Beeing a good skier is one thing, but beeing a good ski instructor requires a whole different set of skills. I really admire how you gently lead the way while paying attention to her comfort level and sense of accomplishment. Greetings from Carpathian mountains, Romania! 🇷🇴 Can't wait to see your next video!
@@DebArmstrongSkiStrong You're very welcome Deb! I am a resort trainer and instructor at Ski Santa Fe. I love using your videos for inspiration and to get teaching ideas especially for my upper level women's program classes. I have fond memories of some of the race clinics you coached back in the day at our home area! Keep those great videos coming!
This is a great teaching video as usual for Deb Armstrong. I like how she teaches as she skis behind her student. Always giving positive feedback and encouragement. I have skied most of my life and I was Tennis coach and Teaching Professional for many years so I really appreciate Deb’s teaching style. She definitely has a gift for communicating and demonstrating.
Appreciate the compliment Thomas and glad you appreciate my style. Positive reinforcement is how I communicate for change. It works, is wonderful for the relationship between instructor and student, it feels right and is FUN!!!!! Sounds like you can relate. Very cool.
I love how you mention how it feels in your feet. So many skiers - up through the intermediate level try to ski with their upper bodies and end up rotating through the turn. They think that they need to turn their skis instead of making the ski turn. I like to tell people that skiing happens in your feet.
2:04 "Every body part plays a role". 2:15 "Now your inside knee flexes more". What a wonderful way to introduce awareness of this key movement in this circumstance.
I will go next week to learn skiing for the first time, and I think I have learned a lot from your videos , Thank You 🙏 Greetings From a small country Kosovo 🇽🇰
Thank you, this is so helpful. I have not skied in 20 years, my husband has not skied in 40 years, and we have decided we are going to take up skiing this year. We feel like we have a head start now, and we do plan to take lessons. He is from Washington and remembers you winning the gold medal and the Mahre brothers also winning medals too. One of the biggest regrets of his life was giving up skiing in 1981 after an injury, but he said this is the year!
Deb, I started instructing last year after skiing for 50 years. My new colleagues and I agree that your videos are terrific! I no longer need to learn how to ski, but I do need to learn how to be a better teacher, and you are a great model. Muchas gracias!
On week 5 of teaching my 9yr old daughter. I was a ski instructor when I was in high school, these videos help me SO much in re-training myself as well as advancing her abilities. The video of you posted from Aplental brought back many memories as that is where I learned to ski (44yrs ago).
Deb, I really like your beginner videos. In #3 you were on the first chairlift w a beginner (which is what I was waiting to hear what you taught) and yet the video cut to being OFF the lift, rather than the getting off. I’m 58 and skiing again after 20yrs… My mental issue has always been that I fall in the getting off the chairlift. In my 1st lesson recently he had me getting off the lift just fine as long as we slowed the lift down. The one time we went normal speed I fell HARD, hit my back and helmet and even cried a little (which I think was more outta frustration than pain). I’ve searched RU-vid for vids on getting OFF the chair w grace…but most infer it’s ‘simple’ and really doesn’t take much technique. I’ll never progress w this block about lifts. Any help you offer?? Thanks in advance :)
I think why everyone says its easy its because its basically like skiing at all. Maybe this tips help you for this season: 1. keep your poles both in 1 hand. 2. stand straight (like Deb Armstrong said in the videos, when u squad/sit down in the ski you loose control) - This was a key thing for me getting of the lift. Cause you come from a sitting situation and if you are uncomfortable and stressed you dont focus enough of breaking this "muscle memory" because its more comfortable to sit four you as a beginner then it is skiing 3. with the hand not holding the poles: Give it a little push from the lift. And basically you should find yourself in a situation which isn't much different from skiing a flat slope and gliding out of the lift area. Like Boss 😎 Wish you all the best. Keep up the work. Its worth it 💪🏼
As a ski instructor I am always looking for tips and tricks. The problem where I teach is that we have no in between slopes from the magic carpet to the first "easy" green slope, being that the first slope we take them down is closer to a blue. And our magic carpet run is so short that they are lucky if they can get 2 turns in, and we usually have to run behind and push the student to get some speed. (You can't turn if you can't move). I would love to have the slope you took this student down, gentle enough to not scare the student, and gentle enough not to have a run away student. This was a great teaching video for both students and instructors.
Ive watched countless of videos online. I came across yours and watched them a few times. Next time I went skiing I was able to finally nail my turns and slides. I can now go down steep hills confidently . Your videos has changed my skiing experience forever. I want to thank you for explaining it in the most simplest form. I thank you for your passion & knowledge. Your an amazing teacher and your truly one of the best!
Deb I love how you are always so positive with your students. That is a real key thing when teaching someone anything. Pulling out the good things first then giving a bit of constructive criticisms. Makes the student feel good about themselves and that in turn results in easier learning of a skill.
Thank you. I watched a few of your videos before skiing the other day and I was able to ski much better than I had previously. The comparison to cycling was particularly helpful.
Outstanding instructor Deb !!! I am an instructor of another sport and love your style of teaching. (Mine is kind of the same and probably why I picked up on skiing easy as well). Patience, thought provoking, total awareness, and full explanation of WHY and most of all, CONFIDENCE in the student !.... By the way, I learned how to ski virtually by watching your instruction. Five times out and I'm taking blue runs after a warmup run on an easy trail. No falls last three times out and I'm 100 % confident in my abilities and skill but not getting cocky about it... Instruction and study on line is great, but nothing beats having a one on one instruction. Thank you so much for what you do ! If I ever get in the area, I'll have to schedule a session with you.
My three top exercises for teaching my friends are: 1) Side slip: the most important. Teaches edge control and gives them an early sensation if parallel skiing and how the edges work. It’s also very useful to descend steep slopes. I also show them how to rotate to move forwards and backwards whilst doing side slip. 2) skating: it’s like swaying side to side. Using a backwards plow, you push off from one leg to the other. do this on flats or shallow descents. It’s a great way to learn how to balance on one ski and you can try and hold on one leg for longer. Great for cleaner parallel turns and working your way into dolphin turns and carving. Also very useful to move forward efficiently and quickly on the flats. 3) the double tap: perfect way to break out of snowplow turns. When doing a snowplow turn, as you initiate it, lift your inside (uphill) leg and tap it twice. You only need to lift the back it the ski. The tip can stay scudding along. Tap it two or three times and suddenly all your weight transfers to the outside ski and you execute a parallel slide turn. The side slip and skating will feed into this. I swear by these exercises! They are highly effective and very fun.
I agree a 100%. Another useful exercise is the hockey stop such that people can get a feel of how fast they can stop with that in contrast to snow plow. Takes away the fear of not being able to stop
@@boahgeil465 i forgot to add that to side slip! Hockey stops are great yeah. Best way to start to learn them is through side slip as you already in a parallel slide
Great tips/advice thank you for this I appreciate all these videos! Any chance we will be seeing intermediate moving to advanced in trying to up my skill level!!
Kelly as good motrice in her body...she will progress well as long she will practice what you explained..bike mentioning is a good skill to learn and use in skiing..👋
I really like your way of explaining and teaching, I keep this in mind during my outings! I would love to have some slopes like this to train but here they are a bit steeper 😭😅 However great explanations!
Statrted to learn skiing last winter and now as the season has finished I started to watch your videos again. Really love these videos with Kelly as there are so many subtle descriptions and instructions that help me to make sense of skiing on my level 👏🏼🥳. Thanks for those videos Deb and looking forward to more beginner/intermediate level videos 😊
Love the video ! I’m still learning ! Will try some of these tips in a couple of weeks. Wished for a bit longer video so I could see how she ski down .
This is why beginner skiers can never progress. Instructors cannot teach the one fundamental skill they need to be good. They waste so much time on getting to parallel which is completely useless in the beginning. The instructor says your legs are so active, all of that turn came from the legs which cannot be further from the truth. She is turning her whole body as a single unit, which will forever hold her back and continue to ingrain bad habits.
As a ski instructor it is very helpful to see you posting videos like this and I learnt a lot by watching you teaching a typical beginner skier aspiring to make beautiful parallel turns. I really like how you were able to blend in all the essential technical elements into this lesson and make the student aware of that. No matter what level we ski at the basic elements should be the same.
I've been religiously watching your beginner videos and went out by myself on the bunny hill the other day for the first time in skis, just remembering what you said. I fell a couple times and it made me think I've not seen anyone fall on your videos as of yet. Does that not happen with your beginners?
Great video. More please! I normally do not steer with my feet, I have been edging (and pressure on/off, etcetera) - today I had a lesson and the instructor wanted me to flatten my skis (esp inside one as I come into parallel) and steer a little more with my feet. I never feel like flattened skis are the right thing (especially since I east coast ski and sometimes feel I need to edge into ice for safety), and never thought I ought to be really "steering" with feet (also I thought the rotation ought come from hip/femur area and initiate there but maybe that is philosophically different approach?). But he said its okay with non-carving short turns to have flatter skis. Still I am unclear about this as I thought it is the right thing to do to be edging (and not keeping skis flat?)... Anyway, I look forward to part 3 and 4 (or whatever videos) and see how you address this with this student. If you have any answer you could share with me here about all that, that would be great as well -- but either way all good!! Big fan of your teaching and the subtleties and details. Thank you Deb Armstrong!
Yes, in this video I talk about edging skills and flattening ones skis is an edging skill. There are many times someone needs to de-edge, or flatten the skis somewhat. basic parallel is one, side slipping another, in moguls another. It all depends on the exact situation.
I like what Deb does but I also think with adult and older youth say 14-18 years of age a dialog about why the skis do what they do ( i.e.; they are designed to turn) is very important in teaching. In other words what I teach is the Why before the How. Most adult skiers with low level technique are clueless about how the physics of what the skis are designed for but when I explain it to them the light bulb of understanding goes off in their heads and I more than generally have great teaching experience and happy student!
Yes, so very important to handle every person differently depending on how they learn best and the content that will facilitate their learning best. Take care!!
At this stage who cares if she has dropped hands? Even a lot of high level racers do this. Dave Lyon even points out dropped hands as being one of his few bad habits. The biggest breath of fresh air at this point is that her ski pole baskets are behind her not pointed out forward in a bracing position. This type of content is really helpful for people who learned the basics very intuitively and quickly. What an absolute joy it is to get some ski instruction inspiration from an Oregonian and Washingtonian ski racing legend.
Way to go, Deb for you, and your students. Kelly appears relaxed and good listener, and it serves the purpose. Sides slips are golden to keep practicing and bringing riding de bike into skiing is a very good cross over exercise to keep in mind. 🤗
Hi Deb. I started skiing at Snoqualmie when I was young. I came back as an adult and work up at Alpental now. Love the legacy you left. Armstrong to chair 2 run is my favorite.
I can’t wait to get back on the mountain! You and Kelly inspired me to work more on my side-slipping, ugh, haha. I also really liked the idea that the “shortness” of the uphill leg while side-slipping is the exact same as turning- which, duh, but for some reason that exact phrasing struck me.
@@DebArmstrongSkiStrong I did really well on the greens and I could really practice everything I learned from watching the video, but when I was on the harder runs I wasn’t as comfortable and went right back to what I was doing before. The good thing is that I was more aware of what I was doing, and overall I think I improved.
I have a bunch of people contacting me wanting to get their kids more parallel (I'm csia 1) what would you recommend as a baseline to start that off? just getting them to apply pressure? I tell them to soften their inside leg in the turn and put more pressure on the outside leg in each turn and I really work towards getting the upper and lower body separation and get them leaning over the downhill ski, I find that they can't do it or just don't listen, what would you suggest?
The science has proven out if you catch people at the very moment, they are doing something correctly the learning curve accelerates. You and I teach differently. I’ll stick with my approach.
I desperately want to get parallel this season! Thanks for this video. Also, and I feel dumb asking this, but what do you mean when you’re talking about flexing knees? Do you mean bending them? Or tipping them up/down the mountain? Sorry if that’s dumb
The positive feedback and encouragement throughout are impressive. I'm betting the calm delivery of guidance and positive comments also helps the student relax.
@@DebArmstrongSkiStrong it went well, my student understood that both legs work together, that she can contrôle her balance just by moving her ankles forward or backwards. I’m going to use slip slide more often for my students and for me as warm up. Thank you for your tips
Hi Deb, how does foot to foot skiing compare to ice skating at a slow pace? Flexing leg to leg including feet, like you have Kelli doing in this video. Barry
I'm from Russia. Accidentally got on your channel. You talk about skiing in an interesting way. I will watch, at the same time I will tighten up the English language!)))
HI Heide, you can sign up for a private lesson here on my patreon page. Where do you ski? have fun and take care. www.patreon.com/DebArmstrong?fan_landing=true
@@DebArmstrongSkiStrong thanks . Most years I ski in New Zealand in summer ,where my daughter was doing “summer” training and where family live and otherwise in Japan in winter, with a visit to family in Colorado in Spring but all that changed as of 2020. For sure, when I am able to return to the USA and still get back to my job in Japan, I will definitely look it up. in the US, I ski where my family lives so Colorado, and in the past Vermont and New York. One day I might be fortunate enough to go to the other ski nirvanas.
The concept of ground slipping under the foot is mind boggling. The moment there is a slight pick up in speed or change in direction that’s not intended, It scares me 😱. The brains stops logical thinking and switches over to panic mode. The true fact is, this is new just like learning to crawl, stand, walk etc…everyone as a baby kept falling but babies are not scared… however as an adult … 😅 Now I understand the word mileage 🤣.
Deb, thank you so much for your videos! I am a ski instructor and in the off season, teach at an indoor facility. I found your videos recently and have my students watch them for homework! Thank you thank you 🙏 commenting on this one because I used it today for a lesson.
I literally had all of those skis and still have many in my collection! I didn’t see any Molnar SKis but I did see a pare of white the skis that was Bob’s gs race ski! I am certainly dating myself! Thomyt
Hi Deb I just subscribed love your attitude , I am 64 yr old just starting up again on skiing here in mn never was great , but I recently took a intro in parallel to start off , I was looking at skis and was wondering if you have feed back on blizzard xcr ski for starting off thanks hoping to get out west sometime and enjoy the sport
Its nice to watch your videos. I am currently learning to ski nd exactly this technique as mentioned in this video. However every time i turn , i end up in snowplow position nd my knee gets locked 🥲 I feels pain at my outside knee joint while trying to make ski parallel. Looks lik long way to go 😞
Love your videos- teaching my family to ski these last two years and most instructional videos are too advanced and the instructors often show off- you do a great job and take is slow- good work Thanks
Tried skiing a long time ago on a long weekend vacation with the Warrington Ski Club when I was in my mid 20's, on the second day instead of staying on green runs where I barely had got used to turning and traversing, the so called instructor who was more or less a with her 'boy friend' a couple of ski bums took us complete beginners down to a black run - Nid Wall in the Nevis Range -, and it was icy and full of moguls, a truly awful morning, after 20 minutes by stopping and starting and after losing control and falling more times then I care to remember I got about two thirds down it. I badly bruised both my hips, and strained several muscles, and I was shattered, the slope then got steeper and it became so scary, after a final heavy fall, I nearly dislocated my left shoulder, I'd had enough of skiing, so I took the ski's off and walked down the rest of the run, and for the rest of the weekend I was just mentally counting down the hours till I could go home, and I swore I'd never try skiing again, and now 40 years later I haven't. If her objective was to put me off skiing for life, she 100% succeeded. Skiing, you are welcome to it.
Thanks for the work. It helps me a lot to a beginner like me. I have watched videos in this playlist for several times and can't wait to try those drills and tricks on slope.
Hi Deb. Thank you for your channels! You're a wonderful coach! MY 13 yo grand daughter tried skiing and her feet get so sore that she wants out a half hour into it. I've gotten her orthotics for her rental boots and recommended youtube stretches but she says the pain still comes back a few minutes into it. I'm hoping you have a few tricks to deal with this. Thank you.
