I want to be an Ski Instructor

[marymack]

Oh that is such a bummer. Especially since it sounds like there was a little nepotism going on. I guess that is the difference of a big ski area versus the little area that I teach at...we are ALWAYS looking for more instructors and only turn people away when they prove they don't deserve the job by not showing up or putting in effort. Hopefully you will stay on their radar for the future.
I looked around on Gore's website and seems like they have an instructor training program for teens, its too bad they don't have a similar program for adults! You should see if they would start one, or maybe they would let you kind of do a similar thing on their own. If the money wasn't what you are really looking for (and if it is, I would not recommend teaching skiing anyway!), maybe you could offer to volunteer on busy holidays by shadowing lessons and helping the instructors where needed? You never know, they might realize how indispensable you are and offer you a position later in the season or next year?
Good luck! Don't get down on yourself, glad you were able to take away some good tidbits from the instructors running the program and hopefully you will try again next year!

 

[AltaEgo]

I teach and occasionally I get kids. I like kids, but since I have a replaced hip, and two replaced knees, getting up from the ground can be challenging. I make a joke about it and the kids and I laugh. I don't pick kids up as much as I used to. Getting up on their own is the most important lesson they learn. I bring the lifties cookies so they stop or slow the lift for me especially if I have more than one that can't get on the chair by themselves. People in line are usually pretty understanding when you thank them.

The hardest part of teaching kids is when they fall. We try to team teach...one leader and one pickup person. But hiking back up hill can be tiring. The most important thing is that the kids have fun and want to come back. That may mean making snow angels, getting cocoa, singing silly songs or making up silly games. Skiing over little bumps and up sides of little hills. Using your imagination.

If you let your inner child out, you can teach kids too!

 

[2ski2moro]

Oh that is such a bummer. Especially since it sounds like there was a little nepotism going on. I guess that is the difference of a big ski area versus the little area that I teach at...we are ALWAYS looking for more instructors and only turn people away when they prove they don't deserve the job by not showing up or putting in effort. Hopefully you will stay on their radar for the future.
I looked around on Gore's website and seems like they have an instructor training program for teens, its too bad they don't have a similar program for adults! You should see if they would start one, or maybe they would let you kind of do a similar thing on their own. If the money wasn't what you are really looking for (and if it is, I would not recommend teaching skiing anyway!), maybe you could offer to volunteer on busy holidays by shadowing lessons and helping the instructors where needed? You never know, they might realize how indispensable you are and offer you a position later in the season or next year?
Good luck! Don't get down on yourself, glad you were able to take away some good tidbits from the instructors running the program and hopefully you will try again next year!

Don't get me wrong, I think the people who were hired through nepotism deserved to be hired. I got to know the one young man who was in my group. He was personable, as well as an excellent skier. The family relationship just added some weight to the decision.

As for the Jr. Instructor training program, I believe that it is more like a junior camp counsellor program where the kids are too old for lessons, but want to be in the ski school. But the Adult Jr. Instructor program is an interesting concept!

I have already sent a thank you email to the ski school director, thanking her for the opportunity and expressing my desire to be a part of the program. I want to walk a line between being a pest and being enthusiastic, but I think you have a good idea. Email sent.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Joining PSIA doesn’t automatically get you pro-deals. Many require a certification or at least an affiliation with a ski school.

Not all, though. (ask me how I know) ... anyway, enough talk about that ... I like the PSIA monthly magazine a lot, too.

The Instructor Hiring Clinic is over and I didn't make the cut. Wow, there were so many good skiers there and so many had teaching experience, as well. 31 people tried out. There were only a few positions open for this year (I heard, but cannot confirm, 8 open skier slots) and 3 of those went to sons or daughters of current instructors. (Don't know about the snowboarders.)

I'm disappointed that I didn't get hired, but I'm glad set a goal and tried it. I had early-season burning quads at the end of the day, but no regrets. Two days of skiing with PSIA Level 3 instructors was amazing.

I always say that if you can take away only one good thing from a class, it was a success. My Good Thing was when the group leader discussed the 5 Fundamentals of Skiing from an instructor standpoint, not a learner's standpoint. It was eye-opening for me, as an analytical person, to think about angulation, for example, in a different way. When an instructor teaches a class, she may use "push the hip" or "lower the shoulder" or "stab the frog and shine the flashlight" to teach angulation. In the Instructor Clinic, we discussed the mechanics of the movements, rather than examples of how it can be taught. It was fascinating to me to approach the skill from the other (instructor) side. My real regret is that I will not have the opportunity to learn more about this from these expert instructors in the ongoing instructor clinics throughout the next year.

I'm sorry you didn't make the cut! But it sounds like you got a great lesson experience. Will you try out again next season? Will you do anything to train specifically for it?

 

[diymom]

Chicopee in Kitchener, Ontario has an apprentice program open to anyone 14 and up. DD did it our last year in Canada. She was assigned to a lesson group and helped with lift riding and trailing the group. It counted towards high school volunteer hours, and if you put in 40 hours you got $300 paid back on your membership ( not all , but most of the cost). But the perk she seemed to like most was getting to attend the instructor clinics before the day started. It was mostly teens who did the apprenticeship, and mostly to finance their passes not for the clinics, but some adults did it too. I probably would have signed up at some point too if we hadn't moved.

I think it is a great way to introduce potential instructors to what the job entails.

 

[nopoleskier]

@2ski2moro WE NEED INSTRUCTORS AT ROYAL Mt. Caroga lake! Early season We have clinics (free) and you ski free when not working, just need to show up at line up I promise you will be put to work!

Mt Just asks you to sign up for at least 1 weekend day (can do both) and if available during the school breaks we always need help.
You'd get experience for sure. Also you could still join PSIA and take clinics, and some are offered to 'non-members'. PM me for more details.

 

[2ski2moro]

Will I go try next year? Hmmmm. Probably, because the clinic was really valuable from learning standpoint and, quite frankly, I haven't given up on wanting to be a part of the ski school staff.

To prepare for next year,

1. I will train my legs a little harder. I was ok, but more leg strength is always better.
2. I will try to get out on the snow 4-5 times before the clinic.
3. I will make sure that my boots are tweaked and everything is comfortable and tested before the clinic, too.
4. I will prepare a few '5 minute lessons' in advance. Three times, we had to teach the group something, like making a peanut butter sandwich or a beginner skiing technique and teach something about skiing without talking. I will have more time to think about it.

I had a muscle cramp in my inner quad that I couldn't get rid of on Saturday afternoon. I think if I had been a little more physically prepared, that wouldn't have happened to me. I have never skied in such pain. I wasn't the only one - one of the men in my group had severe swelling behind his knee and another man complained of knee pain, as well. Perhaps this is common for the early clinic. I was trying to hold it together and conceal my cramping quad. I did nothing that I knew of to injure myself. It was a cramp.

Funny story. At the end of the day, we had gone over to the beginner hill to do a couple of exercises. The exercise was a kids' class exercise - to hold a snowball in both hands and point the snowball down the hill, emphasizing rotation while turning. If you could hold the snowball downhill the entire way, you could throw it at the instructor. They took away my poles to hand me the snowball and my leg buckled under me. The Clinician said, "Are you ok?" I said, "No." He asked if I could ski down. I assured him that I could. He offered, "Would you like me to lead you down the hill?" The beginner hill???? How embarrassing. Then, he asked me if I needed him to call ski patrol to take me down the hill. I must have looked worse than I thought, but I quickly replied that I would NOT be taking the Ride of Shame down the beginner hill. I just needed a moment for the cramp to subside. I did what any Ski Diva would do to save my day - I skied the hill backwards taking the pressure off the muscle and showing off just a little. Thank God that was the end of the day.

 

[bounceswoosh]

I did what any Ski Diva would do to save my day - I skied the hill backwards taking the pressure off the muscle and showing off just a little.

TBH - not sure I could do that. (Okay, I actually *can* ski switch at gunpoint on a green - but the actual turning around part? Yikes!)

 

[liquidfeet]

So sad to hear you didn't get the job. Maybe next year.
Quad pain often reflects skiing around in a constant squatting position.
That's like doing wall-sits for hours. Do you think this might be what you were doing?
If so, (but this might not be your issue, so I'm just guessing), try lifting your hips up higher so that they are more forward, closer to hovering over your feet.
If the squat is your issue, higher hips might keep those cramps from happening again.

 

[bounceswoosh]

Will I go try next year? Hmmmm. Probably, because the clinic was really valuable from learning standpoint and, quite frankly, I haven't given up on wanting to be a part of the ski school staff.

To prepare for next year,

1. I will train my legs a little harder. I was ok, but more leg strength is always better.
2. I will try to get out on the snow 4-5 times before the clinic.
3. I will make sure that my boots are tweaked and everything is comfortable and tested before the clinic, too.
4. I will prepare a few '5 minute lessons' in advance. Three times, we had to teach the group something, like making a peanut butter sandwich or a beginner skiing technique and teach something about skiing without talking. I will have more time to think about it.

I had a muscle cramp in my inner quad that I couldn't get rid of on Saturday afternoon. I think if I had been a little more physically prepared, that wouldn't have happened to me. I have never skied in such pain. I wasn't the only one - one of the men in my group had severe swelling behind his knee and another man complained of knee pain, as well. Perhaps this is common for the early clinic. I was trying to hold it together and conceal my cramping quad. I did nothing that I knew of to injure myself. It was a cramp.

Funny story. At the end of the day, we had gone over to the beginner hill to do a couple of exercises. The exercise was a kids' class exercise - to hold a snowball in both hands and point the snowball down the hill, emphasizing rotation while turning. If you could hold the snowball downhill the entire way, you could throw it at the instructor. They took away my poles to hand me the snowball and my leg buckled under me. The Clinician said, "Are you ok?" I said, "No." He asked if I could ski down. I assured him that I could. He offered, "Would you like me to lead you down the hill?" The beginner hill???? How embarrassing. Then, he asked me if I needed him to call ski patrol to take me down the hill. I must have looked worse than I thought, but I quickly replied that I would NOT be taking the Ride of Shame down the beginner hill. I just needed a moment for the cramp to subside. I did what any Ski Diva would do to save my day - I skied the hill backwards taking the pressure off the muscle and showing off just a little. Thank God that was the end of the day.

The plus side of all of this - you have a pretty great excuse for not making it, and if you can figure out the cramping issue, you should be golden next time. (Which maybe could be at @nopoleskier 's resort this season?)

Is it possible your ski boot's forward lean is too aggressive? That KILLED my quads.

 

[2ski2moro]

BTW, I'm not looking for excuses, the others outperformed me in the clinic.

Last year, I had an early-season issue with this same muscle, Vastus medialis, at the same time I got new custom footbeds. I THINK it is that the footbed is not lifted enough on the inside edge. I think it's not a canting issue, it is a custom insole issue. My boot fitter said that he had never heard of this, but a little experimentation gave me some relief last season, but we never got it dialed in exactly. I need a footbed tweek and some time to experiment. Hal, at Northern Ski Works at Killington has worked with me. Such a great guy and SO knowledgable.

Plus, I sit back when I get into heavy, wet mashed potato snow. Guilty as charged. It gets into my head. I just couldn't get forward enough after I started cramping. The Clinician and I talked about this and he gave me some coaching that helped, but the cramping continued.

My boots are the Lange RS110. I like a really stiff boot, but it's more upright than forward. I think I'm in the right boot with custom footbeds.

TBH - not sure I could do that. (Okay, I actually *can* ski switch at gunpoint on a green - but the actual turning around part? Yikes!)

Just turn and keep turning uphill. Stop when your skis tips are pointed uphill. Ski down. Do NOT run over any kids during your Instructor Clinic. That is all.

 

[Obrules15]

I did what any Ski Diva would do to save my day - I skied the hill backwards taking the pressure off the muscle and showing off just a little. Thank God that was the end of the day.

I don't care how you categorize it, THAT IS AWESOME!

You go on with your Baaaaaddddd Self(Snap!)

 

[bounceswoosh]

Just turn and keep turning uphill. Stop when your skis tips are pointed uphill. Ski down. Do NOT run over any kids during your Instructor Clinic. That is all.

Erm. Is that last point something you had to learn the hard way??

I can do it, but I tend to get just a little edge in there to make it "exciting." I did 360s best when we did a drill with boots unbuckled. When I couldn't give the boots as much feedback, flattening the ski got much easier!

 

[2ski2moro]

Just a theory.

 

[2ski2moro]

Just a followup, I emailed the ski school director about volunteering. She emailed back explaining that bodycount includes volunteers and they have the max number of employees at this time. She asked me to contact her next year. Maybe she likes my enthusiasm.

You never know until you ask.


There are two areas near me. NoPole and I will get together about one of them and I have initiated the first contact at the other. Or maybe I'll just ski with friends and enjoy myself. Life is good.

 

[nopoleskier]

Just a followup, I emailed the ski school director about volunteering. She emailed back explaining that bodycount includes volunteers and they have the max number of employees at this time. She asked me to contact her next year. Maybe she likes my enthusiasm.

You never know until you ask.


There are two areas near me. NoPole and I will get together about one of them and I have initiated the first contact at the other. Or maybe I'll just ski with friends and enjoy myself. Life is good.

We are Opening this Saturday!! Please come check us out! We really do need instructors.
There is a Free clinic both saturday and Sunday this weekend. no lessons yet, just warming up.. Come play!

 

[newboots]

We are Opening this Saturday!! Please come check us out! We really do need instructors.
There is a Free clinic both saturday and Sunday this weekend. no lessons yet, just warming up.. Come play!

and we like your enthusiasm!

 

[ski diva]

I just saw on Facebook that Okemo is holding a day to give people interested in becoming an instructor a glimpse of what it's like. They say they'll be going over key teaching tactics and providing tips on your own skiing skills. Participants will get a free lift ticket for the day and lunch. It's this weekend: December 2 or 3 from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM. To register, call 1-800-228-1600 (you must sign up in advance)

 

[liquidfeet]

I just saw on Facebook that Okemo is holding a day to give people interested in becoming an instructor a glimpse of what it's like. They say they'll be going over key teaching tactics and providing tips on your own skiing skills. Participants will get a free lift ticket for the day and lunch. It's this weekend: December 2 or 3 from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM. To register, call 1-800-228-1600 (you must sign up in advance)

That's good recruiting.