Skiers with no confidence

Hey Ian

I'm afraid I have to disagree, for people who are having trouble and have fear problems private lessons are definately the way to do. the lesson can go at their pace and the instructor can concentrate on the elements that the student needs to work on. And if the student is not doing so well being in a group can make them feel self concious and stop them from trying.

I really don't like teaching groups that much as I fell that I can't really teach properly. you have to tell people what they have to do to ski, as opposed to telling some what what they need to do to become a skier. As everyone is different, everybody needs different pointers and that can only be given in a private.

I do have to agree with you though Ian, a lot of instructors do think an hours lesson is easy money, and most of them will follow the old european way, bend zee knees and follow me. on the other hand I find a one hour lesson one of the hardist things to do, as you have to try to get the client feeling something new in one hour, now that is hard. and I would say that most of the time a one hour private is a waste of money for that fact. If you can find a good instructor who cares then several two hour privates are the way to go.

I can see Ian's point but private lessons worked for me. I did 1 week of 5 x 2hrs on my own with an instructor. The next year I returned and did the same but with my husband in tow. (He was returning from a very bad broken leg he got skiing.)

Before these lessons I was the archetypal terrified skiier. I knew what I should be doing but couldn't put it into practice. These lessons put the fun into skiing for me and gave me confidence and the knowhow to realise when I should say 'No, I'll skip that run today'.

The lessons were expensive but to me well worth it. I think an hour here and there will never give someone confidence if they lack it. Yet a course of private lessons with one or two learners let's you build up a rapport with the instructor which is essential if you want to progress. Knowing that if I didn't quite get a Manoeuvre that day, I could carry on trying tomorrow got rid of the panic.

Every time I ski I am grateful to Corrado and the 20 hours he suffered with me.

Mekka wrote:I can see Ian's point but private lessons worked for me. I did 1 week of 5 x 2hrs on my own with an instructor. The next year I returned and did the same but with my husband in tow. (He was returning from a very bad broken leg he got skiing.)

Before these lessons I was the archetypal terrified skiier. I knew what I should be doing but couldn't put it into practice. These lessons put the fun into skiing for me and gave me confidence and the knowhow to realise when I should say 'No, I'll skip that run today'.

The lessons were expensive but to me well worth it. I think an hour here and there will never give someone confidence if they lack it. Yet a course of private lessons with one or two learners let's you build up a rapport with the instructor which is essential if you want to progress. Knowing that if I didn't quite get a Manoeuvre that day, I could carry on trying tomorrow got rid of the panic.

Every time I ski I am grateful to Corrado and the 20 hours he suffered with me.

I agree Mekka if you book private lessons like you did 5x2 hrs I can see the benefits, but I also
think that sking in group lessons of same ability will also benefit, what I saw was people comming back from a one hour lesson with no benefit telling me that the instructor said I was skiing well, that is what put doubt in my mind about the benefit of a the one hour lesson.

I can't agree more taking private lessons is the best way forward, but if you are not happy with your instructor just ask at the office for some one else until you are happy, and than try and stick with that instructor, my first instuctor was so hopeless that I even wanted to give up skiing, but thank god I changed him to a brilliant one in Les Menuire and he was fantastic he made me from a scary snow plogue skier to a confident paralel skier, thanks thomas

Forgive me if this has already been raised, i didn't read every word said so far.

But, do these ladies enjoy there skiing?

For me i love it and that drives me on, makes me push myself to be faster, better. It overides that fear factor.

My mrs is just like urs! and i wonder at times if she really enjoys it or just does it to please me.

Ian Wickham wrote:

Mekka wrote:I can see Ian's point but private lessons worked for me. I did 1 week of 5 x 2hrs on my own with an instructor. The next year I returned and did the same but with my husband in tow. (He was returning from a very bad broken leg he got skiing.)

Before these lessons I was the archetypal terrified skiier. I knew what I should be doing but couldn't put it into practice. These lessons put the fun into skiing for me and gave me confidence and the knowhow to realise when I should say 'No, I'll skip that run today'.

The lessons were expensive but to me well worth it. I think an hour here and there will never give someone confidence if they lack it. Yet a course of private lessons with one or two learners let's you build up a rapport with the instructor which is essential if you want to progress. Knowing that if I didn't quite get a Manoeuvre that day, I could carry on trying tomorrow got rid of the panic.

Every time I ski I am grateful to Corrado and the 20 hours he suffered with me.

I agree Mekka if you book private lessons like you did 5x2 hrs I can see the benefits, but I also
think that sking in group lessons of same ability will also benefit, what I saw was people comming back from a one hour lesson with no benefit telling me that the instructor said I was skiing well, that is what put doubt in my mind about the benefit of a the one hour lesson.

I have a problem with skiing in a group of the same ability. I start off the same but I hate it if I drop behind. When I started my second week of skiing I was given the 'ski down the hill test' and placed in the appropriate group. My lack of confidence meant I progressed slower than everyone else and this made my confidence problem even worse.

I'm now at a level where I take an hour or two of private lessons to iron out any bad habits/try something new.

I would never recommend 1 or 2 hours of private lessons to increase confidence in someone who is scared on skis. My advice would be you invest in at least 5-6 hours personal tuition. 1 or 2 hours can be great if you're improving but I can't see that little ever giving anyone, in the same position as I was, any confidence. If anything it can be even more frightening once the instructor has gone and you feel 'on your own' again.

I doubt fear of failure is a big issue for relative beginners - I suspect more experienced skiiers have a tendancy to equate falling with failure but as someone who learned to ski relatively recently along with my wife & teenage daughters "parking it" was viewed as part of skiing rather than failure.
Only being made to feel falling as failure (by others) might this be perceived as failing.

Your mother is going to be older than many new skiiers and will probably progress slower than you and probably hasn't learned new physical skills in a long time and probably has a more acute appreciation of the danger involve in sliding on ice at speed and doesn't yet appreciate that she has the skills to reduce that risk.
Your wife although younger may well not have learned new sports either.

As your technique improves they will become less intimidated by speed, bumps or speed but for some that progression is slow. Technique can be worked upon and practiced. Confidence takes time to gain and can be dented easily.

My wife had a slow speed fall at the end of her first week's skiing & ruptured her ACL (tough cookie - still managed to ski down the mountain) - when she returned to skiing it took her a good 2 weeks before she overcame her fear of Reds - it just took time & work with a good instructor to get her to accept that her technique was good enough and that she had come down steeper & more difficult sections on Blues.

Another factor is that your wife & mother are skiing together and perhaps reinforcing each other's fears & apprehensions. Not sure how you deal with that! Perhaps individual private lessons for both of them may be the way to move on - the skills and reassurance of a good instructor alone who will focus on what they can do as much as what they can't will help.

They won't feed on each other's apprehension or feel pushed by you (even if you were Franz Klammer your wife and mother are the two people who would the least likely to take your advice!)
Whilst they do their lessons you get to play too.

But, do these ladies enjoy there skiing?

I should point out that my other half has only been the once. Unfortunately it looks like it's going to stay that way as she definitely isn't coming this year.
Mum however is coming again, which will be equivilent to her 5th week. In all honesty I don't know if she does enjoy it! She enjoys the holidays but the last couple of seasons she's ended the week disappointed that she didn't push herself further and give things more of a go.

Your mother is going to be older than many new skiiers and will probably progress slower than you

This isn't the point I'm trying to make. I know she'll progress slower than me! I'm not after her joining me on the blacks or anything, I just want her to have a go and enjoy the skiing. My first week, as I'm sure it is for many, was all snow plough, slow speeds and falling over - what it wasn't was one go down the green then sitting out for a couple of hours stressing about it - that's the issue - how does someone overcome that fear. It probably doesn't help in Mum's case that Dad, who started at the same time as her, DOES join us on the blacks, which is why I don't think it's an age/physical thing but a psycological issue.

From the replies so far it would seem one way or another lessons is what has/will bring about self-belief and confidence and the will to keep trying.

Thanks to everyone who has replied and put up a suggestion or two. I knew it was going to be a thread where opinions differed in places but it's handy to have a bit of an insight into other people's experiences.

Once January rolls around I'll let you know how it went - if I remember!


Cheers all, Ryan