Student patch lessons 2024

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Classes run from January 2 to February 16. It could be delayed a week with bad weather or extended week or two if there are weather cancellations.

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​The times will be the 5-6 pm Monday and Tuesdays, and at 7 pm on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. You will have the same class the whole season. Team teaching will be used for the first-time beginners until the kids can get on and off the rope.

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Students earn a patch to control what runs they can use; they must be at least seven years old. There are no lesson tickets to collect, but as always you will hand out cards for the patches the students earn.

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Act professional with discipline problems. Imagine the parent is always there, anything you say will get back to them. Finish on time and bring kids back from Quicksilver if it is their first time over there.

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Keep students safe along the edge of the runs. Watch for traffic before having the ski. In case of an accident; shelter the injured student, send and call for help from ski patrol, don't move the student, look for any witnesses, talk about the details only with ski patrol and the ski school director.

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​                                                          Evaluations

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If we start January 2, the first two weeks will involve a lot of evaluation and reorganizing because a lot of kids are still on vacation the first week.

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Students will line up at the flags. Some may only have signed up for one of the four groups below and will need help figuring out where to go. Help parents find the right group.

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​First time

Beginners- kids with green and yellow patches

Intermediate- brown, blue, red, working on orange

Advanced- white and working on black

 

​Split the group at your flag between the two or three instructors who are teaching that level, each instructor should have 8. 

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First time group evaluation tasks    

1- Walking- can they walk using poles

2- Stepping in a circle

3- Side stepping

4- Herringbone

5- Skating

6- Make a wedge- statically

7- Athletic stance- statically

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​Higher level groups with experience, ask who has not skied yet this year and do 2 or 3 warm up runs. They may have grown, be on new equipment, and the snow may be heavy so they will need warm up time.

The leaders meet after evaluations and build a strong and weak group. If there is a third group, it could be a middle group or another strong or weak group. Record the name of your students to report to Andy. Some students ski more each week with their parents and others just learn faster, so adjustments will need to be made during program.

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​Beginner tasks

1- Ask who has used the chair.  

2- Side stepping, herringbone, skating

3- Ski the yellow course on the rope tow in an athletic stance and turning with the feet not the shoulders

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​Intermediate tasks

​1- Ask who has skied on Quicksilver

2- Side step, herringbone, and skating

3- Ski the yellow course on chair one in athletic stance, turning the feet not their shoulders, matching their skis so they are parallel before the brush or after.

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​Advanced

​1- Make parallel turns with a pole touch

2- Herringbone, skate, side slip

3- Ski the brown course on Cedar Bowl, athletic stance turning the feet not banking or turning the shoulders, if crowded ski next to the course. Watch for racers if using phase one.  

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                                                      Grading requirements

 

All must be done in an athletic stance using the feet to turn, not turning the shoulders 

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1- Green patch- get on and off the rope, ski the green brush course, wedge stop at the end.

​2- Yellow- big and small turns, point the big toes or push on them to turn, ski the course on top of chair one, and turn to a stop at the end.

​3- Brown- same course as yellow with matching in the second half, turn to a stop with skis parallel 

4- Blue- ski the Cedar Bowl course with skis parallel before the brush.

5- Red- parallel turn with pole touch

6- Orange- park etiquette, and Park SMART for safety

7- White- larger skidded parallel turns

8- Black- small turns, moguls, and wall

 

Grading overview for patches through red- video  

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                                                                               Overall goals

 

Students in this program may ski as few as seven times a season. Their parents want them to be safe and learn to ski better. The students often just want to ski with their friends and family on hills where they do not have good control yet. They have skied on terrain they were not ready for before being able to turns well, so they reinforce their natural moves to the point they are habits that are hard to change.

The big challenge will be getting them more forward, out of a wedge, and turning with their feet rather than rotating and banking. Go back and review as far as necessary using the flatter parts of the runs off on chair one and Quicksilver if they are on chairs. 

 

Practice statically, and use a gliding wedge to work on stance doing the same drills you would with beginners, and focus on turning with the feet in a narrow wedge not turning the shoulders.

 

Early weight transfer and down and up motion will help with their matching. Uphill christies will help the second half of their turns. Visit the exercise page for ideas- here     

 

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                                                                         Class content

                                                                    

                                                                  1- Green Patch

 

Goals 

 

1- Athletic stance

2- Gliding wedges and wedge stop

3- Gliding wedge to turns using the feet

 

Before using the lift

 

Smile, speak loud. Check clothing and ask if boots hurt.

                                                            

 1- Warm up exercises- Walk to the beginner area on one ski or no skis if necessary. Do flat work such shuffle feet forward and back, step in a circle, step and then slide into a wedge, do one ski at a time if necessary, make big and small wedges. 

 

2- Athletic stance- stand tall, put hands in front like holding a lunch tray and pole tips pointing back, bounce with the weight on the balls of feet and chest over the toes, stop bouncing and that is the athletic stance. 

 

Step from foot to foot 

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Rock forward and back to the start by flexing just the ankles

 

Getting into an athletic stance will be a constant challenge for them each time they: are on a slope, the hill gets steeper, they go higher, or faster, and you will need to provide verbal feedback and make corrections. This will take a lot concentration and feedback from you.

 

3- Straight run- side step and slide down a small slope focusing on their athletic stance, make verbal corrections: hands up, look ahead, stand on the balls of your feet, chest over toes.

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Using the carpets

 

The bottom instructor helps students walk onto the carpet, maintain the proper spacing, provides feedback, and help students get up. Check for ice on the bottom of skis that will not slide, scrape off using the other ski.

 

The instructor on top has skis off ready to assist if they need help getting off the carpet, then they help the student get set up and ski. You must work quick, physically position the students if they need help.

 

There is not a lot of time before the next student so get them going quickly and be aware of where the next student is. Stand perpendicular to them in an athletic stance as you verbally coach them: hands up, look ahead, chest over toes and stand up on toes. Shape their behavior with positive reinforcement as soon as they get it: "good that is it!" Point the big toes at each other and push heels apart.

 

If it is fast and icy make sure they start in a wedge at the start. You can hold the tips of their skis and position them in a wedge if necessary, or support their hips and use your feet to make a wedge for them. Students may need to start with skis parallel and get a push behind their hips if it is slow.

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Gliding wedges

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Make at least 5 runs of gliding wedges-

 

1- One gliding wedge in an athletic position, five verbal feedback, hands up, look ahead, stand on toes, chest over the toes. Make sure they are not flexing back at ankles, over flexing their knees, or leaning too far forward or back at the waist.  

 

2- Bouncing with the weight on the toes and the chest over the toes. Make sure their ankles are flexing. Do slow and faster bounces.

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3- Flex forward at the ankles and back to the athletic stance

 

4- Wedge change ups- go from straight run to a gliding wedge several times in a row. 

Correct common problems like pushing knees together rather than feet apart, crossing the tips from unequal weight on one ski or pushing one ski into a wedge harder than the other.

 

5- Braking wedges with a little speed then increase the speed. Be sure they stay in an athletic stance and do not lean back as the speed increases. 

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Rope Tow 

 

Use the rope when they are ready. Demonstrate lining up close to the rope with the skis pointing uphill and slowly squeeze the rope, step the skis across the hill as you let go. With skis across the hill point the knees toward the top of the hill to make the edges bite and keep from sliding down the hill. Use poles to turn skis downhill and get in an athletic position.

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The bottom instructor helps kids walk to the rope, get set up, and start moving. Then keep the proper big spacing. Provide feedback and help students get up if they fall.

 

The instructor on top has skis off and helps students exit, get set up in an an athletic stance and ski.  

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Gliding wedge turns using the feet

 

Introduce turning by skiing in a gliding wedge (athletic stance, small wedge) going straight downhill to build speed for three seconds, very slightly point the big toes one way, then point them at the bottom to go straight for three seconds, and then point them the other way. The pattern is straight, turn, straight, turn.

 

If there is time have them try the other way to turn. With a gliding wedge with speed have them push on one big toe to turn, go straight, then push on the other big toe.

 

Grading  

 

Tell each student what they should work on after their grading, they must be able to:

 

1- Use the rope tow

2- Do a gliding wedge with speed to a wedge stop

3- Ski the green patch brush course and make a wedge stop at the end. They must be in an athletic stance and turn with their feet, not turning their shoulders.

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Ending the lesson 

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1- Tell them that they must ski in control so they can stop and turn around skiers below them.

2- Brief review of athletic stance, wedge stops and turns

3- Let them know where they can ski

 

Be sure they know how to take off the skis to get up. How to put them across the hill and reset the heel of the binding to put on

Tell them where to get their patch.

                                                   

                                                            2- Yellow 

                                             

Goals

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1- Try two ways to turn, pointing both big toes, and pushing on one big toe then the other.

2- Make big turns and small turns

3- Link turns to a stop 

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Review

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1- Athletic stance (hands like holding tray, weight on toes and chest over toe) 

 

2- Gliding wedges

 

3- Turns starting in a gliding wedge straight downhill with speed for three seconds, then make slight turns. If they have problems be sure they are:

- In an athletic stance

- Using a narrow wedge

- Building speed straight downhill for at least three seconds before trying to turn

- Making just a slight turn

- Going straight downhill before turning in the other direction.

 

The pattern is straight, turn, straight, turn

 

Not doing any of these can cause them to turn their shoulders rather than their feet.

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Better wedge turns

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1- Two ways to turn- pointing the big toes or pushing on one big toe then the other. Some may need to combine both ways. Try pushing and pointing, then the other order, pointing then pushing. 

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Practice statically before skiing. Face the same direction as the students and be sure they know what toe you want them to push on first. Flex the ankle like kneeling down when pushing on the big toe; be sure they do not move the knee in to edge it, move the hip out to flatten the ski, or bend the knee rather than the ankle.

 

2- Two size turns- Make the moves slower for bigger turns and faster for smaller turns. Give them a specific number of turns to make, such as 4, or 6. Then change the size of the turns, so make just 3 bigger turns in a given space if they are making 6. Make 3 small turns followed by 3 large turns. Then reverse, 3 large then 3 small. Start in a gliding wedge with speed and quickly push on one big toe then the other to make very small turns.

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Bounce three times on each big toe to turn. Be sure they are flexing their akle first before their knee.   

 

3- Turn to a stop in each direction. Tell them the more they turn across the hill the slower they go. Watch as they do this they will naturally want to rotate their shoulder and bank which is leaning inside the turn. 

 

Chair lift

 

Teach them how to use chair 1 when they are ready. Let the lift operator know it is their first time. Pole straps off, wait for the chair to pass, walk to stand on the board, poles in inside hand, outside hand grabs the chair and sit, keep tips up to unload, poles ready in each hand, stand up on the ramp, ski off in an athletic stance, move away from the exit and wait for the class to get up. Have your partner go up last to make sure they all make it. Know how many kids you have.

  

Grading

 

Tell each student what they should work on after their grading, they must be able to:

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1- Ski the Yellow brush course on chair one

2- Turn to a stop in both directions 

3- Ski in an athletic stance using their feet, not turning their shoulders and leaning inside the turn

 

End the lesson by:

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1- Telling them to ski in control

2- A review of athletic stance, and turns

3- Tell them where they should ski (not beyond the beginner chair)

 

 

                                                                3- Brown

                                                       

Goals

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1- Athletic stance on a steeper slope

2- Turning with the feet on a steeper slope

3- Matching the skis in second part of the turn

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Review

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May be good to first use the rope if they have not skied this season. Most will be on the back of their skis and turning with their shoulders not their feet. Do a review like in yellow with gliding wedges and the first turns to improve their stance and turning from the ground up. Review any other yellow content to improve turning. 

                                                             

Matching

 

Try both ways, spontaneous and active. 

 

1- Spontaneous- on a flatter slope by the ropes, use a very narrow gliding wedge with more speed. The larger forces will help to match the skis parallel.

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2- Active- stand in a narrow wedge across the hill and touch the downhill knee and then actively match the skis. Do it in motion with a flat traverse and then a steeper traverse. Do it in the other direction. Then link turns. Touching the hand to the knee when skiing in the course will help with the matching.

 

​Grading

 

Tell each student what they should work on after their grading, they must be able to:

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1- Ski the brush course on Cedar Bowl in an athletic stance

2- Turn with their feet not shoulders

3- Match the skis so they are parallel in the second part of the turn

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End the lesson by:

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1- Telling them to ski in control

2- Review athletic stance and matching the skis

3- Tell them where to ski, up to Quicksilver