How kids learn to ski?

A snowHead

Taken from another thread, where Steve Angus said

A snowHead

During an instructor training session years ago I remember being told that the Austrians were pondering the best ways in which to teach adults how to ski. So they just watched a bunch of kids out "playing" on the slope, observed how they dealt with things like "oh dear here's the edge coming up I'd better do something" - i.e. they naturally learned which movements were effective and which weren't. Then the Austrians went away saying !aha - now we know what to teach!.

Mabe anecdotal but who knows?

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We've introduced (I'd hesitate to say "taught" - we just provided the means and opportunity for them to learn) skiing to both of ours when they were too little for verbal instruction to really be of any use - on the principle that if you can catch them in that window of opportunity when they're standing up holding onto things, but not quite walking independently, give them skis and a pole to hold on to and then move the pole so they hang on and go with it you're really not doing much more than mimicing what they're already doing with learning to stand and walk.

So initially it was mostly trial and error, and then once they were skiing independently some see/follow and copy, with lots of opportunities to develop balance (little jumps, ridges, bumps, tracks through trees etc) thrown in and some balance related drills (stepping, lifting one ski, spins, etc). Neither of ours have ever really been taught parallel - it's just happened by the time they were about 5 as a natural function of additional speed and balance.

Obviously the early stages are a little different if they're starting at an age where verbal instruction is an appropriate option.

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kitenski: to some extent (less than with adults) it depends on the child, and also on the child's age. Following and copying is certainly important for children (just as it is with some adults) but there are more than a few who ask "why?" and want to understand what they're supposed to be doing. Most learning though is done through practice. Trying it, getting it wrong, feeling what happens when you get it right, etc. It's easy to forget this when instructing, but if I've given them appropriate exercises, and I've provided a safe environment to do it in, they're going to learn a lot faster by just looping round and practicing than listening to me telling them what's going on. A bit of feedback here and there to keep them going in the right direction, with spirits up, but otherwise just practice.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Main thing is to make it as safe as practical and #1 fun!

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What age and stage of development are we talking about? It makes a difference in what we can expect a child to be able to do, and how we teach them. Also, how often do they ski, and what other activities do they do? Birth order can make a difference, and all children tend to regress as they go through a growth spurt. Oh, and learning preference also plays a big part.

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I think kids learn by doing. If they do something and it hurts them or doesn't work they don't do it again. Kids don't think they just do - this is why they rapidly outski us grown-ups.

After all it is free

The kids I was with this winter were all different...

One boy was a really really good mimic. He is strong in many sports for this reason.
His brother was a thinker - really needed to know what he needed to do.
Sister was a bit of both.

Even the first one would get great results when he focused on the whys and hows and applied some brain power. He just needed an incentive to do so(like whooping his butt in a race course, or wanting his Gold etc).

The second still loved to practice - to work at getting it "right" - less athletic than 1 but a quick word as to what went wrong often had big impact.

The third had balls - but being the youngest also tended to cry more easily and wimp from time to time... She would however do what she was told very readily. Desperate to keep up with the older two she actually did quite well with time.

We played in the small terrain park, practiced "cool" things like flat spins, worked on rollercoaster turns and garlands to get down steeper terrain, skied in the trees, and raced.

They went from barely able to get down almost dead flat terrain (I had to hold onto them) to qualifying for NASTAR Nationals and skiing black runs with comfort.

Give them good examples, know how to explain and what drills will provide missing skills. Focus on ski performance not "look" (their smaller bodies are not mini adults) and they will get there. Most of all make it FUN! If it gets cold - get hot chocolate. If they are tired - go for a break. Keep them hydrated.

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Yep - I kept those kids on greens and easy blues for ages... that way they dropped the snowplow... even heading to blacks we did just a small run and then back to easy... ditto with how we increased the hardness of the blues - small sections of harder but not enough to freak us out... then back to easy so we could fly... repeat lots

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You know it makes sense.

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How kids learn to ski?

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