Question: To Instruct or Not to Instruct?

[Toucan]

Greetings Divas!

I am not, repeat not, a great skier but I have the opportunity to become a ski instructor at a small, repeat small, ski area in the midwest. DH is a great skier and has instructed in another life, and is willing to do this with me and won't do it if we're both not hired. Kind of nice of him, yes?

He says I'd be a good instructor because of my personality, coachability, and I really love to ski even though I've only skied for a few years. He's also warned me that instructing is really hard work (I'm not afraid of hard work but I don't really know what to compare this to).

I'm planning to go to a meeting for new instructors to learn more, but for those of you who have instructed or still do, what else should I know or think about before making a commitment? This is just part-time as I have another full-time commitment (very flexible hours, so no worries there). I've also done training/teaching in another life and loved that but never anything physical.

I don't want to try this and suck at it--failure isn't one of my best things. Whatcha think, Divas? Should I do try it? Then quit if I don't like it? Stick it out no matter what? Not try it at all? Your thoughts are surely welcome!

 

[Skier31]

Go for it. It sounds like you love skiing and becoming an instructor is a great way to become a better skier for alot of reasons. I had only skied for 2 seasons when my bf at the time encourage me to go to the Breck hiring clinic. I was intimidated when I saw the other skiers but that quickly went away. I was hired to teach adults. It was a bit intimidating at first but I went to alot of clinics, shadowed other instructors and it has been one of the best things I have done.

In addition to all of the great instructor only clinics, I have a locker at the ski area (no more putting on boots in cold parking lots), food discounts, free pass and have made some great friends. The ski instructor crowd is a fun, unique environment. There are many more men than women which is not a bad thing either. Thank god for co-ed locker rooms!

 

[Pequenita]

You won't suck if they've hired you; they weed you out before then.

I thought about teaching last season at the local (1.5 hours on a good day) hill, went through the training program, and decided against it b/c of the time commitment: they wanted 20 days, which is a ton when working full time and the season lasts from only mid-Dec to late-Feb/early Mar.

But, as a new instructor, you will likely be teaching never-evers, to whom the bunny hill and chair lifts look scary. So as long as you can demonstrate good technique on those types of slopes, you'll be fine. And there are some pretty sweet perks!

Here's the thread to my question from last year.

 

[Jilly]

Try it, it is one of the most rewarding experiences. I've been instructing part time for 25 years. (I'm getting my 25years- silver pin this year from the CSIA) 4 years ago I took my Level 3 course with one of the supervisor's at Tremblant. He asked me to consider teaching there. I teach normally at a 160' bump. I waited a year and did it. It was tramatic - huge school, fun - the rest of the instructors were great, and a wonderfull learning experience for me too. You will improve your own skiing - it has to happen. You develop or refine skills that you don't think you have. And the students all want to have fun. That's the big thing to remember. If it ain't fun, they're not coming back. And if it ain't fun, they aren't learning. So do it!!

And as Kathy Prophet (CSIA 4) says - "It's all about the passion!"

 

[Toucan]

Thank you all for your comments--lots for me to think about. I'll probably go for it (all they can do is say "no!") and what I have to balance is my desire to improve my own skiing with my interest in teaching. Right now, my wanting to improve my skiing skills far exceeds my desire to teach others...and that bothers me some.

 

[Skier31]

Toucan, I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how much your own skiing improves even when you are teaching never/evers. When you are demonstrating proper body position, foot and ankle movements, etc, you end up ingraining them into your movement memory. It takes skill and concentration to be able to demonstrate, explain and convey proper skills to new skiers. It is easy to think that if you are not challenging yourself on more difficult terrain all the time, that you are not improving. This is not true.

I spent my first winter teaching level 1's every Saturday. I was worried that my teaching time had hampered my skiing. I was suprised when I spent a day in a clinic and could not believe how much I had improved. The skills we teach to beginner skiers are the same skills we use skiing. I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

 

[skimomma24]

Thanks!

Thank you all for your comments--lots for me to think about. I'll probably go for it (all they can do is say "no!") and what I have to balance is my desire to improve my own skiing with my interest in teaching. Right now, my wanting to improve my skiing skills far exceeds my desire to teach others...and that bothers me some.

Thanks Toucan for asking this! I am a long-time skier, wanted to become an instructor when I was 16 and chickened out. Now that my family are all into skiing with me, I am going for it this year! At 35yo!! I am kind of nervous about doing this. Not sure I'll be a good teacher, but I LOVE skiing, and I love to help new skiers. But having had 4 children, and dragging them up the chairs, and snow-plowing with them all the way down the hill, I know how physically demanding it is, and that scares me a little. Especially this past year when I my twin 4yo girls started skiing! Talk about back-breaking! Lol!

So even though I am registered for the CSIA 1 course, have signed on with my local hill, I still go back and forth about whether or not I should do this. I have given my availability for 75 hours for the season, and that makes my hubby nervous - it cuts into 'family time', etc. But I figure at least half of that time, we'd be at the hill anyways for their lessons.

Again, I am scared and nervous, but really excited, all at the same time. And the perks do look pretty good. ;) Good luck with your desicion!

Jay

 

[oragejuice]

I'm starting my first season of instructing. I'm super excited about it. It seems to me, that being an instructor is a matter of being good with people, and being able to turn left and right on your skis... skiing super well will come with experience if you don't already. =) Hope it works!

 

[BackCountryGirl]

It is never too late to do this; in fact, at small hills, teaching is a great way to stay "young." Most of the staff at the first mountain at which I taught were high school kids. When I first started teaching, I was 44 and lawyering part-time. Now, I don't lawyer at all and teach full-time. If you like skiing and skiers, coaching can be a great, rewarding job. I agree, too, with those who have said that teaching beginners (the right way) will enhance your skills. All the movement skills are there at all levels; getting them dialed in on easy terrain will definitely translate to your higher-level skiing.