Thursday, February 1, 2007

Balancing Act

At what point does one reach their breaking point? There are plenty of books researching this very question, none addressing it purely from the standpoint of an snow sport instructor. But then again is it really any different?

Best advice for readers with young children (aged 5 - 12) who wish to have a session with an instructor; start earlier in the day.

Why? When most of us are given our first few lessons, we've got plenty of energy and little of the daily frustrations built up. Time and again I can see by the end of the third lesson in a row the energy levels waning from instructors. Sometimes it's because they've had too many classes in a row without a break. More often though is it's simply a lot of work.

Working with younger kids takes a level of excitement and energy that is hard to maintain all day long. Kids pick up on even the slightest change in mood. I'm impressed with pre-k, k, and grade school teachers who can keep their students attention beyond 3 hours. They are very clearly still learning about controlling their limbs and sense of balance.

That's all I can say, earlier lessons. You'll thank me for it.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Welcome to being a parent. By 5:00 PM, I want my kids to go to bed. Screw dinner.

Keep in mind the other part which is the kids. You can only have them at a resort for so long before THEY are tired, hungry, bored, etc. When they are brats, it makes it tougher on the already tired instructor.

My son Jake is 10 and brother Jack is 12. They are seasoned skiers who both are pushing 20 days this year. And by 2:00 PM, they are burnt. They want to sit in the lodge, get a hot chocolate, and chill. You gotta get them at 10:00 AM to get their best effort. By afternoon, they are whiney little brats. I love 'em, but mornings are so much better. They want to nap by the end of a good day skiing.