 Poster: A snowHead
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Last year we introduced our 3 1/2 year old to skiing. First few ‘runs’ were with dad and once he got the basic balance we tried a variety of ski schools in La Plagne. Although all ski schools including ESF were good, Reflex were outstanding. They took a completely different approach to teaching junior, ‘poopooing’ the traditional plough and got him turning and ‘controlling’ his speed with parallel skis within the first few minutes of the lesson. As I observed all his lessons with all the schools, the time spent with Reflex looked from a distance like a lesson in modern technique one would expect for much older kids or adults. Speaking to the proprietor he said that their way of teaching was much more instinctive and natural and therefore there was no need for complicated explanations that are required with traditional teaching methods, and therefore suitable for young kids. What he did not tell me is the name of this teaching method. We would like to get junior skiing again this year and I was wondering if snowheads new of any other ski schools in other resorts who take the same/similar approach to teaching skiing. We would like to try other ski resorts this year but what we don’t want is for junior to be taught snowplough turns again. Many thanks for your help.
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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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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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Quote...
"Reflex looked from a distance like a lesson in modern technique one would expect for much older kids or adults"
The snowplough is still consider a modern method for all ages, even racers revisit the plough progression from time to time in training! Can't be all that bad surely! 
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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sarah, thank for answering the question.
pam w, Megamum, thanks for pointing me to that thread.
gatecrasher, wrong thread see above 
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PP, glad you have been enlightened.... 
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PP, pleasure, Arc en Ciel work on the same principle that skiing for kids is 'instinctive and natural' as you describe. They don't teach the kids to ski, they quite literally take them skiing, straight up a chair and down a green. No shuffling in a garden. It is quite refreshing. We were past that point with my son when we were there but I was amazed at their handling of tiny skiers.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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| Quote: |
They don't teach the kids to ski, they quite literally take them skiing, straight up a chair and down a green
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I get the impression that that's what most of the French parents (or more often grandparents) I see with tinies are doing.
People complain about the big snakes of little ones behind ESF instructors but they're doing the same thing, really. there's not much "teaching" in the sense of complicated explanations going on. My daughter started shuffling in a garden in Austria because although she was a bit old for it, the instructor of that group spoke English. She was super bored the first day and the ski school asked me if I wanted her moved to the group with the other 4 year old beginners, where the instructor spoke no English. She got on fine, but obviously there was no question of any spoken "teaching" - she just copied and followed everyone else.
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Very young kids often don't have the muscle strength to hold a plough
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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| kevindonkleywood wrote: |
| Very young kids often don't have the muscle strength to hold a plough |
littleh couldn't really manage it until he was just about 3, because his legs weren't quite up to it as well as his concentration  . He also started mostly doing parallel turns and hockey(-ish) stops, but after 2 or 3 real lessons this year is snowploughing properly, so they are moving back onto parallel turns.
Being able to snowplough even at a very young age is a good thing good as it is effective speed control - in fact their legs are so bendy that they can pull off really effective snowploughs and stop anywhere(much more so than me!)
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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| Quote: |
it is effective speed control
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and - just as important - direction control. On a slope too sleep to schuss down speed is best controlled through turn shape and that's what the group instructors spend most of the time doing. A 3 year old would otherwise have to do a succession of hockey stops. 180 side slips??? Bit of an advanced exercise!
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I have almost no experience of teaching little kids, but to me it does;t really matter what stance they have. I just like to see (a) they are having fun and learning to love skiing, and (b) developing the habit of making rounded turns rather than Ziggy Zaggy Z's. If they get those two things in place everything else will follow.
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