Poster: A snowHead
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I haven't visited this forum for a while (over a year!), but I too am suffering from ski addiction, and have really enjoyed reading this thread. Mattgcp, you have a really nice way of describing what happens when we come home! I too have that low feeling, so much so that when I learned to ski about 6 years ago, I became completely almost obsessed! I then trained as a ski instructor 3 years ago, and the obession has continued. A few of my friends thought it would be the latest fad, but love of this sport and everything associated with it just hasn't gone away. I now teach part time in the local slopes (Hemel Hempstead, when it reopens soon) and am really starting to wonder why I'm not teaching full time somewhere. I'm not sure if this happens to anyone else, but sometimes when I'm driving to and from work (the lovely M25), or in a meeting, my mind almost becomes overwhelmed with internal pictures of mountains, chair lifts, snow and peaks, so much so that it feels like I can barely see what's in front of me. I'd love to know which switch in my brain was turned on by skiing!
Come and ski - a session on a dry slope or an indoor slope really goes a long way to feeding the addiction! It's not in the mountain air, for sure, but you'll get loads out of it, at any rate, and it will improve your skiing no end if you carry on during the 'down times' between trips.
4 year olds are mostly very easy to teach. We have games that we play with them, such as 'ski like your favourite animal'. This brings the children out of themselves, and when they tell me what their favourite animal is, I ask them how they think the animal would ski. I've had some challenging requests, such as squirrels, and tortoises, but if you make it a game to them, they will generaly really enjoy it. I also get them to ski like their favourite cartoon character, or like their mum and dad (which is always very funny). A 4 year old (or similar ages) generally doesn't question why someone's put planks on their feet, they just do what they're told, so as long as they feel safe, and can see their parents, there's no reason why they wouldn't enjoy the experience. Some don't, and if they don't, you just have to wait until they're a bit older and try again.
What seems to make a big difference is the attitude of their parents. If the parents are wanting to push the child harder/faster/steeper than the child is ready to do, the child will become frightened and disengage. So, as parents, you've got to let the child go at his or her own pace. Sometimes we run parent and child lessons, which the children like, as they can then follow behind their mum and dad.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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I've got the 'just got home' blues.
An amazing week in Serre Chevalier with 6 mates ended last Sunday, this week's been such a downer in comparison! I'm already looking for another long weekend trip before the end of the season...
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