Children's Skiing Progression example

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When I posted

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Colin B, Amazing, I'm proud for you Cool

Come on, post some video of your improvements now wink

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

Colin B, nice idea doing a timeline and nice progression by your daughter snowHead

... wish i had brough a video camera along on the early trips.... Embarassed

i feel a few hours of video editing coming up.

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Timberwolf, Thanks I've given up being videoed now! She has another week with easiski at Easter which will widen the gap even more I'm afraid. I have some too but I found that at half term, when we shared private lessons between us, I picked up up only about 25% of what Natalie did Embarassed

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What a lovely record of her progress. If you have "given up being videoed now" that implies you have some to share from before.........! Go on you know you want to! You can always get some more at Easter to tack onto it!

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Colin B, you have inspired me to keep a video diary of the Timberpup's progression, Thankyou. He was 4.5 on his first trip last year and we're off to La Rosiere in 2 weeks snowHead

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Butterfly, Not a great deal of me really, you concentrate more on capturing film of the kids.

After all it is free

Colin B, The leaps seem huge from one clip to another don't they? I guess it depends on how when in the week the video is taken and how much practice there has been between the video clips.

I have variously posted clips of my kids. I haven't yet checked, but I should have some of them skiing in Switzerland this year on my camcorder - I'll have to sort it out and see what I can find on it and maybe post back some of the minimums in action.

Timberwolf, It's well worthwhile you don't need much from each trip. While I was searching through videos this evening I also visited some nice ones from her dancing classes which I've probably got clips going back almost 10 years.

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Mine April 06

TheKarvinKid Feb09 from SkiMottaret

Feb 09 14 years old , 11th week of skiing

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Megamum, I mainly took them towards the end of each week I think. The biggest leap came in 2008, which coincided with lessons with easiski. Some private lessons at half term in Zermatt this year consolidated that and I expect the lessons with easiski again at Easter will see further big improvements (especially without me hampering them this year as I did last year Embarassed

).

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Colin,
That's a good example of how a child can progress with their skiing over the years.

We've been recording similar progress with #1 son - although not in a single video - and have just started recording the progress of #2son as he's started his first slides. Both's latest progess can be seen as of last month here:
http://youtube.com/v/O1xovYeMdUI&fmt=16.

#1son will now (at age 7) outski me on most things which don't involve a shuss. But I'm convinced I still have the advantage over #2 (not yet 2yo).

RobW, & skimottaret, Fantastic! It just goes to show we have no chance! Schussing is one discipline where I find that weight triumphs over ability as I have proven to easiski and our instructor in Zermatt a couple of weeks ago by streaking past both of them.

You know it makes sense.

RobW, Thats really encouraged me to run through some exercises with my three y o next week, i was getting her skis but just expecting to get her walking around on them.

Your son #1 is amazing, how much skiing has he done to get to that standard? Im not surprised you struggle to keep up. Thanks for posting that.

I wont show my six y o as she is made up with her own progress and is obviously nowhere near your boy.

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

Great post Colin B and what a great progression.

skimottaretjr is annoyingly good. Possibly better than daddy wink

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FlyingStantoni, defo better in the bumps Razz

RobW - love the teamwork by the lads!!

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skimottaret,

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

RobW, you should get the older lad race training indoors, he looks a good athlete

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RobW, Yes get him race training anywhere!
He seems to have natural ability, balance and no fear! Xscape MK or Castleford, or Chill Factore in Manchester.
The British Ski Academy at Les Houches is brilliant. They can spend time out there skiing in the morning and do all their schooling in the afternoon. Malcolm Erskine has been running it for the past 10 years and has produced many British champions, some almost from scratch.
Many of the younger current GB team went through the BSA including my son TJ who is now ranked top 30 in the world for age 18 in Downhill, Super G & Super Combined.
Your son really reminds me of TJ when he was younger!!
I'll try to put on some clips in the next few days.

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Megamum, Also there aren't clips from all weeks, most notably our first week in Norway. She didn't have any lessons in 2 of the weeks (although she did have lessons in other weeks in those years) probably a mistake to do that. She has had a total of 6 weeks of lessons plus 4 hours at Tamworth before that.

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skimottaret, Plugboy, I think you'll find that #1 is already doing quite a lot of racing, and doing fairly well: third mini in the Welsh champs last year, winner at Ipswich CN and regular 3rd/4ths on the CN circuit.

RobW, many would say <2yo is way too early to get them skiing, but I think your vids speak for themselves (and didn't you have one of #2 at <1yo somewhere?). Do you get much resistance to starting them that early?

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Plugboy, you ever decide to sell your skis ?

GrahamN, i kinda figured he had some training with all the one legged stuff he was playing around with, his skiing looks a little "dry slope" to me and i was just making a play to get him to go indoors with us at MK wink

After all it is free

Thanks to all for the compliments Toofy Grin

#1son started skiing a bit earlier than #2. We're both instructors at an artificial slope, and when one of us was there teaching we'd just (when he asked!) let him slide around on skis and slowly (5 minutes at a time, a few short runs) he picked it up. This is the stage #2 is at at the moment, although his stamina is building up and he's now demanding (and I mean demanding!) more runs.

#1 trains twice a week on the dendix, and 4 weeks on snow for the past few years. Last year, he was old enough to start competing in Club Nationals and in his first year as a Mini he was on the podium three times (one first, two thirds) - which looking back through the old results on Britski we don't think has ever happened before. We haven't decided what races he's doing this summer yet: probably most of the CNs and the Celtic Cups; he won't be doing any of the indoor snow races as he's got not experience of indoor snow and it's too much to race every weekend.

GrahamN Yes, there is a video of #2 skiing on his first birthday (
http://youtube.com/v/vgngUx0laBA&fmt=16 ): but that was with assistance from a kid-ski pole, and not solo.

Fabulous thread Colin B, and it's great to see how well the kids are all doing. I do think, however, that one thing stands out: it's a great help if the parents are good skiers; failing that, lots of lessons.

It's sad that so many english parents taking their children out of ski school as soon as they can do snowplough turns of a sort. Skiing is a life skill, and not investing in giving your children a good start is denying them that. Sad

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Skimottaret Yep, sold all the Slalom, GS, Super G and 2 prs of DH skis.
Will have some 09 models after the summer when TJ gets the 2010 models.

RobW Is #1 doing the Brit champs at Meribel in early April?

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easiski,

Hurtle, I see 100s of english families, many of whom stop lessons for their kids because 'johnny didn't like ski school' or 'johnny doesn't need lessons any more' the latter when they can barely get around the mountain. Last year one parent thought I could take his 13 year old son down LG when the boy was as far back as it's possible to be, totally oout of balance, virtually horizontal with his back. this boy has not had lessons for years because his dad doesn't think it necesary. I'm not talking about people who can't afford to go skiing (obviously - duh), even the big esf classes are better than tagging along behind M & D if they're poor to moderate skiers, and it's not that expensive.

You know it makes sense.

easiski,

Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:

I think the cost (due to exchange rates) will exacerbate that situation though. I suspect that for many lessons will be one of the first things to go along with lunches on the mountain, etc. Lesson costs are more discretionary than lift passes, etc. In 2 week long trips this year I will have spent about £600 in lessons for my daughter and me. Although I haven't chosen the cheapest options I know that I will get value for money but on top of everything else it's still a lot of money.

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Colin B, thanks, that's the point I was trying to make. Not going skiing at all is, of course, the end point of that sad spiral. Sad

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Hurtle, €135 for 6 days of group lessons with ESF - most people spend far more on booze. The point I'm making is that you can see from above how good kids can get, it's a shame for all those kids that they're never given the chance - not only that but spending all their lives skiing badly they'll be finished at 40 or 50, will never have the joy of being able to ski everywhere, whereas the kids shown will still be skiing at 70 and 80 with their great-grandchildren because they learnt to do it properly and well. Most of these families I see (and as I said I see 100s) just don't think it's necessary. They'd rather have a big meal out or lunch up the mountain than pay for ski school. If my dad hadn't sent us religiously we wouldn't be 3 in the family who all ski well, and while my sister almost never skis, those who've been to Gloucester when she's come can attest that even at one day every 2 years on plastic she's still a better skier than most who ski every year.

Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?

easiski,

....bother, connection problems just destroyed a carefully crafted response! I was going to say...

...yes, sensible priorities ought to come into play. But, playing devil's advocate and (at least partly) in jest:

a) I'm undoubtedly a poor skier by your standards, and didn't take enough lessons when it mattered, but I confidently expect still to be skiing when I'm 70, after my own fashion but still enjoyably;
b) I'm extremely glad that my father expended some of the available family funds on teaching us to appreciate fine wines;
c) what's the point of being a good skier, if all you do is twice a year on plastic? Arguably the money spent on your sister's lessons would have been better spent on something which she would continue to enjoy more frequently (I'm thinking of the money which was spent, one way and another, on music for me.)

But in reality I agree with you - if one's going to take kids skiing at all, it's better to spend money on lessons for them, than on expensive meals up the mountain, if a choice has to be made.

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What a brilliant thread!
You must all be very proud of your little'uns snowHead

(Almost makes me broody.... Toofy Grin

)

Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.

Great videos of the children progressing.

With regards to sending children to ski school I think sometimes there is a happy medium.

Holidays are in part for the family to have time together and I would not like to go on a ski holiday where my kids attend ski school all day long and don't have family time together, which seems to be the case for some families where the kids are shed at the beginning of the day and not collected till lifts close. Equally it is good to see the children improve their skiing and get enjoyment and take some pride in their improvement particularly if as in my family there is a pronounced non athletic streak.

With regards to improvement one of my minor irritants is that the folk who I go skiing with as a family group do not particularly seek improvement amongst the adults, so we are getting rapidly left behind by the children who are now skiing places the parents cannot access.

All our holidays so far the children have had lessons, the next one at Easter may be different as the nature of the ski pass that we get means that we will not be able to ski the same resort twice so lessons may be a bit more difficult to arrange. Crying or Very sad

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RobW, I must admit that I find #1 son makes me very depressed Shocked

I'll get me wheelchair out.

After all it is free

Right, I'm off to edit my video. However, having watched everyone's contributions I am now thoroughly depressed by my own progress and now wish I was 7 yrs old again!!

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FlyingStantoni, RobW's #2 son makes a better job of riding a 'T' bar than many a snowHead wink

Help!!

Children's Skiing Progression example

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