Getting on edge

[HMSCster]

My 10 year old is doing close parallel on greens and more of a wedge on blues. Watching her ski, she's not getting on edge at all on the greens. Could that be why she won't do parallel on blues? Any suggestions on some drills or tips I can run with her to get her used to her edges? There was talk of side stepping and slipping on an earlier post. And I thought lifting the uphill ski (or stomping) between turns might help at a little pressure to get the right feel on the downhill ski. Any additional ideas?

Thanks!

 

[kmb5662]

Disclaimer that I'm not a ski instructor and I'm sure those on here that are will chime in but I would imagine practicing doing side slips with edge sets, J turns, and garlands would all be helpful.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

Side slipping on a blue run is a fantastic drill for developing edge awareness.

Stomping or lifting the inside ski will not develop edging necessarily but it might help with balancing more over the outside ski in the turn. Not balancing over the outside ski makes it hard to properly turn both legs simultaneously.

Other reasons for not making parallel turns on steeper terrain can have to do with speed control. Does she know about the various methods? Turn size, small is slow, turn shape, finishing the turn and not rushing into it, friction of edges against snow. Many skiers will resort to what they know works which is a wedge, especially if the turning skills were not developed enough on greens where they can get away with not turning at all.

Other factors can be tied to not turning the inside ski enough, or not flattening the inside ski, or being too far back to turn both legs.

You mention that she is not on edge at all in parallel turns on greens. This should not be a factor in her turns on steeps as it means she must be using all rotary to achieve them down low, which means she has the rotary skills down. It does sounds like edging work is a good focus.

A video would be amazing focusing in on her legs and skis on greens and then on steeper runs.

Almost no skiers transition from green to blue without returning to using a wedge as they make that transition. I like to make sure they feel safe with their ability to manage speed and then focus on flattening the inside ski while slowly increasing the timing of the match from wedge to parallel higher and higher up in the turn.

Most kids find that they get to rest their legs by going parallel in between turns and that it is much less tiring.

 

[Jilly]

All for what @snoWYmonkey is saying. A wedge turn tells me that the skier is not feeling confident. It's most likely afraid of speed.

 

[HMSCster]

Perfect! When we get it next... Who knows when that will be... I'll work on speed control, sliding, and side stepping with her. Thanks !

 

[marzNC]

Perfect! When we get it next... Who knows when that will be... I'll work on speed control, sliding, and side stepping with her. Thanks !

How does she come to a stop? With a wedge or a hockey stop?

When my daughter was learning at full-day ski school at Massanutten (ages 4-6, 2005-07), the kids knew how to make a hockey stop by the time they moved up to a group that was skiing blue trails. The instructors encouraged the little kids to spray them at a stop. The kids figured out how to make a hockey stop without really being told anything. Same was true for my friend's kids several years later.

I learned a hockey stop as a survival skill in when I was a beginner in middle school on straight skis long ago. The easiest slope where I learned was steeper than many mid-A blues. That meant I was willing to pick up speed sooner since I knew I could make a quick stop if needed. Side slipping was another survival skill I learned early on.

 

[snoWYmonkey]

@marzNC Brought up a great question. Where I work we are not allowed to bring any students of any age up to blues until they can side slip in a corridor in both directions, hockey stop in both directions, traverse in both directions and make consistent short radius parallel turns. Even then we do not expect to see any of those skills executed with the same level of performance on blue terrain for the first few or many runs.

 

[HMSCster]

Perfect!!! This is exactly what I was looking for in guidance. Once we are back on snow, who knows when that will be, I'll start with these and report back on how it's going