Has anybody attained new certification this season?

[4ster]

Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Panorama, BC

Nice to see Manny doing something worthwhile during retirement !

 

[Jilly]

Nice to see Manny doing something worthwhile during retirement !

But he would have had to learn how to slow down and turn!!

 

[Nobody]

But he would have had to learn how to slow down and turn!!

So true for many ex-racers who have taken the instructor certification path. During my "journey" I've met quite some, whom, upon ending their racing carreers, decided to embark themselves in the instructor certification path. One such told me exactly that, e.g. that he had to un-learn to always point the skis donwhill at the highest available speed, and learn to be more "patient". This said, their exercises execution tempo, speed and tech level was several notches above us "normal" (e.g. non-pro racers) candidates.

 

[4ster]

But he would have had to learn how to slow down and turn!!

So true for many ex-racers who have taken the instructor certification path

I have encountered the same thing over the years with both former racers & race coaches (who are usually former racers) going for instructor certification but they were always a quick study. As you allude to, the lower level demonstration’s like Wedge, Wedge Christie & Basic Parallel took some practice but tasks like Pivot Slips or Whirley Birds were rarely an issue.
Someone like Shiffrin who has been practicing slow speed drills her whole life would adapt & outshine quickly.


& of course we’ve all seen this one.

 

[Bendzeekneez]

But he would have had to learn how to slow down and turn!!

He certainly killed it in the high end skiing. Word is he crushed it through some of the big terrain!

 

[Erik Timmerman]

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

You know how we like to make round turns? Well, it's the opposite literally skiing squares. Straight across the hill, crank a hard 90 degrees and ski straight down, the 90 degrees across. I like to do this without too much explanation so I can get the WTF looks out of the way right from the start. The first adjustment for the participants is to actually make square turns rather than rectangles. The people that normally are traversing in their medium radius turns will be skiing rectangles. Some people have never pointed their skis down the hill this long. This is part of being patient. Then we can start clipping the corners off of the square making sure that we are still letting the skis travel straight down the hill along the edge of the square. Later we want to make truly round turns that fit perfectly inside our squares. I described it as letting the skis kiss up against the side of the square like Bode's skis hitting the Audi banner at the bottom of the Maussefalle. People that would normally be turning their skis too fast here would tangle their skis tails in the imaginary barrier. It gives you plenty of chances to coach the skiers, but it can also be kind of hands off on technique. Defining the tactics to be used can force the technique side. The skier that was super-anticipated through edge change cured herself without me having to talk about anticipation.

 

[markojp]

Just a super quick note and a thank you to everyone who post their thoughts and ideas about skiing and instruction. Mike King, Liquid Feet, Eric Timmerman, Razie, you are especially brave and articulate souls. I have a love/hate relationship to this little corner of the interwebz, but mulling over and/or responding to conversations here has certainly been beneficial in helping clarify my own thoughts about things instructional. I was fortunate enough to be selected to our division's ed staff this past weekend and wanted to acknowledge all of you in the weekend's success. A deep, humble bow, hats off, and sincere "thank you" to all.

 

[dbostedo]

I was fortunate enough to be selected to our division's ed staff this past weekend

 

[VickieH]

Congratulations, @markojp!

 

[Nobody]

@markojp , congratulations! I am more than sure you will be up to the task!

 

[LiquidFeet]

Congrats, Marko!!!
Got a story you want to tell about how that went down?
I'd love to read your thoughts on the process, if you are in the mood to share.
And I'd be interested in hearing how your instructional life might be altered by new challenges next season.

 

[4ster]

was fortunate enough to be selected to our division's ed staff this past weekend and wanted to acknowledge all of you in the weekend's success. A deep, humble bow, hats off, and sincere "thank you" to all.

Congratulations Marko!
It’s great to see passionate, active working teacher/trainers fill these mentoring roles.

 

[Mike King]

Marko! Well earned!

So glad to see some success in this season.

Mike

 

[Muleski]

Have a serious question for those who are PSIA certified, particularly those who have earned their Level III, and those working to do so.

About 6-7 years ago the U.S. Ski Team and PSIA decided to collaborate in the spring....and hold a week long clinic. It was right about this time of year, and as I recall each of the two years about 20 or so athletes participated. This was among the USST A through D teams as well as athletes who where were part of NTG {National Training Group}. Steven Nyman was one of the first, s was Marco Sullivan.

As I recall, a number of the PSIA D Team members were participants and coaches.

At the end of the week all of the USST members had "earned" their Level III, were presented with their pins, etc. I know a number of them, and the ones that I know didn't seem to take it too seriously. They pretty much had to be there. In fact a year ago, my son was hiring two assistant coaches and one interested had been one of this group. His was joking about being PSIA Level III, having never once taught a single person to ski. They again, he had not done much coaching. Amazing where that USST jacket can take you!

Then again if your are a USST "coach" and spend a season in Europe with the WC or EC teams, it seems like you automatically become a "Level 500" International Coach. You can't do it otherwise, to my knowledge, though it seems to change every season. I know guys who have gained the certification by dealing with logistics, moving baggage and supplies and van driving form one venue to the next, or carrying bundles of gates on the hill. Maybe videoing from a tree...NO real coaching. Sure looks damn good in a bio or on a resume, and amazing how many people don't know what it means, and really put great stock into it.

I am a "race guy", but I have a lot of admiration for all people who take their craft seriously in sports and work hard to improve how they go about it. Hence, I admire those of you or "us" who either are Level III, or who absolutely will get there. Congrats.

How about the USST clinic, and such. Are those pins "tarnished?" Any thoughts or opinions?

 

[Mike King]

IMHO, they are quite tarnished. There's a difference between being able to ski and being able to teach. And even for those who are able to ski, to be able to execute the low level skiing tasks is often not a simple issue.

Deb Armstrong came through and did the work to earn her Level 3. She did a lot of work to make it onto the Demo team. Glen Plake went through all of the work to earn his Level 3. IMHO, it's bullshit to give a pin to a bunch of folk who have shown they can ski at a high level, but have done literally nothing to show that they could teach anyone to ski. Let alone a never ever. Or a kid.

There's a to put it pejoratively shitload of work to earn a Level 3 pin. In PSIA RM, you have to earn a CS1 and a CS2 pin, as well as a Level 1 and a Level 2 pin just to sit for the exam. That's not just some token camp to show skiing skills. It's a lot of hard work to show that you understand how to teach motor skills, the development physically, cognitively, and affectively of children and adults, how to adapt your teaching, and how to analyze what a ski is doing and the body performance that's leading to it.

If it is true, then this just cheapens the effort of all of us who are both working toward, and have earned, the pin.,

Mike

 

[Erik Timmerman]

How about the USST clinic, and such. Are those pins "tarnished?" Any thoughts or opinions?

I ski fairly often with Donna Weinbrecht. She doesn't have a Level 3 pin, but she does a lot of events with USST people. She was once telling me about how a couple of members had raved to her about their experience with the D Team. I think maybe it was Marco Sullivan and Nyman that she was talking about, but it was a while ago.

Anyway, I have NO problem with this.

 

[Erik Timmerman]

And I'd be interested in hearing how your instructional life might be altered by new challenges next season.

I'm not Marko, but I just want to say that I thought it was amusing that the day after our Dev Team Tryout there were three of us all teaching never-ever at Stowe. Some things never change. Also, none of us had any problem with it or feel too good for it.

 

[whumber]

You know how we like to make round turns? Well, it's the opposite literally skiing squares. Straight across the hill, crank a hard 90 degrees and ski straight down, the 90 degrees across. I like to do this without too much explanation so I can get the WTF looks out of the way right from the start. The first adjustment for the participants is to actually make square turns rather than rectangles. The people that normally are traversing in their medium radius turns will be skiing rectangles. Some people have never pointed their skis down the hill this long. This is part of being patient. Then we can start clipping the corners off of the square making sure that we are still letting the skis travel straight down the hill along the edge of the square. Later we want to make truly round turns that fit perfectly inside our squares. I described it as letting the skis kiss up against the side of the square like Bode's skis hitting the Audi banner at the bottom of the Maussefalle. People that would normally be turning their skis too fast here would tangle their skis tails in the imaginary barrier. It gives you plenty of chances to coach the skiers, but it can also be kind of hands off on technique. Defining the tactics to be used can force the technique side. The skier that was super-anticipated through edge change cured herself without me having to talk about anticipation.

I've found this to be pretty effective for teaching people to take a rounder line in the bumps as well. Too many skiers pivot the skis ASAP in the bumps which prevents them from ever establishing any real flow from bump to bump.

 

[Muleski]

IMHO, they are quite tarnished.

If it is true, then this just cheapens the effort of all of us who are both working toward, and have earned, the pin.,

Mike

See below. It's "true". Don't know if the two organizations still have a relationship......ie whether the PSIA has a contract with the Team.

Athletes and Staff Get Schooled by PSIA

PARK CITY, UT (April 28, 2015) – When Steven Nyman (Sundance, UT) embarked on the first-ever U.S. Ski Team/Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA) collaborative clinic last spring, he never imagined it would create a solid foundation for what would be his most successful season with the...

usskiandsnowboard.org

 

[Nancy Hummel]

Marko: Congratulations! Phenomenal achievement! Stoked for you!