Value Of Coaching
I’m currently in a second round of teaching 5-day intensive ski camps and there was an interesting example to prove the value of coaching last week during my first round. One of the students I had for five days straight was a ten year old girl named Katrina.
Katrina had already been skiing for two seasons and was at a respectable intermediate level. Her younger sister Anastasia, who was being taught by another ski instructor, was eight years old and also skied at about the same level which is quite impressive for both sisters given their ages.
At the ski resort I’m currently teaching at, there is some flat terrain at the top where skiers and snowboarders have to somehow get across to different parts in order to ski down the various slopes.
The main technique used by skiers to get across flat areas is called skating, which is similar to ice skating but on skis. In addition to the legs pushing much like in ice skating, the ski poles are also used to help push the skier forward.
Observation From Coaching Students
I noticed that Katrina (and her sister from a distance) had some trouble getting across the flats. Her use of poles were uncoordinated as was her skating technique with her legs. Then I noticed that her ski poles were quite short.
When I inspected her poles closer, they were indeed about six inches too short for her. She must have grown in height significantly in the last two years since she first got her ski equipment. Interestingly enough, when I caught up with the other ski instructor who was with Anastasia, I saw that her ski poles were also too short.
Neither of the girls nor her parents noticed that the poles were now too short for them but because of my experience coaching many past ski students as well as more familiarity with ski equipment in general, this was an observation I didn’t miss during my first hour with Katrina.
At the end of her first ski lesson with me, I advised her father that both girls needed new ski poles that were more suited towards their current heights. Katrina’s current ski poles would fit her younger sister perfectly for now but they definitely needed to get a new pair for Katrina.
The next day, Katrina came back with longer new ski poles and with further coaching on the skating technique on skis, she was able to start moving across the flats better than she did the first day. By the end of the ski camp, she was moving across the flat terrain significantly faster with more power.
This proves the value of coaching. Even though it’s from the ski slopes, it is yet another real life example where personal coaching made a huge difference for somebody who wanted to improve in something.
Many skiers, both kids and adults, stop getting coaching through lessons after reaching an intermediate level in skiing. If Katrina and her sister didn’t take this ski camp, who knows how long it would have taken before they got new ski poles that were more appropriate for them? The short poles definitely slowed their progress.
Consider Using A Coach In Your Areas Of Interest
This is why personal coaching can be so useful as it helps speed up progress by having somebody who has been successful in an area to help you. If you want to get better at something this year in 2012 no matter what area it is, consider the use of a personal coach.
If you think that this is the year that you would want to consider getting some help in achieving some life goals for example, check out the various personal development resources and coaching programs I recently launched.
And since I do spend quite a lot of time during the winter to teach snow skiing (so I can participate in one of my passions for free), it is possible to have me as a ski instructor if you live in southern Ontario. Just check out the ski trips I’m scheduled to go on through the Toronto Ski Meetup group for more details.
