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Question: What makes or breaks a lesson?

snoWYmonkey

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
Litterbug,

I so agree with you and others who have posted about what I assume is empathy. Empathy for the truly body consuming feelings that arise when we are faced with trying to both learn and attempt something challenging.

I broke my ribs the second time up a blue on my snowboard. I just took sailing lessons on a small cat, when I am used to sailing bigger boats. Oh my...I was so gripped, I finally had to tell my instructor to keep it to one thing even if it meant capsizing as my nervous brain was starting to make mush of all the instructions (every one of which was valid I might add).

My point is that too few instructors take lessons in sports or other new activities. It is such a wonderful way to remember how steep a blue might feel, or overwhelming all the instructions might seem.

I sincerely hope that your third try at lessons work out. A couple of tips before your lesson. If you already know what type of learner you are great...share that with the person assigning students to instructors or the sales desk when booking a private. Otherwise, I believe there are free online tests that help you determine if you are a thinker, doer, feeler, seer type of learner.

Also, make sure you tell the person assigning you your instructor exactly what you want and your self rating in terms of aggressiveness on the hill.

Finally, make sure to give the instructor feedback. Examples: can I practice more before me move to the next topic. I am not getting this, can we please move on. I am scared, can we use easier slopes or, please push me by taking me through some easy trees, etc....

It is often hard to gauge exactly how we are doing as each student is so incredibly unique. A quick comment mid lesson can really help us reorient our teaching to meet your expectations. Also recognize that is takes time to improve, especially for the skiers who have more experience.

Another idea is to ask for an instructor with a full certification, or even better if it is a big resort, there might be a DECL (division exam and clinic leader for PSIA) that can teach you. At our area there are many of them and when they are not training us in house, or working for the organization they are teaching lessons just like everyone else. The majority of these clinicians are amazing.

Best of luck with your lesson. It truly is a bit like dating, the chemistry has to be right, and it can take a while to find the right fit.
 

SkiBam

Angel Diva
My point is that too few instructors take lessons in sports or other new activities.

So true. Though this summer I took golf lessons (and I was a total newbie). Being so new at a technical sport gave me a lot of insight into how a beginner skier must feel.
 

Magnatude

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
There are two sides to a successful lesson, one being the instructor's ability to observe, empathize, communicate clearly and demonstrate, and the other being the student's ability to listen, observe, accept, and try something new. One will not work without the other. Humour and humility help too.

My husband and I just had a really successful morning lesson at Solitude yesterday with a guy who was all of the above. Excellent communicator, and the improvements in both of us (our flaws are very different) were immediate.
 

Stowski

Ski Diva Extraordinaire
I took lots of lessons when i was a kid and at a ski camp (two lessons a day!) when I was a teenager, then none as an adult until last year at Steamboat. I was/am a big fan of lessons but it was difficult to convince self-taught hubby to come along (or fork over the $$). Our bootfiter convinced him that a lesson was important and would add to our enjoyment as first time powder skiers, and he was right! We had a great instructor and even though we were in a group a bit lower than our ability, he was able to teach all 6 of us. In fact, we were sure we would bail after a few hours but stayed for the entire day. The things that made a difference were:
1). Individual feedback
2). information/advice on gear- I was skiing on intermediate skis and they were holding me back
3). varied terrain
4) Being a guide for the mountain and the resort (coming from relatively small NE skiing, Steamboat was intimidating!)
5). Creating goals for each member

He was great and if money was no object I would ski with an instructor every time (much like I wish I had a trainer at the gym with me ). The Aussies that I was skiing with ALWAYS ski with an instructor, even if it means that no one in the family skis together (I wouldn't like that).
 

AliceH

<span style="color:#F89F07";">Angel Diva</span>
I'll say! See the jacket in my profile pic? Turns out that black jacket and black helmet on slightly back-lit videotaped run made me look a LOT like Darth Vader. Our ski camp group was howling/crying with laughter so much that no one could focus on what the video revealed about my skiing until we'd watched a few times. And then someone was humming the Imperial March during the eventual instructor critique!

Do I need to lend you my ColdAvenger mask?

PjThHEwFpFxgcBX3nRU1Qs1M7rbvm1FgfD0XA915CoT3DuJ53gTCZUqWpWX5x10tbvcSg-ldUfhX83evVGMWBNj8vZckLWBaSmRO_sipMgUBDkfsqk2LHqgyEvEx3-I1fcdugxZXnqhEfVCY8pZK8RfDtXHv-ARcntwV7RA8jKK7yEbwLfHc


(It's a seriously awesome mask, my face never gets cold with it, but it drips humidity down the front of my jacket and has frozen my zipper shut more than once. And forget about anyone understanding what you're saying. I wish they made it in some insane colors.)

I'm curious, since I've only ever taken lessons at two places, and one of those I bailed because I got injured an hour into the lesson...where I ski (Loveland) if they've got a group that seems kind of mixed in ability it seems like they send them out with a couple of instructors and then kind of shake them into groups from there. And I'm really surprised to hear that some ski schools won't give a lesson if there's no one else at your ability - my son and I have both had what has essentially turned out to be a private lesson because there was no one else skiing at our levels.

A couple of the better lessons I've taken, I didn't know what the lesson plan was and we ended up doing things I didn't think I was nearly ready for, but apparently was - like skiing my first blue, or starting to ski baby moguls. I can see where that wouldn't work for everyone, though.

The worst lesson I ever had, I was in a group lesson of two and the other gal in the lesson had major fear issues. Which wouldn't have been so bad if the instructor knew how to deal with fear issues, but he just kept getting madder. I thought about giving him a copy of Mermer Blakeslee's "A Conversation with Fear", but that would require effort on my part :laugh:
 

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