Teaching Skiing to Kids

[Ottime]

Fuck yeah. Had a great weekend.

After a quick bout of tears after I stopped him from power wedging after the crew, he made a bunch of progress.

He moved from his 130 race skis to 128 twin tips on Sunday. Mostly it was him working on form, but that easier to initiate tip was golden. This same ski earlier this season allowed him to too easily skid his turns, so we tried a more aggressive ski. Which eventually ended I. This thread.

Anyway, his carve is on. He no longer skids these skis and his down hill ski is joining in initiating the turn. Even in the steeps. Great closing weekend for our home resort.

I showed him a bunch of new drills. My nephews season coach actually sent him home with a review booklet we utilized.

One thing unnoticed is my guy has great separation of upper and lower body. Does a great job keeping his shoulders facing the fall line. But working on this also helped with weight/ unweighting.

Also worked on skating

My favorite drill is to weight the tips and hop the tails around. It is awkward, but helps a lot in making a proper jump turn.

My wife even joined in on the fun of drills. She was not a fan of skiing just on the downhill ski.

Mileage matters so buying the ikon today to keep skiing till summer.

[dewam]

Fuck yeah. Had a great weekend.

I showed him a bunch of new drills. My nephews season coach actually sent him home with a review booklet we utilized.

When my boy was learning I stumbled onto a book full of drills and advice at the local library. It was a few hundred pages of how to teach kids for instructors (PSIA). Discovered my library had many more resources.

Learning to run gates will teach a person how to use a ski well, but kids have a hard problem waiting, and running gates involves lots of waiting. Now most mountains have a free-ride program also. This is along the "Make Sure They Have Fun" program.

A time will come when you must be very wary of "Follow me Dad". A man has to learn when to say no, and that is harder for Dads.

[EWG]

my issue is the group decision dynamic with his peers and their lack of fear/respect for the various dangers inherent with the Alpental bc.
next year

This resonates. It also applies to the group think of social media. I've been preaching to my older one especially since he was about 12 that the sports we do - skiing, mtn biking, climbing, surfing - and the level that he can now do them at, can get him hurt or worse. At 17 now he's in full on perma-send mode. Years of teaching respect for the mountain and the ocean, to take care of your gear 'cause you are trusting your life to it, listen to the weather, have knowledge about what you are doing, etc, etc. I really, really hope that's getting through. Earlier this year he and his buddy hucked something that fucked them both up. My kid bruised his heels, but his buddy broke his. Maybe that taught him something?

Start teaching them respect for the mountain early. Hopefully it sticks.

[Ottime]

Respect for the hill is a huge part of it already with my guy. Earlier this season he hit a jump and landed in a tree. It was a snow ghost to be fair. And he said he thought it was a snowman. He did not get hurt at all and thought it was super funny. Spent the rest of the day discussing why we never aim at trees. So many “what if”, but it finally sank in that trees are to be avoided.

Mine is adventurous but cautious. His cousin he likes to ski with us even more cautious, but he has gotten a lot better this past season and is a fairly strong skier. He’s a great partner right now.

I just hope mine gets a full respect for the dangers before he hits his teens. Seems like that is the age where you are big enough to do almost anything and still dumb enough to think you are invincible.

Good point of maintaining their gear as well. Might have my son join me waxing up the skis this week.

Gonna see what our local library has for ski books.

[tpacent]

Yes, I know, profession instructors are the way to go. Ski School and Ski Teams. But we are not dentists and can't really afford more than one or maybe two classes per season. My kid gets 20-25 days on snow each year, and I want some advice on working with him on his next steps. So I thought I'd start a thread on teaching kids to ski better.


Anyway, I have a ton of advice for getting your kid out on the slopes and enjoying it.

Always carry snacks.
Use your big mountains skis to make a bench.
Gummi Bears.
Hot Cocoa.
Listen to them; quit when they are tired.
Dress them warm.
Ski where they want to.
Buy them decent gear, especially goggles.
Don't expect too much; keep it mellow; keep yourself mellow.
Patience Juice - just a little.


Anyway, my son is turning 8 next month and is a solid snow enthusiast. He can get himself pretty much any where around the mountain. He is super confident and can work himself down double diamond terrain without much concern. As long as a chute is at least 240 cm wide, he is stoked to be in it.

He has pretty good form and a great athletic stance. Hands are pretty much always forward, if perhaps a little low.

What I've noticed (and his last instructor as well) is that he is the king of the stem christie. Almost every turn starts with a wedge, unless he is skiing on low angled terrain. As soon as he is in terrain when're he needs to cross the fall line in order to control speed, he will most likely stem christie to turn. On the positive note, he almost always hops the inside ski into a parallel carve once back into the fall line, and finishes his turns strong.

His last instructor thinks this might be due to his wide stance. So, we have been doing a little low angle skiing with his knees together. He can feel how much less stable this feels, but I also point out how much easier it is to roll the ankle of the outside edge in this stance.

I want him to find a natural stance, not to narrow or too wide. But I also want him to learn to initiate a carve in steeper terrain, with out the wedge.

I've also started keeping him in the lower angled terrain for a bit, asking for carves, before we venture out into the steeps he enjoys.

Anyway, looking for advice on how to work with him through his development. Other than just - ski school.

Things like hand placement, drills, concepts.... I ski decently, but I don't really think about what I'm doing, so it is hard to explain to some one else the subtle shifts in weight, etc.

While I'd love for him to be on a ski team, we just don't get out regularly enough. And ski school single days are so expensive since Vail bought our resort, that we really can't afford that either. So, it is home Schoo for the most part. The good news is that skiing is the one thing he will allow instruction from me.

Funny, as I tried to teach him surfing, but he really wont listen to me at all in that regard.

Wise words. Appreciate the post.

[Danno]

Haven't read the whole thread, and appreciate the idea of "what to do if you can't pay for a lesson" or even if you can. That said, I will put the plug in for lessons, my kiddo got MUCH better in lessons.

One tip I didn't see mentioned in the first few posts is this: quit skiing while they still want to ski more. Better to have a melt-down over the kiddo wanting to ski more than to have the melt-down halfway up the hill when the kid is done skiing. Not only will your life be easier, but it will leave the kiddo with the idea of wanting to ski more, and you can build on that.

[nyskirat]

skittles work as well as gummi bears in the woods

Till those suckers freeze. Then it's like chewing on a stone.

[Danno]

Till those suckers freeze. Then it's like chewing on a stone.

Honey Stingers are our candy of choice, because they don't freeze.

[Ottime]

My kid had kind of graduated from candy. Still likes them, but it is not what makes him go. And he needs more substantial snacks to get through the afternoon.

A while back he got a palette expander I stalled and could not really chew solids for a few days. I bought a Costco pack of what we called sick sacks. Apple, kale, mango purée type of stuff, so I knew he was eating at school. Well, turns out those don’t freeze, have like 70-100 calories and fiber. Fits in a pocket. Awesome ski snack.

[bodywhomper]

Two of my kids bocked at spring skiing because they can’t stand sunscreen

My 13 yo had a respect for the mtn incident this season via a tree well during peak tree well time in Tahoe. He was feet first and I was right there. It took a good 20 minutes to get him untangled and out and another 5 minutes for me to get untangled and out as I had to partially enter the tree well to get him out. He was exhausted after that incident. That deflated his sail a bit this season. But he also realized this season that his abilities are mostly all in his head. Skiing with friends has always helped him a lot.

One of my 9 year olds is sometimes in full on fantasy land on the hill, which can be kinda interesting, but usually fun.

My other 9 year old can’t get enough of it. She’s a natural athlete.

All the kids are taught by me and themselves. We focus on keeping it fun. They tend to not like me to help them figure out how to ski. We usually just get them regular food to eat that we bring with us. We tend to have a special-ish, but fast eating, breakfast to get them motivated to get out the door. Sometimes, getting out the door is the hardest part.

[charlesj]

I did some instructing 30+ years ago. I wasn't good at it but I did realize early on that if the little ones were hungry, cold or needed to go to the bathroom things would not go well. The most important advice I can reiterate is to make it fun and don't push them beyond their comfort zone. With my own kid I erred a couple of times by unintentionally getting him in over his head with terrain that he wasn't quite ready to handle with confidence. He made more progress with lessons than with me. I guess decades later I'm still a lousy instructor.

[phatty]

I chose to work as an instructor on the hill on Friday nights so I could get my pass free and 1/2 price lessons and passes for the family. With 5 kids it allowed for each of them to learn with kids their own age. I also had them in lessons at Alpental figuring they could ski anywhere if they learned to ski there. Having them in lessons on Saturday gave me a ski day to ski my way and then family ski time after. I felt having them taught by others took the emotional issues of parent/child relationships out of it so they didn't connect instruction to skiing with me. They were allowed out of lessons once they could ski International without slowing me down much. My 8yo is my last one in lessons and she'll be done next year.

[johnnyg82]

Rather than creating a new thread, I'm going to ask some jong dad questions here:

Kids boot sizing, my kids foot is 14cm now; should I look for a 145 boot or a bit bigger like a 155?

Also, ski sizing - kid is 87cm tall, should I stick to looking for a 70 or 80cm ski?

[gregL]

Rather than creating a new thread, I'm going to ask some jong dad questions here:

Kids boot sizing, my kids foot is 14cm now; should I look for a 145 boot or a bit bigger like a 155?

Also, ski sizing - kid is 87cm tall, should I stick to looking for a 70 or 80cm ski?

Go with 15.5, he'll be that size by the time there is snow on the ground. Plus, it doesn't pay to downsize kids until they're in a junior race or freeride program, just get them through the day without pain.

I would go 70-ish, or about chin to mouth height (we are talking relatively new skier, right?)

[gregL]

Actually there is no difference between a 14.5 and a 15.5 in kid's boots, they both use a 15.5 shell . . .

[johnnyg82]

Go with 15.5, he'll be that size by the time there is snow on the ground. Plus, it doesn't pay to downsize kids until they're in a junior race or freeride program, just get them through the day without pain.

I would go 70-ish, or about chin to mouth height (we are talking relatively new skier, right?)

Yeah, she’ll be over 2.5 come winter. Never skied before, but when she sees my skis on the ground, she naturally stand with her feet in the binding without instruction, lol

[johnnyg82]

Actually there is no difference between a 14.5 and a 15.5 in kid's boots, they both use a 15.5 shell . . .

Good to know, thanks!

Want me to scan her foot for you? Lol

[rbciii]

At 2.5 years old she may lack the strength to keep her skis going where they need to go. My son certainly did. You have to either use very mellow terrain and catch her, use a racer chaser or other rope to hold her back, or a tip connector to help her make a wedge. At various times I used all three methods with success. 2.5 years is a great time to start skiing if she is ready. Standing in your skis is a good indication she is interested.

[detrusor]

Hula hoop. Make your own out of a 10 ft length of per and one coupler. Skis inside the hoop…hands up leaning forward. The racer chaser cause the back seat position.

Use a backpack with a handle for helping them up and getting on the lift.

Wear you patience hat


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[The Tortoise]

A hockey stick also works ok. You can trap them in the blade and support them. Light years better than ski poles.

[XXX-er]

I didnt want them leaning back so I only taught french fry and they figured out pizza on their own,

[Sirshredalot]

Hula hoop. Make your own out of a 10 ft length of per and one coupler. Skis inside the hoop…hands up leaning forward. The racer chaser cause the back seat position.

Use a backpack with a handle for helping them up and getting on the lift.

Wear you patience hat


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This guy dads.

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[XXX-er]

more recently i've worked with a quadrapeligec to ski, paddle a sit-on top, and SUP

I really thot buddy was crazy when he wanted to SUP

[detrusor]

How does a quad paddle if their arms don’t work?


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[XXX-er]

What is referred to as an incomplete spinal is technically a quadrapalegic but I've seen him do things an able bodied person can't do thru sheer will