Are Your Instructors Connected?
BY MIKE PETERS 49O NORTH TD

One of the challenges for Training Directors is to provide information that enables their instructors to see the relationships between exercises, progressions, efficient movements, etc. In other words, are they able to put the pieces of the ‘big picture’ together? Even seasoned instructors are constantly learning new relationships, hence making their lessons more effective.

Arequirement for effective teaching tasks is to apply KIS(S) (Keep It Simple, without the label). We sometimes overlook easily accomplished tasks that can be used for teaching efficient movement patterns in maneuvers or progressions.

Our job as training directors is to clinic our instructors on using such simple and effective tasks in their lessons and how to apply them. One such task is our celebrated traverse. So let’s first look at criteria for the .effectiveness rating. of a task:

  1. Is it easy to apply?
  2. Can it be used on varying terrain that is appropriate to the level of the student?
  3. Can it be used to reinforce or introduce different movement patters?

The traverse certainly fits the mold. Now let’s pick a maneuver and a movement. You are teaching an open parallel. An inefficiency you notice is the inability of your students to apply diagonal movements. Specifically, they are not diagonally pressuring into the boot cuff (the 10 o. clock and 2 o’clock positions) at the initiation of the turn. So, first take the class to an appropriate slope and start traversing.

First practice the traverse with pressure against the front of the cuff. The goal is to produce relatively straight tracks as in Picture 1. This may take some practice, as the tendency is to let the skis follow its side cut which is an indication of inadequate forward pressure.

Now let’s make a diagonal pressuring movement. Have your students practice traversing while slightly pushing the shins against the insides of both cuffs. The resulting tracks should look like Picture 2.

You will also notice that the tracks in both pictures are parallel, the width between skis is functional, and edging is evenly applied to the tracks. So, with hardly any extra effort you can reinforce other movements at the same time!

Now after plenty of practice, with maybe a fun competition for the best tracks, and a wide slope, your students are ready to make those more efficient turns. Start them moving into the fall line to make direction changes with their new skill. You have done wonders! Of course, there are even more skills that can be taught with the traverse: balance/stance, pole use, and so on.

Since your clinic was such a success your instructors will want more of these type of teaching tasks. Here’s a partial list to get you started: pivot slips, skating, one-ski turns. In your clinics, instructors can brainstorm the applications. Of course the key is for everyone to practice these on his or her own.

The most significant benefit is the connections your instructors will begin to see as they apply these tasks to their own skiing and lessons. Have fun.