Skiers with no confidence

Yeah, what I mean is migrating the naturalness.

Dave Mac wrote:Yeah, what I mean is migrating the naturalness.

On that note, take the focus off ski technique by finding interesting, and fun beginner runs. Find a resort with long, and winding green runs, maybe tree lined, with lots of little twists and turns. Must be totally easy, and doable for them, but because it's fun, they won't notice that they are skiing. You might have to sacrifice the big mountain destinations for a while though.

Don't worry the more you practice the better you will ski, so your confidence will grow, just keep on skiing and take some more lessons, just don't give up its very normal

Hi Tony and others

You have to remember its not about speed, you may be in you car skidding on ice at only 10mph and feel completly out of control, however you would on the other hand you would feel quite comfortable doing 80+mph on a motorway on a dry clear day, someone will only start to go that bit faster when they feel they are in control and that with most will only come with the correct technique and understanding, remember the brain will always tell us to do the opposite to what we need to do. for instance if you are on a steeper run and you are nervous you will enter the turn slowly not wanting to speed up. this whole process will make you go faster re-confirming you are not in control and you enter a vicious circle. every turn you do you end up going fasteer again re-confirming that you are not in control and so therefore making you enter the next turn slow again, and agan you go fast. once you can start to explain and demonstrate that by entering a turn fast you will be able to go much slower, then you can start to change the physcology of the "patient"and get them feeling like they are in control (of course the sre many other elements that need to be put in place as well)but lots of little pointers like the one above will help. although that technique is not what the brain will tell you to do. once those elements have been put into place the skier will naturally start to go a little faster.

Lessons, Lesson,Lessons and Lessons 8)

Hey guys, some wise words there, especially piste2powder (you can tell you've done a course!) )

The way you've explained the two types of fear makes perfect sense and it would seem to be the fear of falling that's the issue with both. My wife is pretty self conscious at the best of times :? and I think it's the fear of falling but probably moreso the getting up again and being like a turtle on its back right under a chairlift full of people apparently glaring down, pointing and laughing - not the case at all, but you tell her that!! Dear old mother as I mentioned I think has hang ups from bouncing down the mountain on her a**e when they tried snowboarding.

Do either of them have friends who are older and would like to have a try at skiing?

Yes. My wife's first season was a group where all bar two of us were beginners and everyone started at the same time and level with the same lessons and instructors etc (had fun organising that!). Didn't seem to make much difference! Mum's been on the two four day trips with friends of theirs who are good skiers (and snowboardists, who took them on the doomed trip a few years back!) and they will be joining us this year.

Tony_H, that's kind of how I feel, you try everything but end up feeling frustrated yourself and like you're dedicating more of your holiday trying to guide and encourage them than you do to actually skiing yourself!! But it's not nice having to separate the group.

Lessons, Lesson,Lessons and Lessons

Correct and that has and will be done! Thing is I remember Mum last year booked up for a private lesson or two but then had the cheek to say she hadn't really learnt anything new!!! :shock:

TBH I'm really not that fussed about how good either of them are or get, I just want them to keep TRYING at whatever level and to enjoy it - at the moment neither of them seem to enjoy it, which is just madness! As you all say practice makes perfect. I remember my first week with a couple of mates all of us falling over every few yards (one just putting his skis on before we'd even made it to the bunny slopes!) and the elation of finally conquering that mighty green run without falling the first time! All that's changed now is that the slopes are bigger, faster, steeper and longer, the crashes are less frequent but far more spectacular!! :lol: But after every fall, we laughed at/with each other, got up and did it again.

I think myself that the problem here is expecting a bunch of people to be able to ski in a group, just because they're all members of the same family.

I think it's much better to match people up with others of the same ability to ski together and leave family time to lunchtime and after ski-ing, especially when the group has started at such different levels.

It's very frustrating for those below and above the average level of the group to try ski-ing together. I mean, imagine what the post from the wife and mother would say about this. I guess it would be something like - 'Why can't we all ski on the green or nursery slopes. I don't like the steep frightening ones.' (A blue slope can seem very steep to a beginner).

I would also guess that at some point they've been 'over faced' with something too difficult for them and they've lost confidence. I know someone who was doing a great job ski-ing on blues until her well meaning boyfriend and family group put her on a red and nearly frightened her to death. She's gone right off ski-ing now.

If I had a family member I cared about and wanted to encourage, in this situation, I'd suggest they went back to a beginner's group lesson (so they could gain confidence by being the best in the lesson) and after the lessons I'd ski with them on the nursery slopes myself and amuse myself by ski-ing backwards or holding onto the tips of my skis or any of the other daft exercises.

As DaveMac and Trencher say, it's really important to have fun. I find myself my ski-ing goes to pieces when I'm frightened - I go all rigid. As I said somewhere else, I ski much better when we're all telling jokes and having a laugh.

I hope you all get through this and eventually resolve the situation, even if it means finding a resort where those who don't want to ski can find something else they enjoy doing.

Edit

Sorry Ryanh1418 - I didn't see your latest until after I'd posted mine.

Ally

ryanh1418 wrote:Hey guys, some wise words there, especially piste2powder (you can tell you've done a course!) )

The way you've explained the two types of fear makes perfect sense and it would seem to be the fear of falling that's the issue with both. My wife is pretty self conscious at the best of times :? and I think it's the fear of falling but probably moreso the getting up again and being like a turtle on its back right under a chairlift full of people apparently glaring down, pointing and laughing - not the case at all, but you tell her that!! Dear old mother as I mentioned I think has hang ups from bouncing down the mountain on her a**e when they tried snowboarding.

Do either of them have friends who are older and would like to have a try at skiing?

Yes. My wife's first season was a group where all bar two of us were beginners and everyone started at the same time and level with the same lessons and instructors etc (had fun organising that!). Didn't seem to make much difference! Mum's been on the two four day trips with friends of theirs who are good skiers (and snowboardists, who took them on the doomed trip a few years back!) and they will be joining us this year.

Tony_H, that's kind of how I feel, you try everything but end up feeling frustrated yourself and like you're dedicating more of your holiday trying to guide and encourage them than you do to actually skiing yourself!! But it's not nice having to separate the group.

Lessons, Lesson,Lessons and Lessons

Correct and that has and will be done! Thing is I remember Mum last year booked up for a private lesson or two but then had the cheek to say she hadn't really learnt anything new!!! :shock:

TBH I'm really not that fussed about how good either of them are or get, I just want them to keep TRYING at whatever level and to enjoy it - at the moment neither of them seem to enjoy it, which is just madness! As you all say practice makes perfect. I remember my first week with a couple of mates all of us falling over every few yards (one just putting his skis on before we'd even made it to the bunny slopes!) and the elation of finally conquering that mighty green run without falling the first time! All that's changed now is that the slopes are bigger, faster, steeper and longer, the crashes are less frequent but far more spectacular!! :lol: But after every fall, we laughed at/with each other, got up and did it again.

I'm not quite sure if a private lesson is the answer,I am not an Instructor but I have skied long enough to see someones faults, I haver seen these faults in people and they have gone off for a private lesson and the faults were not highlighted by the instructor!!! I think some instructors look at an hours lesson as easy money.
I really prefer group lessons every day until you get to a certain level and then use private lessons to polish off your technique.