3 day Ski Academy. I challenge you.

Posted in Ski School
by Heather on January 19, 2012

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So, you think you're good? I challenge you.  
I challenge you to be better.  

I did and I loved it.

Three days.  Three days at Park City Mountain Resort.  Three days to make you a better skier.

• WHAT: 3-Day Ski Academy
• WHEN: January 27, 28, 29
• WHO: You 21 yrs and older (level 5 skiers able to make parallel turns on gentle blue terrain)
• WITH: Skiers of similar ability and one of PCMR's finest coaches
• WHY: Because you deserve it 

The instructors at Park City Mountain Resort have taught me that just because I am good at something it doesn't mean I can't be better.  Best of all it doesn't take a full season, better gear, or a trip to some hard to get to, middle of nowhere ski resort. It takes a dedicated ski instructor who can "see" how you turn, know what you can change and then give you the tools to make it happen.  I personally have picked up some pretty bad habits since I went from ski racing to baby making to wedge turning poleless behind my little ski kids.  Now they are right behind me as we enjoy skiing all over PCMR. Now is the most important time for me to not have bad habits.

So, I took the time and I took the challenge. I spent a few days learning from some of the finest ski instructors this country has to offer.  I did this right in my own backyard and I couldn't be happier.  

Bad habits, that's what I had.  One of my worst that crept back into my skiing was "sitting in the back seat." Back when I was ski racing it took two knee reconstructions to get me forward.  One afternoon with my instructor on Jupiter Bowl we found exactly what it took to get my body where it needed to be.  That is not an easy task. I recall ski coaches telling me again and again, giving me drill after drill and I just couldn't fix it.  My instructor saw what I needed to change and then put it into terms I could grasp.  

Another aspect of my skiing I was having trouble with was that I was still skiing as I did 15 years ago on those old long straight race skis.  Things have changed!  I was trying to muscle my skis with my outside edge pressure and couldn't quite figure out what to do with my new shaped skis.  It would have taken me all season (with my little ones modeling my every wrong move) to figure out what my instructor told me.  "Turn your feet, turn your foot as if you are pushing a soccer ball."  We had talked about other sports we do and knowing that I've played a fair amount of soccer this made total sense to me.  I could have read books and magazines, and skied 100 days with never making this connection.  But I didn't.  I was told to turn my feet, and I did.  That is what it took.  There was still more, and that was "keep your knees apart."  Wouldn't you think I would have thought of that?  Well, I didn't.  I did know I had to widen my stance, distribute my weight a bit onto my inside ski, keep my skis moving as if they were on a train track.  Oh yes I had all of this going through my head with every turn.  All I had to do was "keep my knees apart."  Done.

Now, there is no doubt that everyone learns differently.  I saw it in my own lesson.  I've seen it in lessons that I teach.  What amazed me about these instructors was how quickly they could recognize what I had to fix and more importantly they could put it into terms I could understand.  Together we made some major improvements in my skiing.  It wasn't all fun, we spent time doing drills that were tough.  I spent time being frustrated, feeling as if my skiing was getting worse not better.  But, that's what it took to make a change.

When I skied away from those lessons I was confident that I was a better and stronger skier.  More importantly though, I could be free from passing on those bad habits to my children who watch and copy turn after turn.  

Do it. I challenge you.