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.
