Snow Stuff

Technical or strategic?

A lot of times, in teaching, we tend to focus on the technical approach. By that, I mean finding a drill or an exercise that we can use to get a specific movement across to our students.

In that, we often overlook a more tactical, or I like to thing of a more strategic, approach to riding on the mountain.

To me a tactical, or strategic approach might be to help students learn to make the decisions about where and when to apply the skills that they already have. Things like when to jam on the edge, or when to simply let the board go and brush the surface of the snow. Or, when to round out the turn, and when to open it up, depending on what we’re trying to accomplish.

Another tactical, or strategic approach, might be simply having students try riding a certain piece of terrain faster, or slower, and figure out what adjustments might need to be made technically.

Good riders continually weight their strategy when they ride - it’s a constant decision making process about what skills to employ and when. This can make a huge difference in someone’s enjoyment level when they get into unknown situations, like riding trees, powder or bumpy runs. Try it out.

Separation…

Separation…if you’re a skier or ski instructor, you’ve heard it. But we don’t talk much about it in the snowboard world. It’s something that I’ve been playing with a lot in my own riding in recent seasons.

By separation, I mean upper and lower body separation, or allowing the upper body to create some type of stability or resist movement, while the lower body creates turn shape or direction change. Think of a shifty in the midst of a turn.

The other part of separation that I’m still wrapping my head around is this: using the separation of upper and lower body to create and store some type of energy or force, and then releasing that energy in the direction of a new turn to help create performance. Basically I’m talking about allowing the upper body to become counter-rotated, so that our core muscles build up some type of force, and then WAPPAH! that stored, coiling force gets released into a new turn.

Try it out! It’s got a place, I’m just trying to pinpoint then when and where. Maybe you’ll figure it out before me.

Going back to…Korea.

Just booked my tickets today! I’ll be heading to Japan to run CASI’s first Level 2 in that country in February of this year. This will be followed by some time in South Korea with my friends at CASI-Korea, where I’ll be running some general riding sessions, as well as some Level 3 intro sessions. Stoked!

What I’ve Learned at Obedience Class…Part 3

Choose your feedback carefully

During the classes, I’ve been on the receiving end of three types of feedback.

1. Corrective: This was where Lucy and I were attempting to perform some task, and it wasn’t working. Mrs. Fido intervened with something like “you were doing it this way, try it this way”. It was simply a corrective measure to get me to do it correctly. Fine.
2. Praising Feedback: Once, when Lucy and I combine forces to perform a task well, we got “Perfect! That was excellent!” as our feedback. Great!
3. Confusing / Joking: This came (I think) when Lucy and I were attempting to complete some task, and it wasn’t working as planned. The feedback was “confused, are we?”. It came in a joking tone, so I knew to laugh it off, but still…it didn’t accomplish much.

I’m kind of a “soft” personality. Well, maybe not soft, but quiet. I definitely felt the best when I got the praise for the task that was performed well. And I’ll definitely do that task the same way every time in the future. The corrective feedback accomplished what it was supposed to, but it doesn’t sit in the same place in my mind. I may or may not remember the correction in the future. And the joking feedback? I’ll remember it, but not for the right reasons, and I don’t particularly care about whatever it was that Lucy and I were trying to do at that point.

So, the point here is that the tone and type of feedback that you dole out is critical in setting a tone in the lesson. In CASI-land, we often talk about the “PTT”, or “Positive-To-Try” method, which focuses on avoiding the negative, and focusing on what the student can “try” during the next attempt. This type of feedback can work really well if it’s phrased naturally (it can often end up sounding a bit phony or scripted).

A good instructor can read his students, and recognize their personalities, motivations, and goals. Some students, maybe those confident (or over-confident) in their abilities need to hear it straight. What am I doing wrong? Others (like me, apparently!) need to hear it dressed up in praise, and will respond better to hearing what they are doing well, than what they can do better.

Poorly chosen feedback can make or break that rapport between student and instructor that is so important. It’s the key, I think, in creating a memorable experience.

So there it is. I know that this winter, when I’m interacting with students and instructors, I’ll be managing my feedback, and (hopefully) choosing how I deliver my feedback carefully.

What I’ve Learned at Obedience Class…Part 2

Personality and a positive attitude

Mrs. Fido has a positive attitude towards teaching. I think in her case, as self-employed professional, she wouldn’t be successful if she didn’t. 

But Mrs. Fido also has a strong personality. She’s the type (like many teachers and instructors) who really likes to be the one standing at the front of the room telling us what works and what doesn’t work when it comes to getting Rover to roll over, sit and beg. She likes to relay to us how she once had a doberman who could use the toilet, or a chihuahua who could drive itself to work…OK maybe not, but she likes to be the one doing the talking.

My observation with this is that, many times, her personality and need to be in that role can be overpowering. She’ll ask a question, but not wait for the answer, or she’ll wait for the answer, but if the person doing the answering isn’t saying something that captures her attention, she’s not great at faking it, and is interacting with someone else before that other poor sucker is even finished talking.

At one point, a more aggressive Boxer snapped at a smaller Jack Russell puppy. This clearly shook up the puppy, but also the puppy’s owner. Mrs. Fido’s response to the puppy’s owner was “don’t worry - it’s bothering you more than it is bothering the puppy”. Or, in other words, “suck it up”. This probably wasn’t the best way to address the issue with a sensitive new dog owner…

So this brings me to one observation - having a positive attitude towards teaching your chosen subject is a no-brainer. Having a strong personality is also OK, just be sure that you work on adjusting your personality to be able to work cohesively with other personality types.

What I’ve Learned at Obedience Class…

I’ve been going to obedience classes. Well, I have been escorting our dog, Lucy, there. She’s doing great, and I’m learning a lot too. We can turn right, turn left, we’re working on our “heels”, and stays.

I’ve learned some other cool stuff too, mostly from the instructor teaching the class. It’s been interesting to be a student again, and to observe someone else giving us (a group of adults from different backgrounds and with different daily lives) direction and feedback. We’ve only had three sessions, but I’m starting to compile some thoughts and ideas that (I think) can apply to any teaching/learning situation…and because I’m a snowboard instructor, I think especially well to a snowboard lesson.

Over the next couple weeks, I’ll try to compile some ideas here. Here’s the first one…

Credibility

The woman who is teaching the class - I’ll call her “Mrs. Fido” - knows her stuff. She’s a dog person and she knows it. She has years and years of dog experience under her belt. You can tell by the way she carries herself with the animals, and the animal-owners. She’s put in the time over the years to learn all the little un-teachable things that come with repetition and experience. No one has taught her these little things - she’s simply picked them up with experience.

So, the message here is: put your time it. There’s no fast track to being credible.

Stay tuned, more to come.