General Coaching Ideas
Safety- Be conscious of temperature, kids’ dress level, and signs of kids getting cold. Keep moving to keep warm. Fingers and toes are the most vulnerable; if cold or numb, wiggle a lot and swing arms around in circles- fast windmills send blood to warm up fingers! Go inside if kids get really cold, or fingers don’t warm up. Keep track of your group. Know how many kids you have and continually count them. Be sure they always know where you’re going, where to stop next and who is leading. Ideally one adult should be the leader and one should be the caboose. Partner up kids with the Buddy system. This is especially important on longer excursions at the Range or Mill Riverside Park. Fun!- Kids don’t like to stand around and listen. Keep talking to a minimum. They want to play, be challenged and active. Become a kid yourself; unleash the kid within you! There are really no limits on what you can do with skis on. Use your environment, use your imagination, experiment, be dynamic and spontaneous. If the kids are looking bored, move onto something else. If the kids are having fun, stick with it and expand w/slight variations. Ask the kids for ideas they want to try. Keep them moving. Our goals are to have high energy levels and continuous smiles, and make the kids exhausted through exhilaration and excited for the next BKL outing! Learning- Kids learn by listening and thinking, but mostly by WATCHING and DOING. Any specific instructions should be limited to 2-3 minutes. Keep things simple and use words that kids can understand easily. Follow up with a quick demonstration. Point out skiers around you to demonstrate ideas. Give individual feedback, just one or two ideas at a time so kids can focus. Ideal learning is all fun integrated with limited or no cognizant instruction. Games teach valuable skiing skills; what may look like playing and goofing around on skis actually improves kids’ balance and agility. While most of our coaches are parents, kids are sometimes more successful in a different group from their parent. Balance- Good balance is the foundation of good skiing. Each and every outing should entail “balancing” activities that refresh this base skill w/fun challenges. Check out the Balance page for ideas. Hips Forward and Lean- Even the most advance skiers continue to work on “getting forward” on the skis. This promotes more energy transfer, longer glide, better balance, and more efficient/fun skiing. Check out the Body Position page for more info. Classic Specific Shoot
your foot up the hill- Imagine kicking a soccer ball in front of you. Face
directly forward all the time- twisting to the side directs energy to the side
instead of the direction you are skiing Striding-
poling with one pole at the same time as you kick off with your leg. Opposite
arm forward as leg. Double pole- Poling with both poles together, legs stationary and resting. Kick double pole- like normal double pole, except adding a kick with your ski occasionally if you need a boost. Skate specific Keep poles vertical and hands shoulder width apart- don’t pinch hands together. Glide all the time, even on uphills. A flat ski is faster. V1- both poles together, land with your ski, only on one side. Uphills V2- both poles together, planted as you push off with your leg, on both sides. Flats, slight uphills. V2 alternate- both poles together, planted as you push off with your leg, only on one side. Flats, slight downhills. Skate tuck- in a tuck position with upper body, legs still skating. Games Ski without poles-skate/ classic. no flailing Topic of the Day Each ski day we’ll have a topic of the day that everyone is working on. (This will be part of the ski announcement on the website and will be linked to more information.) A coach will introduce the basic ideas at the beginning of skiing. Recap the concept, practice it together, mention it while out skiing, and restate at the end of the ski. Try out different wordings- kids think and learn differently. Let kids have input as to what you’re going to do next and use their ideas. Provide constant positive feedback and encouragement. Make a game out of the tasks! Enjoy yourself, the kids and skiing! Our approach to the Topic of the Day pages: At the top are some key technique phrases. Below this is more detail and explanations of the “why?” behind the ideas- what you’re trying to achieve. At the bottom are some games and activities you can do that emphasize the topic. Kids learn best while having fun! |
|
|
Tips for Skiers, Leaders, and Coaches |