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.
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