Greatinstructing.com
Ski Instructor Training Program
Under construction coming December 25 2025
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Instructing
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Teaching skiing is very creative, everyone is different and they learn in their own unique way. Figuring out how to help them is an exciting challenge.​
The season is from December to March for most instructors with the holidays and weekends being very busy. Weekdays can be slow at non-destination resorts, and extreme cold or rain will slow business down. Most instructors teach for about three seasons as a hobby.
There are perks like season passes and other discounts, but a passion to help people learn makes teaching fun. It takes knowledge, patience, empathy, ability, confidence, energy, self awareness, a fun personality, and attention to your customers needs.
Lessons
There are group and private lessons teaching children, adults, or a combination.
The majority of lessons are beginners and skiers without a lot of experience.
Lessons are usually an hour, multiple hours, or full day long.
Customers
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Customers will be a wide range of ages, abilities, fitness levels, with different goals and expectations.
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Some people learn very fast what it will take others days to learn.
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Less fit people may have a hard time skiing for an hour and others can easily ski all day. Seventy three percent of skiers ski less than six times a season. Only seven percent of skier visits involve lessons. Only 19 percent of first timers become skiers.
Expectations
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Many first timers expect skiing will be quick and easy to learn and can be disappointed when they realize it will take time and practice. Bigger runs can be their only goal. You will help them understand how to improve.
Others will lack confidence and be fearful, they require a much slower pace.
Parents and friends may expect a lesson will make their child or friend able to ski with them on harder runs. You will help them understand where and what practice is needed.
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Some expect learning to be quick and easy, others worry it they will not be able to do it.
​​Fun
The goal is to have fun and create a passion for skiing. It is important that you like to help others learn and have a great personality so people enjoy being with you. Look customers in the eye and smile. Be friendly, confident, and enthusiastic. Imagine they are your friends and you are having a fun skiing adventure.
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To learn to ski well is like learning gymnastics, a progression in skills. But most think it is a fun activity tubing that they just go do. You have to try to balance they type of customer you have and their expectations with safety considerations and educate them as much as possible along the way that there Ski Moves that need to be learned in addition to the thrill of going faster.
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Top down for safety
Younger kids and kids who have skied with parents will often have a hard time and will just want to go fast because that is what is fun for them. It can be hard to get kids off the tails of their skis, so you may have to have them use natural moves like turning their shoulders and leaning in the turn if it is the only way they can slow down by the end of the lesson. Make sure they and the parent know they used the back up natural approach to be safe. But they need to replace top down with bottom up skiing.
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Questions
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Get as much information as possible before the lesson. Ask if they are athletic, do they participate in related sports like ice skating or rollerblading, do they expect that it will be easy or hard.
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Children may not want to take a lesson, be comfortable with strangers, and may not even want to ski. Bring a lot of energy and get them talking. You can ask about siblings, pets, friends, if mom and dad ski, sports, hobbies, school, vacations, video games, or anything that gets to relax open up.​ Pay close attention to what your customers need and ask if you are not sure.
Clothes and gear
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It is hard to have fun if they are not comfortable. Be sure they are dressed properly for the weather, they can be underdressed or overdressed. Look for helmets, goggles or sunglasses, sunscreen, neck gaiter, proper layers, zipped up, jackets, and warm gloves.
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Be sure their boots are not too tight or loose and their pants are not stuffed in the top. Ask if they have just one pair of socks and if the boots are painful. Many will have wrinkles in their socks and the boots are buckled too tight. If they can't flex their ankles, loosen the top buckles. Toe warmers may be needed if it is very cold.
Pace
Go at a pace the is fun without creating fear. Some people need to go very slow and will take much longer to learn. Others learn very fast and can become bored if you are going too slow. Watch to see how they are doing, if you can not tell, ask them.
In group lessons there are usually differences in ability, so assign different tasks to the stronger students and give more help to the slower ones. In an hour lesson you will have to get on the hill quicker than what would be ideal and some people will not get there. Tools that help skiers slow down are useful.
Natural moves
People use natural moves for skiing which are leaning back, turning their shoulders and hips, and leaning inside the turn. These moves are opposite skiing moves which are a challenge to learn and maintain. Leaning back on a slope is the biggest problem and it causes more turning with the shoulders and hips, and that causes more leaning in the turn.
Each time the slope gets steeper, the speed increases, or the snow conditions get more challenging, the natural moves try to replace skiing moves.
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What to teach
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How far you get in the first lesson depends on how long the lesson is and the ability of the customer. Most beginners can work on stopping and turning in the first lesson, but that can be difficult for slower learners in an hour lesson.
The most basic skiing move is continuously moving downhill over the skis as they turn. It is challenging to develop this offensive flow into the next turn. The skiing moves are developing an-
1- Athletic stance and ankle flex
2- Turning from the ground up
3- Moving overt the turn
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Provides clear goals as a score to develop Ski Moves. They visually guide skiers in short bytes like playing a video game. Sending customers who book online the Before Skiing to help them prepare for more success before their lesson.
How to teach
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1- Provide a simple explanation and a demonstration.
2- Pay attention and make sure they are doing it, provide specific feedback while they perform or right after they finish, it takes a lot of concentration. ​For more advanced lessons, you can provide feedback from behind while they ski, or have them follow you. First time lessons require a lot of interaction verbal instruction before during and after the customer performs. Customers often can not find the right position without physical interaction and support to prevent accidents or falling.
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3- One hour lessons for beginners require a lot of decisions about how fast you can go. Often a customer can not make it to turning, so you need to give them a plan about what to do and where to ski after the lesson, making sure they know to be able to do good turns before going to more challenging runs. Talk to their parents and friends so they understand what is next.
​ Turns before terrain
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A big problem when teaching is going to more advanced terrain before the customer is ready. They need to make good turns before going to steeper terrain, think turns before terrain. This means turning from the ground up rather than using the upper body.
It can be hard to get customers to do what you are asking, but going to steeper slopes before they are ready causes them to use natural moves rather than skiing moves. This is how their friends usually teach and it can look like success, but it makes speed control and improving harder. In short one hour long lessons, customers need a lot of information about what and where to practice after the lesson.
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First time skiers
Skiing straight down a slope in an athletic stance is the foundation before turning. Introducing turning can be hard to reach for slow learners in an hour lesson.
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1- On flat ground- 1) walking 2) stepping in a circle 3) making a wedge 4) athletic stance 5) ankle flex Video
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2- Straight run on a slope, maintain an athletic stance, narrow and wide wedges Video
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3- Slight turns starting straight downhill with speed. Use an athletic stance in a small wedge. The pattern is straight turn straight. Keys- gentle slope, athletic stance, narrow wedge, straight downhill with speed, slight turns Video
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Momentum helps the skis turn and keeps the skier moving downhill to start the next turn. This is feeling the flow and developing offensive skiing moves right from the first turns. Skiers learn to make minimal turns and keep their momentum moving downhill with gravity. Big "MO" - let it go - go with the flow.
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4- Make turns by pointing both big toes, or pushing on one big toe then the other, or a combination of pointing and pushing. Try reversing the order pushing then pointing. Turning from the ground up, not turning the shoulders. Bounce on big toe when turning, or touch hand to knee Video
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Practice turning moves in just boots can be done at any point if needed.
5- Make a specific number of small turns. Then large turns. Combine a specific number of small then large turns. Then reverse the order large to small.
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Be sure they can link turns and turn to a stop before going to bigger slopes
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Gradually adding speed can spontaneously match the skis so they are parallel very quickly. Video
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Assign the points for their score
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Intermediate skiing
1- Review athletic stance, ankle flex, small wedge turns, add speed Video
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​Many people will have reinforced natural moves by skiing on the back of their skis and very little ankle flex. A few can change much quicker than most who will need a lot of work. They will be turning with their upper bodies rather than from the ground up.
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2- Make turns stepping on the new outside ski sooner, then smooth down and up moves Video
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3- For more deliberate parallel finishes ski across the hill and turn uphill. Move the uphill side of the body forward as you do it, progressive ankle flex and slide hand to knee so chest moves forward and downhill​. Look for anything that moves the chest back and inside, turning shoulders, leaning uphill, backing up at ankles, knees or waist. This is the most basic exercise in skiing, it is called an uphill christie Video
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4- Add more edging movements on slightly steeper terrain. Do the step and turn foot, step and flex ankle, step and tip upper body downhill drills Video
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5- Add pole touch. Evaluate assign points for score Video
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Advanced skiing
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Good skiing is a matter of execution and precise timing
1- Review athletic stance, ankle flex, and parallel turns intermediate slope Video
Many people will have reinforced natural moves by skiing on the back of their skis and very little ankle flex. They have made them work well in some conditions, but will have trouble skiing slower and making smaller turns.
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2- Uphill christie exercises for progressive ankle flex and edging, inside lead Video
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3- Do opposite and extreme exercises Video
4- Make turns of different sizes and shapes Video
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5- Add speed, steepness, challenging conditions, moguls. Evaluate and assign points Video
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Expert level skiers have slopestyle, freeride, mogul, racing, and other competitions to measure their performance
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