What Every New Snowsports Instructor Should Know Before They Teach a Lesson, Part 2

Earlier this month, TheSnowPros.org posted a list of things every new snowsports instructor should know before they ever teach a lesson, with insight sourced from PSIA-AASI members on the association’s Facebook page.

Here, PSIA-AASI Education Development Manager Angelo Ross shares his insight on how new instructors can succeed in their first season teaching:

  • For many of our students, their time with us is how they’re choosing to spend limited resources of vacation, time, and money so we owe it to them to be as good as we can be.
  • There’s more to know about teaching snowsports than you can likely imagine, so be curious, open-minded, and patient in your professional development.
  • Teachers have a responsibility and obligation to serve their students.
  • There’s no substitute for being a student of the sport, and getting good takes time and effort. Read manuals, take notes, watch videos, ski and ride with more experienced folks, ask questions, work out, eat well, get enough rest.
  • You must earn your students’ trust to be an effective teacher. The best way to do this is to really know your stuff regarding positive social interactions, teaching and learning, how the human body moves, snowsports equipment design, snowsports culture, and the environment.
  • The PSIA-AASI curriculum is student-centered and customizable for your – and each of your students’ – goals. If you’re being told it’s rigid and there’s one “right way” to do something, ask someone else. You’re not being provided the whole picture.
  • PSIA-AASI does not change things for the sake of changing them, and there’s no new buzzword each season. Change in our association has been constant since 1961 and there are literally hundreds of people across the country volunteering their time and talents year-round to make us all better at teaching snowsports.
  • There’s an entire world of opportunity available to you as a new snowsports instructor, from teaching lessons locally to learning and representing your home country on the international stage.

Curious about how you might start your own lifelong journey in education? Learn more about PSIA-AASI right here.