Throughout my travels, one of the most common themes at any resort is that there’s always instructors complaining about the downsides of this gig – the resort, the job, the pay, the clientele, the snow, the list goes on… I get it, this industry is a tough one to thrive in and it’s not always easy “living the dream”!
On the positive side, the other common bond we share as instructors is our passion and love for sharing this sport with others. I think it’s safe to say that this is one of the biggest reasons most of us have gotten involved in teaching in the first place, other than fame and fortune!
Trying to shine a light on what we love about teaching and riding will bring us a lot of success in how we ride, as well as how we present our lessons / training sessions. People who love what they do will naturally perform better. So the first step is to ask yourself a few simple questions that will help remind yourself why you are doing this in the first place:
- What do you love about snowboarding? Is it a particular feeling that you can share?
- What is your favorite part about teaching?
These are a few great starting questions to ask yourself, especially if you ask them right after having some of those negative feelings. Hopefully if you can answer some of these questions, you can start to share them in your sessions, lessons, or just riding in general.
Here’s an example of a few of my thoughts…
When I’m riding I love to try to achieve power and precision from my legs to guide the board around the mountain, with a secondary goal of remaining generally calm, controlled and cruisy with the rest of my body. It just feels good to me, and chances are if we catch a few laps together you’ll be able to see this in my riding. If anything that is relatable to this topic comes up in a teaching scenario, it’s easier to talk about it because it’s something I know I love to feel in my own riding.
So, have a think about some of those things that you love about this sport and start showcasing and sharing those thoughts with others more often. This is the easy part – the harder challenge is to start to find some satisfaction in the less enjoyable pieces of the puzzle!
Adam Gardner
Regional Coordinator, AB / BC-E
Level 4 Evaluator