Nov. 23, 2011 - Issue #840: Battle the world

Keep it fun

The best way to teach kids to ski is to not be so serious

Kathleen Buffel usually doesn't struggle to establish rapport with young children. The Marmot Basin ski instructor and mother of two chose to specialize in teaching kids because she loves spending time with them. But every once in a while she encounters a hard case. "For the first two lessons, this one kid just laid down on the hill," Buffel recalls.

Such moments can be difficult for parents and instructors alike. The psychology of teaching children often challenges the best of us. Kids—especially the very young—can be obstinate, irrational, uncommunicative and,  sometimes, downright terrors. It's one thing if a kid starts screaming, kicking and having a fit at home, but the same behaviour at a ski hill can test the patience of the most agreeable parent.

That's when we need to step back, take a deep breath and remember the most important maxim of teaching kids to ski: have fun. "If you're not having fun, it's not worth it," Buffel states simply.
If you start with that straightforward premise, teaching skiing to kids can be incredibly rewarding, as Buffel can attest. In fact, she enjoys it so much that when she was looking to return to instructing at Marmot after having children of her own, she established the Snowflakes Ski Academy, a program for younger children, ages four to seven.

Becoming a parent triggered a realization for Buffel: preschool is an under-served niche. While many children start to ski at age four or five, some may be ready as early as three, provided they are "strong, active and motivated," Buffel explains. "Teaching children at a younger age leads to a child having a love for skiing," she adds, "as long as there's no pressure and they're just enjoying it."
 

From my own experience, teaching my son for the last two seasons has given us some of our best father-son moments. I began taking him to the Edmonton Ski Club when he'd just turned three. Down the bunny hill we'd go, him in my arms, skis barely touching snow. My son got to be the leader. I'd ask which way and he would point and holler, "Go that way, Daddy!"

He soon discovered this was an endlessly entertaining game, as I would go along no matter where he sent us. But the thing that really got him screaming with laughter was when I would pick up speed, ski up the front of a ramp and then let gravity pull us down backwards.

From there, I tried a number of different teaching methods. Admittedly, I'm no ski instructor so my range was limited. From propping him between my knees we advanced to using a ski pole crossways as a brace, and from there to a ski harness.

He was skiing quite well by this point but still felt nervous going unharnessed. It wasn't until I took him for his first lesson at Marmot Basin that I realized I'd never taught him how to stop properly. More than his safety net, I'd been his brake.

"It's difficult for a parent to teach their child," Buffel says. "I put my son into lessons and brought him back to me when he was ready to ski on his own."

The secret? Children learn differently with an instructor who isn't a parent. It's good to recognize when you're out of your depth, as I did when I took my son to Marmot. I also realized a secondary but important benefit of lessons—giving the parents free time to ski on their own.

Nonetheless, parents still play an important role, Buffel stresses, helping children solidify and develop new skills by taking them on new and different terrain, and by encouraging practice. One fun drill Buffel recommends is playing "slalom"—taking turns being "gates" and weaving around each other.


Above all, though, you have to learn to embrace the hot chocolate moments. At the time I didn't think about it—we were just having fun—but it later dawned on me that those times with my son were some of the most fun I'd ever had in over 25 years of skiing.

And that difficult kid? "By week three he was up skiing," Buffel smiles, " and now he's moved up to Nancy Greene."

More stories in Snow Zone »

vueweekly.com comments: powered by Disqus