Learned to Teach Skiing (Day 8)
Today I had one-on-one training with Mr. Tim Schlaile, an experienced ski instructor who had been teaching for 25 years. He walked me through the entire progression of teaching a level-one skiing lesson. Even after a quarter of century, Mr. Schlaile was still filled with passion in his teaching. I learned so much from him. I am now confident that I can teach first-time-ever guests with proper techniques. I am going to take the test to teach skiing as soon as I can.
At the end of our training, I thanked him for showing me the rope. His reply made my day: “It’s rare to have someone who can teach both [snowboard and ski]. You’re a good asset to our school.”
As a note taker, I asked Mr. Schlaile if I could pull out my phone to write down all the steps and he was cool with it. Here are the steps:
- Introduce yourself (learn guests’ names)
- Check boots, helmet, and mittens
- Explain parts of the ski
- Talk about the poles
- Demo athlete stand (goalie position)
- Skate with one foot or both feet
- Side step uphill
- Glide straight down bunny hill
- Glide wedge (brake emergencies)
- Make a left turn (put right hand on right knee)
- Make a right turn
- Explain the lift (2 people per chair)
- Explain how to get off the lift (lean forward and go straight down)
- Traverse across the hill with braking wedge
- Make J turn
- Make C turn
- Make S turn