A typical day as an instructor

So you’re wondering whether or not to become a snowboard or ski instructor…

You’ve done the course and got the T-shirt (well it’s a hoodie actually), so what happens next? Well, you’re a qualified instructor aren’t you? So how about a job instructing!

My names is James Harper-Lewis (or ‘Jimbo’) I took the NONSTOP 08-09 course in Banff, passing my level 1 and level 2 CASI courses and my Level 1 Park instructors, and have since started working as an instructor at Sunshine Village. I thought prospective NONSTOPers of the future and the world at large could benefit from some on-the-ground reconnaissance with a quick look into what working as an instructor is really like. So without further ado welcome to:

“A typical day as an instructor”

Like most of the world’s working day, mine starts early. From seven in the morning the staff bus begins plucking all manner of bleary-eyed staff members from the darkened streets of Banff and after a short snowy ride (largely composed of iPod induced sleep) we shuffle our way from bus to gondola and head on up to the main area of Sunshine Village. As daily commutes go, this one’s really not so bad and, although it’s no corner office, the view is pretty spectacular from where I sit on the chair lift.

Once up on hill, the instructors file their way toward the ‘Pro Room’ (a slightly cramped room bursting with boards, skis, drying boots and row after row of pale yellow lockers). As people flow in changing into the ‘reds’ that make up the sunshine uniform it becomes a particularly sociable environment and a good place to draw knowledge on all things snow related – from snow forecasts to equipment reviews, edging tips to teaching tactics. The room exudes a shared atmosphere of vibrancy with backing tracks from whoever plugged their iPod in first and stories from the night before, that even as a new instructor I was warmly welcomed into immediately.

The first official point of work for the day is 8.45 roll call, which is swiftly followed by a snow report, a grooming report and any other pertinent information including the title for the ‘sessions’ that will be running that day. These sessions are perhaps one of the biggest perks of working as an instructor – as they offer the opportunity to continually improve throughout the season. Whilst making the transition from pupil to instructor is a fantastic feeling (especially when your past instructors become your colleagues), there is always more to learn, and these sessions pick up where NONSTOP left off – only now you get the added benefit of being paid for it! For us snowboarders, session titles range from the obvious “Teaching Tactics”, to the poetic “ To Stack or Not to Stack” and even to the bizarre “Laughing at Lower Joints”. Though the titles may seem trivial, the session are anything but! Run by senior instructors they introduce some of the most advanced riding and teaching theory around, whilst also giving huge scope for individual feedback and improvement techniques. And what’s more, they’re a hell of a lot of fun! On a daily basis the sessions run 9-9.45 and there are also regular half-day and full-day sessions, which are particularly useful as you begin to look toward level 3.

With session over for the day the real work (hahaha) starts. So a wall of red suited instructors line up like expectant children at Christmas waiting for Santa, as our manager doles out little white pieces of gold that are our lesson cards. These are handed out in order of seniority, starting with the most highly qualified and following onto the most seasoned veterans of the sunshine staff and then finally onto the new staff intake or ‘rookies (of which I number).

At a large ski school like Sunshine, as a new instructor you don’t teach everyday (particularly in this recession thingy everyone keeps talking about). As long as you understand that from the beginning, it certainly works out as a positive – as you get to improve you riding (or skiing) everyday and still get paid for the privilege. This is definitely something I have seen come through in my own riding – particularly as more often than not I am riding with higher level instructors, who are only too happy to help with friendly analysis, tips and tactics for improvement.

Most lessons I teach run all day 9.45 – 3.30 (though there are also half day lessons), split by an awesome lunch taken with the clients. Your lesson card details the group size, names, ages and ability level. When lessons are sold, clients are grouped by ability with the theory being that everyone will be the same level (ish) when you come to teach them. However, this often falls down as people over/underestimate their own ability level. So the first part of any lesson is a quick conversation about where they are at with their riding – this generally includes how much riding they have done, how recently, are they turning both ways, are the turns linked, what they find difficult, what colour runs they feel comfortable on, have they been up the chair lift before – this is a great way to get a basic understanding of the group, put a lesson plan together and also to break the ice by getting everyone talking (as some clients may be quite nervous). Another important question to ask is what do they want to get out of the lesson – as this expectation can often define the sense of achievement they walk away with at the end of the day.

That having been said, the first run is all-important, as it presents the first opportunity to actually see the clients ride and to make a true assessment of where they are in the learning curve and what will benefit the group most. In some cases there may be a large difference in abilities (a ‘split’), which may mean a group change, though it is rare for whole group to be at exactly the same ability level (apart from ‘never ever’ lessons – and even there some clients will progress much faster than others). So the onus is very much on the instructor to keep everyone going forward and tailor the day according, constantly introducing exercises with varying levels of difficulty to suit.

During a lesson you will start to comprehend how people take in new information (and this in itself is a skill which improves with practice). Some people need to understand and visualise every part of what you are telling them before they are able to put it into practice, whereas others will just watch your demo and need to get on and do it themselves. Again this will be something that aides you in tailor making your lesson to the clients needs and ensures they can get the most out of their day.

Beyond the immediate benefits of the NONSTOP course (namely – enjoying what is probably the best season of your life, making amazing lifelong friends and concentrating on nothing but snowboarding/skiing with some of the best instructors you might ever be lucky enough to train under), there are some elements that truly carry forth into your own career as an instructor. I have already found myself thinking back to my time with one or another NONSTOP instructor countless times in order to gleam the right tactic for the situation, or another way of phrasing things so that my client might better understand an exercise.

As the day ticks on and the clients improve, I take a huge amount of personal satisfaction seeing what effect I have had on their riding – it really is an incredible feeling getting someone to turn for the first time and seeing how ecstatic they are to be progressing. With lessons finished for the day I usually go for a few pretty fast runs with some of the other instructors and then head down the mountain. Home usually means an immediate shower, dinner (and the occasional quick nap), and in a party town like Banff you are never hard pushed to find something to do with your evenings, especially as working for sunshine has the added bonus of a huge social group of almost 800 employees, 86 of which work the ski/snowboard school.