Has anybody attained new certification this season?

[Steve]

If only there were a "PSIA Dogma Manual." A big issue I had with the organization was that it was hard to tease out that dogma, that you could get it only through a lot of contact with higher-ups steeped in that dogma, that different individuals might have their own variations on that dogma, and heaven forbid you spend time with a younger trainer not beholden to that dogma. And then it might be luck of the draw determining if the examiner you got subscribed to the same flavor of the dogma that you had learned.

exactly. Well said.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

Teaching Exam -

 

[Mike King]

How does the teach segment work? Is it a "bring your own" or do you have to come up with something on the fly?

Re: Dogma and the rib cage, I wonder if what you thought you said, what the examiner thought you said, and what you actually said are all the same thing.

Ok, since several folk are interested, here was the circumstance. In PSIA RM, we teach to a group of 3 fellow candidates. We have two lift rides to conduct an interview, and two warm-up runs, with proscribed drills, to observe the "client's" skiing. When a candidate is teaching to the group, the remaining candidates are given the task of observing a segment of the teaching model. Those candidates will be interviewed -- I think the objective is to ensure everyone is engaged and not just checking out during the process.

I had three folk I was teaching to. 1 said she was working on trying to get more symmetry in her turns. Upon further interview, it seems that she thought the issue was that she was sending your right foot out in the shaping phase but bracing against it in the finish. Another said he was trying to be less flexed at edge change so that he would be more stacked over the skis. The last said he was trying to not go up and over, but when he tried to flex to release, his move was to flex at the hip and bring his upper body down while still going up and over.

So, I selected magnitude and edging as my skills. I gave the why as that if they folk were able to transition by flexing and allowing the upper body to be released from the arc prior to the lower body, they would have a more symmetric turn shape (flexing the right leg for skier one) while getting early edge and spreading the pressure over a longer portion of the turn (skier 2 and 3). Three drills: Austrian dwarf turns (shortest at edge change) to work on the ability to change edges in a compact position, Schanzy’s crab walk in a medium radius turn (or is it more of a step christie?) which is focused on flexion of the outside leg from shaping into the finish, then the rib cage move to initiate edge change (the rib cage moves forward and over the outside ski to allow the upper body to exit the arc prior to the feet) which facilitates early edging and early ski engagement.

The run was very short, so I ran out of space and had to take a lift for the rest. The examiners were not with the group when I explained the rib cage move. And all of it just was a bit of a jumble. The examiners thought that I didn’t explain the why of the drills sufficiently, although I do believe they had decided at the get-go that they were not in agreement with my message. They also thought that the content was tricky as it is possible for a lot of folk to just dump inside. And ski performance for two of the skiers decreased, although one had a pretty big improvement.

So, the takeaway is that terrain management is a big issue. I need to pick a teach that’s easier to deliver and not something that might take days to deliver to even good skiers. I need to adapt the plan to what is happening with the ski performance of the 'students.' And I need to check the boxes on the scorecard.

I received scores I deserved. I'm not proud of what I delivered, although I do think I helped two of the skiers to significantly improve their medium radius turns. In reality, I had a 20 minute teach. And it's pretty hard to achieve an impact on skiers at this level in 20 minutes...

Mike

 

[Chris V.]

Hmmm, seems a difficult assignment to quickly improve the skiing of three other candidates who are presumptively all skiing at about the same level as you, and who very likely have divergent issues most needing to be addressed. (And not giving you any mock issues.)

Lots of good self-analysis there. But if I can rephrase, your goal might be said to have been to instill a more progressive release, allowing the body mass to take a path diverging from the path of the skis. Which seems to me a good goal. If an examiner doesn't like that as a goal, I would question the quality of the vision the examiner has established, or the examiner's tolerance of style variations. But it is what it is--maybe these examiners were fans of the extension transition for medium radius turns?

 

[Mike King]

Hmmm, seems a difficult assignment to quickly improve the skiing of three other candidates who are presumptively all skiing at about the same level as you, and who very likely have divergent issues most needing to be addressed. (And not giving you any mock issues.)

Lots of good self-analysis there. But if I can rephrase, your goal might be said to have been to instill a more progressive release, allowing the body mass to take a path diverging from the path of the skis. Which seems to me a good goal. If an examiner doesn't like that as a goal, I would question the quality of the vision the examiner has established, or the examiner's tolerance of style variations. But it is what it is--maybe these examiners were fans of the extension transition for medium radius turns?

I'd say that the current dogma in PSIA RM is the the lower body leads and perhaps is almost all of the action. They believe in lots of rotational and lateral separation. They also seem to believe that if a little angulation is good, more must be better.

Just a few quibbles here and there...

Mike

 

[Chris V.]

Could be a case of same result, different words for it. There's a lot of that in discussion of ski technique.

 

[markojp]

Ok, since several folk are interested, here was the circumstance. In PSIA RM, we teach to a group of 3 fellow candidates. We have two lift rides to conduct an interview, and two warm-up runs, with proscribed drills, to observe the "client's" skiing. When a candidate is teaching to the group, the remaining candidates are given the task of observing a segment of the teaching model. Those candidates will be interviewed -- I think the objective is to ensure everyone is engaged and not just checking out during the process.

I had three folk I was teaching to. 1 said she was working on trying to get more symmetry in her turns. Upon further interview, it seems that she thought the issue was that she was sending your right foot out in the shaping phase but bracing against it in the finish. Another said he was trying to be less flexed at edge change so that he would be more stacked over the skis. The last said he was trying to not go up and over, but when he tried to flex to release, his move was to flex at the hip and bring his upper body down while still going up and over.

So, I selected magnitude and edging as my skills. I gave the why as that if they folk were able to transition by flexing and allowing the upper body to be released from the arc prior to the lower body, they would have a more symmetric turn shape (flexing the right leg for skier one) while getting early edge and spreading the pressure over a longer portion of the turn (skier 2 and 3). Three drills: Austrian dwarf turns (shortest at edge change) to work on the ability to change edges in a compact position, Schanzy’s crab walk in a medium radius turn (or is it more of a step christie?) which is focused on flexion of the outside leg from shaping into the finish, then the rib cage move to initiate edge change (the rib cage moves forward and over the outside ski to allow the upper body to exit the arc prior to the feet) which facilitates early edging and early ski engagement.

The run was very short, so I ran out of space and had to take a lift for the rest. The examiners were not with the group when I explained the rib cage move. And all of it just was a bit of a jumble. The examiners thought that I didn’t explain the why of the drills sufficiently, although I do believe they had decided at the get-go that they were not in agreement with my message. They also thought that the content was tricky as it is possible for a lot of folk to just dump inside. And ski performance for two of the skiers decreased, although one had a pretty big improvement.

So, the takeaway is that terrain management is a big issue. I need to pick a teach that’s easier to deliver and not something that might take days to deliver to even good skiers. I need to adapt the plan to what is happening with the ski performance of the 'students.' And I need to check the boxes on the scorecard.

I received scores I deserved. I'm not proud of what I delivered, although I do think I helped two of the skiers to significantly improve their medium radius turns. In reality, I had a 20 minute teach. And it's pretty hard to achieve an impact on skiers at this level in 20 minutes...

Mike

Mike, lions will be asking for your bravery putting all this out there. At the huge risk of giving unsolicited advice, and perhaps even more for the benefit of those who haven't taken part in the process, this is what I'd add:

I think you summed it up really nicely in that you only had 20 minutes and introduced three drills that could have interpreted any number of ways and might well have been difficult to coach over an entire day. L3 teach is a distillation, and a pretty radical one at that. Seeing the group, even with different goals that you've asked them about, etc... what is ONE thing you could show them all, that you think would benefit them all, and have fun with while giving direct specific individual feedback to address what you saw in their individual skiing? Maybe the task itself has sorted something out and obviated the need to do anything more than point out the change made and seeing if it can be 'owned' as you move from 'task' to 'till'*. What nugget can they deposit in their account?

Skier 1.... 'sending' a foot out, but bracing.... (which puts her back and in, no?)
Skier 2... 'less flexed' at transition.... (not 'settling', which would allow more ability to allow the femur to rotate through it's full range of motion allowing the ski to move more actively in a 'cross under' edge change.)
Skier 3... 'bringing his upper body down over the hip while still going 'up and over' ..... (This one's not quite clear, but it sounds like there's difficulty flexing the ankle, or perhaps too much pressure directed into the cuff of the boot at the end of the shaping phase of the turn... perhaps some 'following'... just guessing without a visual.)

In 20 minutes, decide immediately and choose ONE of the drills you mentioned. IMHO, almost all the 'standard' drills we know can be taylored with your individual 'twist' that shows understanding, ownership, and ability to communicate to each person in the group the fundimental(s) being addressed with a short, simple progression starting with a body part, a movement, a sensation, a desired change..... static, simple move, complex (more speed, rhythm, turn size, incorporate terrain variation as its encountered, change of DIRT, etc.., and finally into 'normal' skiing. Check for understanding on the fly with each person rather than using vertical hill space and group time. Keep the group moving and alway err on the side of mileage. Each individual can be coached (again, on the fly) according their need and understanding of the information presented. One short, sweet deal, three mini private lessons in that very tight context. Wrap up. Done.

And yes! Terrain management is very very important. Never waste a foot of vertical on the hill.

* 'till'... where the money is!

(the 'rib cage' thing is something I will mention to someone who's having trouble moving toward pressure, but not as end in itself with an entire group, but that's just me... I do think it's interesting and useful, but needs to happen simultaneously with what's happening from the knees down, or feet up.)

Now if this is out of line, please let me know and I'll happily delete this post. I know failing an exam is a kick in the crotch. Been there, done that, was very pissed off with myself and the world. Again, huge kudos to you for sharing your journey. Odd thing is, when you pass and look at it all in the review mirror, you know exactly why you didn't initially succeed. You notice I said "when you pass", because you will!

Mark

 

[markojp]

It is always a bad idea to allow the impression that there might be anything in your mind other than the accepted dogma of any exclusive organization when being examined to be an accredited representative/member of that organization, if you wish to attain said accreditation.

Have to disagree completely. Passed L3 teaching something that I'd never gotten in a clinic, from a clinician, or mentor. Talked about leveling the pelvis which wasn't a hot PSIA topic 6-8 years ago. Thought I'd screwed the pooch, but thought it would really help the people I was teaching. My attitude was that "I've already failed, so what? I think this will help everyone ski better."

I've said before, the only time I've ever thought about 'what they want' was when I didn't know or have enough confidence in what I knew. Still learning and re-evaluating every day on the snow. PSIA doesn't live in my head. That space is mine. Not sure anyone else wants to be there anyway.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

I'd say that the current dogma in PSIA RM is the the lower body leads and perhaps is almost all of the action. They believe in lots of rotational and lateral separation. They also seem to believe that if a little angulation is good, more must be better.

Just a few quibbles here and there...

Mike

I think there's a difference between dogma and just looking around at what is lacking in the skiing of the general public as well as our fellow instructors. For sure that has been a focus even at our Ed Staff training clinics here in the East, but when you ride a chairlift and you look down even at a group of examiners, you can't help asking "why aren't you turning your legs?". Now with that said, in one of my segments at Dev Team tryout, I asked people in my group to separate less because they were totally over doing it. Matt Boyd who is in the video above saying that he looks for rotation of the legs first in an exam was fully on board with it.

 

[Mike King]

Mike, lions will be asking for your bravery putting all this out there. At the huge risk of giving unsolicited advice, and perhaps even more for the benefit of those who haven't taken part in the process, this is what I'd add:

I think you summed it up really nicely in that you only had 20 minutes and introduced three drills that could have interpreted any number of ways and might well have been difficult to coach over an entire day. L3 teach is a distillation, and a pretty radical one at that. Seeing the group, even with different goals that you've asked them about, etc... what is ONE thing you could show them all, that you think would benefit them all, and have fun with while giving direct specific individual feedback to address what you saw in their individual skiing? Maybe the task itself has sorted something out and obviated the need to do anything more than point out the change made and seeing if it can be 'owned' as you move from 'task' to 'till'*. What nugget can they deposit in their account?

Skier 1.... 'sending' a foot out, but bracing.... (which puts her back and in, no?)
Skier 2... 'less flexed' at transition.... (not 'settling', which would allow more ability to allow the femur to rotate through it's full range of motion allowing the ski to move more actively in a 'cross under' edge change.)
Skier 3... 'bringing his upper body down over the hip while still going 'up and over' ..... (This one's not quite clear, but it sounds like there's difficulty flexing the ankle, or perhaps too much pressure directed into the cuff of the boot at the end of the shaping phase of the turn... perhaps some 'following'... just guessing without a visual.)

In 20 minutes, decide immediately and choose ONE of the drills you mentioned. IMHO, almost all the 'standard' drills we know can be taylored with your individual 'twist' that shows understanding, ownership, and ability to communicate to each person in the group the fundimental(s) being addressed with a short, simple progression starting with a body part, a movement, a sensation, a desired change..... static, simple move, complex (more speed, rhythm, turn size, incorporate terrain variation as its encountered, change of DIRT, etc.., and finally into 'normal' skiing. Check for understanding on the fly with each person rather than using vertical hill space and group time. Keep the group moving and alway err on the side of mileage. Each individual can be coached (again, on the fly) according their need and understanding of the information presented. One short, sweet deal, three mini private lessons in that very tight context. Wrap up. Done.

And yes! Terrain management is very very important. Never waste a foot of vertical on the hill.

* 'till'... where the money is!

(the 'rib cage' thing is something I will mention to someone who's having trouble moving toward pressure, but not as end in itself with an entire group, but that's just me... I do think it's interesting and useful, but needs to happen simultaneously with what's happening from the knees down, or feet up.)

Now if this is out of line, please let me know and I'll happily delete this post. I know failing an exam is a kick in the crotch. Been there, done that, was very pissed off with myself and the world. Again, huge kudos to you for sharing your journey. Odd thing is, when you pass and look at it all in the review mirror, you know exactly why you didn't initially succeed. You notice I said "when you pass", because you will!

Mark

Yep, Mark, that's fair. I only have myself to blame. My performance was not up to the Level 3 standard and I received the marks I deserved.

Mike

 

[markojp]

.... Now with that said, in one of my segments at Dev Team tryout, I asked people in my group to separate less because they were totally over doing it. Matt Boyd who is in the video above saying that he looks for rotation of the legs first in an exam was fully on board with it.

The name of the band is Spinal Twist!

 

[AmyPJ]

Ok, since several folk are interested, here was the circumstance. In PSIA RM, we teach to a group of 3 fellow candidates. We have two lift rides to conduct an interview, and two warm-up runs, with proscribed drills, to observe the "client's" skiing. When a candidate is teaching to the group, the remaining candidates are given the task of observing a segment of the teaching model. Those candidates will be interviewed -- I think the objective is to ensure everyone is engaged and not just checking out during the process.

I had three folk I was teaching to. 1 said she was working on trying to get more symmetry in her turns. Upon further interview, it seems that she thought the issue was that she was sending your right foot out in the shaping phase but bracing against it in the finish. Another said he was trying to be less flexed at edge change so that he would be more stacked over the skis. The last said he was trying to not go up and over, but when he tried to flex to release, his move was to flex at the hip and bring his upper body down while still going up and over.

So, I selected magnitude and edging as my skills. I gave the why as that if they folk were able to transition by flexing and allowing the upper body to be released from the arc prior to the lower body, they would have a more symmetric turn shape (flexing the right leg for skier one) while getting early edge and spreading the pressure over a longer portion of the turn (skier 2 and 3). Three drills: Austrian dwarf turns (shortest at edge change) to work on the ability to change edges in a compact position, Schanzy’s crab walk in a medium radius turn (or is it more of a step christie?) which is focused on flexion of the outside leg from shaping into the finish, then the rib cage move to initiate edge change (the rib cage moves forward and over the outside ski to allow the upper body to exit the arc prior to the feet) which facilitates early edging and early ski engagement.

The run was very short, so I ran out of space and had to take a lift for the rest. The examiners were not with the group when I explained the rib cage move. And all of it just was a bit of a jumble. The examiners thought that I didn’t explain the why of the drills sufficiently, although I do believe they had decided at the get-go that they were not in agreement with my message. They also thought that the content was tricky as it is possible for a lot of folk to just dump inside. And ski performance for two of the skiers decreased, although one had a pretty big improvement.

So, the takeaway is that terrain management is a big issue. I need to pick a teach that’s easier to deliver and not something that might take days to deliver to even good skiers. I need to adapt the plan to what is happening with the ski performance of the 'students.' And I need to check the boxes on the scorecard.

I received scores I deserved. I'm not proud of what I delivered, although I do think I helped two of the skiers to significantly improve their medium radius turns. In reality, I had a 20 minute teach. And it's pretty hard to achieve an impact on skiers at this level in 20 minutes...

Mike

FWIW, my husband took two attempts to pass his 3, and for his passing teach attempt, he applied the KISS principal. Being "married into" the PSIA culture has been enlightening to me. There is a lot of paralysis by analysis, and changing principles--this was good last year, now it's a no-no?? As an advanced student (yes, advanced--yaay!) I can say that flex to release is counter-productive for me. I already tend to remain too static, not dynamic enough. Flex to release just makes me crouch lower and lower and also seems to put me further inside, even though in principle it shouldn't.

Would you say that moving the ribcage as you describe would be similar to "diving for danger" (as a PSIA Hall of Famer described it to me two weeks ago when he coached me for a few runs.) The guy is a MASTER at teaching simple movement patterns. I still struggle with my "stem" or lack of release the old outside ski. Focusing on the release doesn't work for me. He had me focus on getting to that new outside ski extra early with a strong stand on it, simultaneously "diving for danger". It took a defensive movement pattern and created an offensive movement pattern in about 200 yards. I think it's an example of exaggerating a new move until it's learned, then it automatically dials itself back as one gets the feel for it.

Anyway, I digress. Best of luck to you going forward. It's a difficult process and can depend so much on who the examiners are. Some seem to want to look for only the bad, others really look for the good.

 

[Nobody]

My group on the ski day was 3 guys in the 20's and another guy in his 40s or early 50s. All of them said that they were amazed by how athletic my skiing was for a guy who is 64. I guess that's a compliment...

There's no doubt I have a limited window to pass this exam...

Mike

Cowboy up, Mike, I'm in the same boat as you, I am consistently the second older candidate now in any group I find myself into for the exam, I don't feelike that, but It is a fact, and thus my window is as limited as yours. More so since I've taken (more by happenstance, compelled bythe events, than by choice) a season of hyatus, from all skiing related, except frequenting this site. I do not regret the "choice" but it's a fact.

The certification will be nice, @Mike King. I have no doubt you will achieve it. But the learning, the refinement -- the real value -- is in all that leads up to that point. Everything you have done to date has increased your value to the clients you serve. As a ski student, I thank you for improving your knowledge and ability so you can help us improve ours.

All so true, but at a certain point, one gets fed up with "peer recognition and esteem" only (as I was told after my second failed attempt by another candidate, who happened to pass : "Yes but I admire your short turns, they're so much better than mine, you'll have my esteem" was his comment, my answer...cannot write verbatim it here but was alongthe line of "you know where you can put your so called admiration and esteem, right?") and aspire to a formal recognition of all his/her hard work.

The feedback from the examiners, one of whom is a very doctrinaire PSIA'er, was that moving the torso into the turn prior to moving the lower body "may" not be compatible with modern ski technique. I was sorely tempted to send video of Hirscher, Schiffrin, and Kristofferson or just this video:


back to the examiners, but whatever. Yes, we need to be sure that folk don't just dump the body inside. And I don't think I'd teach this to most of my clients. But a group of ski instructors presumably at the Level 3 standard? They ought to be able to handle it, and know the difference between a slight movement of the ribcage and dumping the body inside. Especially with coaching from someone, even me.

Now I will seriously dumb down whatever I teach staying within a single drill with variations, pay more attention to the movement patterns in their skiing during warm up (even if it isn't in the realm of what they are working on), and not try to reach as far in the teach.

My coaches have advised me thus. "Check the boxes, get the pin, then do what you believe in and want to do."

Mike

It is always a bad idea to allow the impression that there might be anything in your mind other than the accepted dogma of any exclusive organization when being examined to be an accredited representative/member of that organization, if you wish to attain said accreditation.

If only there were a "PSIA Dogma Manual." A big issue I had with the organization was that it was hard to tease out that dogma, that you could get it only through a lot of contact with higher-ups steeped in that dogma, that different individuals might have their own variations on that dogma, and heaven forbid you spend time with a younger trainer not beholden to that dogma. And then it might be luck of the draw determining if the examiner you got subscribed to the same flavor of the dogma that you had learned.

How does the teach segment work? Is it a "bring your own" or do you have to come up with something on the fly?

Re: Dogma and the rib cage, I wonder if what you thought you said, what the examiner thought you said, and what you actually said are all the same thing.

Right, but it can also work against you (this "keep to the dogma manual" thing). I failed my first teaching attempt because I was the only candidate who was NOT assigned a standard "thing" to teach; so, whereas everyone else had a secure and safe starting point, I found myself gasping for an idea of how to begin. Needless to say, I failed miserably. After the fact, the two examiners who did assign the tasks to me, candidly admitted it..."Sorry pal, we know you failed because that was the only non standard assignment (i.e. not in the books)". Which left me bitterly wondering why I am always the one selected for that kind of "challenges".
Because of that they cut me some slack and gave me a second opportunity, but the shame I felt for failing it at first (and being the only one out of a group of twenty-some candidates), is and always, always will be with me.

 

[markojp]

L3 can always be 'non-standard'. This especially kicks part time instructors in the butt because they rarely have the hours in front of people to have had the breadth and depth of teaching experience to pull things out on the fly. The tool box is just smaller. The Boyd interview Eric linked is really good. It clearly describes what 'they' are looking for.

 

[Nobody]

You hit exactly the point, @markojp . As in many activities where experience counts, "mileage" is key.

 

[Bendzeekneez]

Meanwhile in Canada...


The 2021 CSIA Level 4 Academy in Alberta concluded this past week and we would like to congratulate and recognize the efforts of all of the participants throughout the season long process. We would also like to recognize and thank those Members who were unable to attend the final Camp due to Ski Area closures and travel restrictions. We look forward to continuing the process with you next season!

We are very excited to introduce you to Canada’s newest Level 4s following this week’s Academy at Sunshine Village, Alberta.
Congratulations to each of you on your achievement!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
L’édition 2021 de l’Académie niveau 4 de l'AMSC en Alberta a pris fin cette semaine et nous tenons à féliciter et à souligner les efforts des participantes et des participants tout au long du processus cette saison. Nous aimerions également reconnaître et remercier les membres qui n'ont pas pu assister au camp final en raison de la fermeture des stations de ski et des restrictions de voyage. Nous sommes impatients de poursuivre le processus avec vous la saison prochaine !
Nous sommes très heureux de vous présenter les nouveaux niveaux 4 du Canada suite à l'Académie de cette semaine à Sunshine Village, en Alberta.
Félicitations à chacun d'entre vous pour votre réussite !
Ai Kawakami, Lake Louise, AB
Alex Mackie, Sunshine Village, AB
Ari Gabo, Whistler, BC
Ben Atherton, Sunshine Village, AB
Craig Clark, Fernie, BC
Javier Fuentes, Whistler, BC
Jenny Burrows, Lake Louise, AB
Kia Kaspian, Cypress Mountain, BC
Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Panorama, BC
Pierre-Luc Dumoulin, Lake Louise, AB
Rob Duncan, Kimberly, BC
Robbie Williams, Whistler, BC
Yusaku Shimizu, Lake Louise, AB



Mario Bourassa (CEP du Québec) - L'Académie niveau 4 de l’AMSC 2021 est maintenant terminée au Québec et nous tenons à féliciter et à souligner les efforts déployés tout au long de la saison par les participants dans ce processus Niveau 4.
Nous sommes très heureux de vous présenter les nouveaux niveaux 4 au Canada 2020-2021!
Félicitations à chacun d’entre vous pour votre belle réussite!
*Par ordre alphabétique
- - -

Alexandre Dion - Sommet Saint-Sauveur
André-Guy Simard - Mont-Sainte-Anne
Jean-Sébastien Voisine - Stoneham
Luc Paquin - Mont Sutton
Maxime Goulet-Bourdon - Bromont
Mélanie Ouellet - Mont Orford
Sarah Lynne Howard - Calabogie Peaks
Sharlie-Ann Achim - Sommet Gabriel
Stéphane Pipon - Belle Neige
Stéphanie Perras - Bromont
- - -
Jeff Marks (National Program Director) - The 2020-2021 CSIA Level 4 Academy in Québec has concluded and we would like to congratulate and recognize the efforts of all of the participants throughout the season long process.
We are very excited to introduce you to Canada’s newest Level 4's following the Academy!
Congratulations to each of you on your achievement!
*In alphabetical order

 

[Jilly]

I'm so happy for Sarah. She did some intern work with Kathy Prophet at the Women's Edge Camp I attended. I knew she was going to get this back then.

And Manny....I hadn't seen that one!!

 

[whumber]

I think there's a difference between dogma and just looking around at what is lacking in the skiing of the general public as well as our fellow instructors. For sure that has been a focus even at our Ed Staff training clinics here in the East, but when you ride a chairlift and you look down even at a group of examiners, you can't help asking "why aren't you turning your legs?". Now with that said, in one of my segments at Dev Team tryout, I asked people in my group to separate less because they were totally over doing it. Matt Boyd who is in the video above saying that he looks for rotation of the legs first in an exam was fully on board with it.

Out of curiosity, was it that there was too much of it altogether (leg rotation) or too much of it too early in the turn?

 

[Erik Timmerman]

I forget if there were 5 in my group or 6. But I’d say it was a mix. Some had both, some only one. One was turning her feet very fast and ending up traversing with a ton of anticipation. It was a few weeks ago so I don’t remember what else I may have done but I used the “skiing squares” drill on them.

 

[Mike King]

Ok, what's the "skiing squares" drill?