Dig Deeper to Create Lasting Connections with Your Students

By Stephanie Zimmers

Alpine Level III, Children’s Specialist 2 Waterville Valley, NH

It usually starts with a smile and a handshake, or fist-bump. You meet your student and introduce yourself; but where do you go from there? Whether your lesson is one hour, two hours, or six hours, every minute counts. Start talking with your students right away at the lesson sign. Help your students feel welcome by getting to know them and telling them about yourself or the mountain. Connect with your students and build trust from the beginning so they feel comfortable sharing information with you. These first moments meeting your students are crucial to creating a positive learning environment. It goes beyond finding out where your student is from, what they do at school or work, and what kind of trails they normally ski or ride on. Dig a little bit deeper to learn about their family and what they like about their hobbies and jobs. Find out what activities they like and dislike and why. This will give you insight about their learning preferences and personality so you can tailor your coaching to reach them better. If they feel comfortable talking with you, they will develop trust and be more willing to try new things in their lesson.

Your students probably won’t know exactly what they want to work on during their lesson, especially if they are young. But by asking a few questions, you can figure out their motivation for taking a lesson and what they want to be able to do with their skills. Putting this information together with what you know about them as a person will help you set goals together and establish a plan for the lesson. Approach children with the same respect as adults and try to learn about their interests as well. Be creative and give them the opportunity to do what they like to do while mixing in the skills they need for what their parents want them to be able to do. Some children may not even care about goals, they just want to ski or ride and have fun exploring the mountain. Others may have a specific skill or trail that they want to be able to master. Adults may be a little more specific in terms of what they want to be able to do on snow. People can usually describe a situation, snow condition or trail that gives them trouble. Figure out what skill set would help resolve the issue and which technical fundamental it relates to and plan your lesson around that. Share how they can apply what you worked on to situations they might encounter in the future.

We have so much information about the technical fundamentals and how they relate to equipment and snow conditions and terrain and body performance that we sometimes want to share all of it with our students. But knowing a little bit about each student and what they want to do with their skiing and riding will help you narrow your focus. Utilize the conversations you have with your students to make lasting connections and build trust. Go beyond the basic questions and find out what gets them excited about skiing or riding and what they want to accomplish. Who knows, you might even end up with a friend who wants to come back and ski with you again and again! <<