Yesterday had challenging conditions at Squaw Valley, with about 24 inches of snow in 24 hours and wind. Also tons of heavy new snow even on the green slopes. DH and I alternated skiing with the kids and taking them inside for hot chocolate/candlemaking. Some adults were reveling in powder, but many adults were heading in early and hanging out in the pubs. As I was getting on the Funitel in the afternoon, I stood behind a sobbing kid who was probably six or seven and her instructor. The kid was saying she didn't want to ski anymore, and the instructor told her that she'd already had the longest lunch break and needed to get back out there. Then she added in an exasperated tone, "you need to tell your mom and dad you are not ready for an all-day lesson." I felt sorry for the kid, although I'm sure it was frustrating for the instructor as well, but I'm wondering how most resorts handle tough weather conditions for their lesson program. For the little kids (3 and young 4s) at Squaw they have a program that is kind of a cross between daycare/lessons, and the kids can play inside if the weather is bad or if they get tired. For the older 4's and above, they don't have anything similar, and they don't seem to call the parents if the kid is having a bad day the way they do at some other ski schools.
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Overheard instructor at Squaw, felt bad for kid
- Thread starter valli
- Start date
Were there other children as in a group class, or was this a private lesson?
If it was private, than the instructor needed to change directions. 1. the conditions were not the best for beginner instruction from the sounds of it. This could snow like you had, or cold like we get. 2. Now is the time for other skills than sliding. Balance on skis, moving of skis is important too. Playing catch with foam cubes for instance create lateral movement, co-ordination and balance. There are a host of other things. Now is the time to play in the snow.
On the other side, sounds like tired and frustrated instructor. And we are not privy to the morning session. Instructor could be right!
If it was private, than the instructor needed to change directions. 1. the conditions were not the best for beginner instruction from the sounds of it. This could snow like you had, or cold like we get. 2. Now is the time for other skills than sliding. Balance on skis, moving of skis is important too. Playing catch with foam cubes for instance create lateral movement, co-ordination and balance. There are a host of other things. Now is the time to play in the snow.
On the other side, sounds like tired and frustrated instructor. And we are not privy to the morning session. Instructor could be right!
Robyn
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I agree, whether this lesson was private or a group lesson is key here. It's really, really frustrating to have 1 child out of a group not able to handle a full day because what is the instructor supposed to do then? When we have a situation with bad conditions we do ften spend some time inside warming up and such. But, there comes a point when we do need to go out and accomplish something and it sounds like that's the point they were at. As wonderful as instructors are, they are human and I'm guessing this instructor was pushed past her breaking point. Not good but understandable.
Ski Spirit
Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Poor kid/Poor Instructor!!
An adult can sign up for a lesson of whatever duration and just stop if they don't feel like going on. But that doesn't seem to apply to kids - or at least in a couple of situations I've seen. That would put both the kid and the instructor in a difficult spot. It would seem like an act of mercy to call the parents and check or to modify the plan, as Jilly mentioned, and look for other playful activities that could still develop skills. Sounds like a challenging job (especially when conditions get tough).
An adult can sign up for a lesson of whatever duration and just stop if they don't feel like going on. But that doesn't seem to apply to kids - or at least in a couple of situations I've seen. That would put both the kid and the instructor in a difficult spot. It would seem like an act of mercy to call the parents and check or to modify the plan, as Jilly mentioned, and look for other playful activities that could still develop skills. Sounds like a challenging job (especially when conditions get tough).
BackCountryGirl
Angel Diva
Well, in my program, coaches are instructed to bring kids into our "indoor" area if they are cold, sick, cranky, bickering, or otherwise misbehaving. We'll let the child sit for a bit and instruct the coach to come in after a run or two. Often, the child will voluntarily return to the group. If not, we routinely call parents and ask them to come to retrieve a child who appears not to want to be in the group lesson. Sometimes, the parent says something quite enlightening, such as: yeah, they were sick this morning, but we thought they could make it. Or, yeah, they really didn't want to ski, but we made them. I figure, if the parent is paying us for a lesson and the kid doesn't want to ski, the least we can do is babysit so that the parent can ski.
