis. To hand out written material and prepare for future on snow clinics. To take notes on teaching clinics/progressions and cover technical information in a comfortable environment, keeping on hill time fast paced and productive. 17. Duh….I don’t Know! If you can’t answer a question, don’t blow smoke. You’ll lose all creditability. Tell your people you will find the answer, and then do it. 88 18. Ok, I’m Crazy. Teach your passion for the sport. That is the single most important thing your instructors can learn from you. Some of my most memorable days on skis involved giving and taking clinics with fellow coaches and instructors. One more thing, have fun and remember its only rock and roll, not world hunger! PSIAW Area Trainer Level I Clinic Outline Written by: Ted Pitcher, PSIA-W Examiner/Board Member PSIAW has expanded our ed-core training this year into an ongoing education series designed to provide Resort Trainers with Tech Team type training and support to help trainers make their Resort Training Programs better. This is outline/notes on our Trainer Training Clinic Series to give you some ideas to make your clinics better. I’ve included ideas for difficult topics for Level I instructors like “Introducing Turn Mechanics” and “Understanding Movement Analysis”. If your instructors get this early grounding at Level I, they will be stronger instructors and ready to advance to Level II training. Here are some tough clinic topics! Level I Clinic Topics from Hell Some clinics move across the snow as easily as the wind. They move downhill with the smoothness of a babbling brook. Skiing improvement clinics tend to be fast paced and involve lots of movement. Any good clinician will find it easy to give a good skiing improvement clinic. Then there are the clinics from Hell. Many Level I clinic topics don’t lend themselves to movement. Clinicians can easily find their feet in cement, talking and explaining these concepts on the hill. Some clinicians cover many of theses topics during indoor clinics. For our new instructors these Level I clinics need to be taught on the hill. Newbie’s need to see the topic in action and experience them, not just have them explained. Talk is cheap! Learning needs to be interactive, experiential and creative. What follows is a list of clinics that tend to move little and involve a lot of talking. Our goal as trainers is to make these clinics move, be creative and get our instructors participating in the process. Included are some ideas and ways to be creative and fast paced with each clinic topic. Each one of you will give one of these clinics. Be interactive, talk less, ski more, smile often, have fun. Can You Make These Clinics Move? 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Movement Analysis, straight run to Wedge Christie, and beginner Progressions. Understanding turns mechanics/physics and biomechanics of beginner skiers. The Teaching Model/Kid’s Teaching Model Skills Safety on the Beginner Slope. Learning Styles Teaching styles. 1. Movement Analysis and Progression Building At beginner levels beginner movement analysis can be one of the most tedious and boring clinics you can ever give. Watching beginners ski can be like watching grass grow! Here’s a better way to introduce movement analysis to new instructors and develop beginner progressions at the same time. Word of caution, this clinic will only work with instructors that have taught beginners at least a week or two. 89 At the risk of being politically incorrect, we’ll call this clinic “Geek of the Week”. This clinic doesn’t have to be in the beginner area. You can use any small flat area on the mountain so you can ski a bit to keep them happy. Here are the steps: 1. 2. 3. 4. Ask your instructors to think of a beginner they’ve had with a skills problem. Don’t tell us what they were doing, just show us. (The role playing can be great fun). The Group (with your guidance) analyzes the skills and mechanics of the skier. With your help the group develops drills exercises or a focus to “fix” the skier. As they develop necessary skills to correct each problem they are learning to build corrective progressions. 5. After each instructor has demonstrated a skier, you can demo any typical beginner problem the group may have missed. This approach is fun and fast paced. More importantly, it addresses real problems your instructors see in their teaching every day. You are giving them solutions/progressions to build their “bag ‘o’ tricks”. I do this for a few minutes in most Level I teaching clinics. It really develops their movement analysis skills and quickly develops their teaching at this level. 2. Introduction of Turn Mechanics to Level I Instructors This is a scary clinic title for both level I instructors and some clinicians. Understanding turn mechanics is a key part of good ski instruction. If you don’t understand the mechanics of the sport, how the heck can you teach well? We can begin to lay the foundation of technical understanding in our new instructors by using a turn they already know well. Wedge Turn Mechanics Example one: Flexion/extension This clinic outline takes a guided discovery approach to basic understanding of wedge turn mechanics. It’s a great place to start. 1. Ask the question “Why do we flex and extend in our wedge turns?” A simple question that will make them think. 2. After a bit of discussion, ask them to make ten wedge turns in a very flexed stance, no extension. 3. Questions: What part of the turn was easy? What part of the turn was harder? How do your quads feel? 4. Now make ten wedge turns as tall as possible with no flex 5. Questions: What part of the turn was easy? What was hard? Why? “The light bulbs” go on very quickly with these drills. This should kick off a very good discussion based on what your instructors feel. Easy turn entry when extended, strong steering in control phase as you flex a bit, etc. 6. Question: Does this have anything to do with why we flex and extend when we free ski? 7. Take a run at speed. Focus on the feel/kinestetics. 8. Now discuss question 6 again. You have begun to open their eyes to skills, turn mechanics and movement analysis. This type of experiential learning and discussion lays the ground work for simple understanding of turn mechanics in wedge turns and how that relates to the mechanics used in advanced skiing. If I can get my instructors to see the common threads/common skills between wedge turns and their own skiing, I’ve done my job. Example two: Leg Steering 90 1. Question: Why do we turn both feet in a wedge turn? Wouldn’t it be easier to just turn the outside foot? 2. Do 10 wedge turns turning both feet Do 10 wedge turns turning outside foot. 3. Discussion. What happens to the wedge size? Does it change? Good or bad? Simple biomechanics discussion on leg steering and wedge size. 4. Free run-focus on steering both feet. 5. Relate rotary skill in wedge turns to their own skiing. Teach what you do. Steering both feet is good skiing even in a wedge. Skills developed in wedge turns should transfer to all skiing! Example three: Spontaneous Christy 1. Ask the question” What is our hardest demo”? Almost everyone will say beginning wedge Christy. 2. Do the demo, 3. Why is it hard? Lead the discussion, describe the demo, lots of stuff happening! 4. Do the demo again. 5. Question: “If this demo is so hard, why the heck can new skiers do it spontaneously after a few hours of wedge turning”? 6. Ski wedge turns into spontaneous Christies. 7. Talk about priorities. A bit more speed, smaller wedge, emphasis is on steering both feet, linked turns, etc. 8. More turns. 9. Now you can introduce a simple explanation of the physics, centrifugal force making one ski heavy, one ski light. The light inside ski steers more easily. The match happens naturally without conscious thought, etc. 10. You are now breaking ground on important concepts using simple low level turns using both understanding and feeling the turn. Your instructors are on the way to developing an understanding of turn mechanics, physics and biomechanics from the snow up in a simple way. 3. Teaching Model- Kids/Adults (give them an outline) Every clinic you give to new instructors should follow the teaching model. In skiing improvement clinics, identify each step as you use them, i.e. “this is guided practice”. I’m checking for understanding, etc. That way they will understand the concept. Now you can demonstrate it in action at a beginner level. Take them through the teaching cycle in the beginner area then take them through the cycle with their own skiing. That will do two things, keep them moving and help them see that the model works for beginners and intermediate and advanced skiers. Understanding that is a big step. Go back to the beginner area and have each instructor teach a step. Get them active. Help them when they need it. Keep the group moving with a little skiing after each presentation and discussion. (Guided practice!) Finally wrap it up with a bow. On the last run or indoors, review, answer questions and help with notes. 4. Skills Understanding The skills concept is the language we use to analyze and understand our sport. Level I instructors need to know that basic skills understanding is critical to their development. Rather than do special “skills” clinics or talk about skills in the abstract, skills should be integrated into every clinic you do on the hill so they grasp skills from the beginning. Talk simple skills whenever you are coaching their skiing, doing demos, movement analysis and teaching progressions. Skills understanding is more than a clinic topic. It should be a theme that runs through every clinic we do! 91 5. Safety on the beginner Slope The temptation here is to hand out cards with the N.S.P.S. Code and have your instructors memorize the seven steps. Safety is such a critical issue; we need to do much more than that. 1. Begin with their own skiing. Take a warm up run on intermediate terrain. On the way down, give an example of each of the seven rules of the N.S.P.S. code, i.e. signs, boundary ropes, stopping zones, etc. You should be able to cover this in one run. 2. Assign one of the seven topics to each instructor and have them introduce it as they would in a beginner lesson. Use green terrain. Example: “Always be in control”. What should a beginner do when they lose control? 3. Expand on the teaching they do. Fill in the gaps. 4. On a second run on blue terrain, have them cover the seven steps of the code again. Let them do the talking. Taking this approach gets them teaching, keeps them moving and covers safety both when they teach and free ski or clinic. This is ten times more effective than just memorizing and regurgitating the code. Remember safety is no accident! 6.Teaching Styles This is another topic that lends itself to lots of explanation and talk, not much movement. Instructors need to learn this stuff experientially, by seeing it in action. Teaching and learning are opposite sides of the same coin. I will teach them the process in a skiing improvement clinic then show them how to use that knowledge when they teach beginners. 1. In a skiing improvement format, use each teaching style to develop their skiing (task, command, problem solving, etc). 2. Ask them what they liked about each style. 3. Ask what would be the disadvantages if we only used one style all day. (Make them think!) 4. With your help, have them name the advantages and disadvantages of each teaching style. 5. Ski them. Develop one skill in their skiing using a good mix of teaching styles to show the advantage of mixing styles. 6. Go to green terrain and have each instructor teach in a specific style at wedge/wedge turn levels. You may need to demonstrate how to use guided discovery or reciprocal styles at wedge/wedge turn levels. (It can be done and it can be fun!) 7. Learning Styles 1. Use a written handout on learning preferences. 2. On a chair ride, have each instructor give some thought to how they learn. (Are they watchers, thinkers, feelers, doers?) 3. In skiing improvement mode, coach their skiing. Using each one of the learning preferences, visual, conceptual, kinesthetic, experiential (fancy words for watcher, thinker, feeler, doer) 4. Ask what style do you like? (Maybe more than one) 5. Ask what primary styles do kids use? Doer, watcher. 6. Advise them that instructors tend to teach the way they learn. Not always a good thing if your skier has a different learning style. 7. Continue to mix in skiing, focusing on one learning preference/style at a time. 8. Teach them how to recognize learning preference in your skiers. Make them aware of “gong words”, i.e. “show me that again”, “Let’s do that some more”, “That felt weird/good/smooth”, etc. or “what’s the purpose of the wedge?” 9. Give them examples of how to “tweak” their teaching to fit each style at wedge/wedge turn levels. 10. It’s very important to show how to use teaching and learning styles with younger kids 3 yrs to 5 yrs old and older kids 7 yrs to 12 yrs old. If you are not a children’s instructor, I 92 highly recommend taking Children’s Specialist Level I or Level II Accreditation to give you the knowledge to clinic effectively. By actually showing how Teaching/Learning Styles work on the hill, your instructors will get a good grasp of this stuff and also get some good skiing and coaching too. Feel free to use these ideas to help keep these clinics moving, or be creative and experiment with your own ideas. Use the Level I in house Trainer’s Guide and Portfolio and the Level I Study Guide to help you plan your training. The PSIAW Trainers Manual put together by Heidi Ettlinger has the National Teaching and Skiing Standards for Level I, II, and III and lots of material to help you design a good training program. Enjoy the people and the process and whatever you do, have fun. If you’ve taken this clinic and have any questions or problems putting your program together, give me a call! Ted Pitcher 530-541-1329 93 PSIA-W EDUCATION STAFF OVERVIEW PURPOSE: The PSIA-W Education Staff actively contributes to the professional growth of the Western Division by conducting ski instructor training and certification. The guidelines set for these events are developed by the Alpine Committee Vice President and chairpersons. Education Staff members report to the Alpine VP or designated head clinic/module leaders for supervision, clarification of job duties, or questions regarding the functions of their job. PSIA-W TECHNICAL TEAM JOB STANDARDS/QUALIFICATIONS: SKIING: The PSIA-W Education Staff are strong Certified Level III skiers who can ski all terrain and snow conditions in a versatile yet consistent and technically correct manner. The Education Staff utilizes self-training along with the guidance received in the annual team training programs. They have mastered all skiing demonstrations for each certification level as outlined in the PSIA National Certification Standards for Levels I, II, and III. TEACHING: The Education Staff members can teach all levels of ATS, Levels 1-9, with complete command of the Teaching Model. They exhibit a thorough understanding of skier movement analysis and can apply it in regular class lessons as well as clinics within their peer group. UNDERSTANDING: The Education Staff members have a thorough understanding of physics, biomechanics, equipment, turn mechanics and fundamental concepts of skiing as it applies not only to ATS, levels 1-9, but their own skiing. Education Staff members can explain intricate aspects of modern skiing and ski teaching in a comprehensive, instructor to instructor manner, as well as in laymen’s terms to a typical student. In both cases the explanation/conversation is concise and easy to understand. RESPONSIBILITIES/REQUIREMENTS: Attend Required Education Staff Training Shadow Level 1 Module before Examining at discretion of the Alpine VP Understudy Level II & III until meeting the examining requirements of the Alpine VP Serve designated days as a clinician Contribute Technical articles to The Edge Serve as a clinician at the annual Spring Convention Education Staff Members are continually evaluated by the Alpine VP on their: Motivation Judgment Impartiality Fairness Empathy Presentation Skills Presence & Conduct at Events Communication Skills Overall knowledge Professionalism & Commitment to Excellence 94 NOTES: 95
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