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Ski Tips for Kids

"Don't just stay on the big open spaces; look for some more exciting terrain. Some ski resorts have a designated zone with props and kid-friendly trails designed for fun. Ask someone to point out the best places to take kids. You might find some downsized terrain park features sculpted specifically for young skiers: whoop-de-doos, roly-polies, banked turns, and giant croquet wickets!⁠ ⁠"
"When you ski, your knees and shins should move back and forth rhythmically like a swinging pendulum. Just like you did with TALL and SMALL, you'll need to open and close the ankle, knee, and hip joint to make this happen. The ankle opens for the top half of the turn. Tick! The ankle closes for the bottom half. Tock!⁠ Make your movements as smooth as possible and, like the pendulum, keep moving. It's easy to get stuck and lose rhythm if the tic-tock stops. For the long turns make a long Tiiiicccckkk and a long Toooocccckkk. Short turns will sound much faster, tick-tock-tick-tock-tick-tock. Be careful not to hypnotize yourself with your rockin' steady rhythm.⁠ ⁠"
"The TALL and SMALL technique helps you deal with bumpy terrain too. If you ski with your body all frozen up, then bumps and dips will throw you for a loop. Use tall and small movements to absorb the bumps as if your body is a shock absorber. Try skiing over a whoop-de-doo: squash small over the top, and extend tall in the valleys. Bumps and roly-polies can feel nice and smooth.⁠ ⁠"
"Get TALL to start your turns. Standing up tall over the middle of the ski opens all the joints (ankles, knees, hips), and removes the pressure from the front and side of the boot. This will release your ski's edges from the snow and allow the ski to flatten and begin to turn downhill. Keep getting tall until you are in the go line and then get SMALL to shape the rounded end of the turn. Getting SMALL means bending at your ankles, knees, and hips so that you can guide the ski with finesse into the slow line to finish the turn.⁠ ⁠"
"You gotta keep your weight on that downhill ski when turning. One way to get your weight on your downhill ski is to imagine having one heavy elephant foot downhill and a skinny little featherweight bird leg for the uphill ski. These will switch back and forth as you change to the next turn.⁠ ⁠"
"Skiing means balancing while in motion. See if you can balance on one ski. First, try it standing still. Next, try it while skiing. Keep those hands forward and pressure that one foot between the toes and heel. How long can you hold it? One Mississippi? Two Mississippi? It's not as easy as it looks.⁠ ⁠"
"One easy thing you can do to fix the dreaded 'spaghetti arms' is to clap your hands (nice and loud) any time you feel even a little bit out of balance. This forces both hands out front in the perfect position.⁠ ⁠"
"If you are out of control, simply sitting down is a surefire way to stop!⁠ ⁠"
"When new skiers fall and need help getting up, just ski right up close (wearing short skis in the role of teacher helps a lot) and lift 'em upright again. Make sure to position them with their skis across the fall line.⁠ ⁠"
"This is an easy way to get focused on turning. Get a little bit out in front of them and tell them to follow in your tracks. You play the engine and the child is the caboose. You can teach them the 'go line' and the 'slow line' by going faster straight down the fall line and going slower across the fall line.⁠ ⁠"
"If you are playing the role of instructor, you might wanna carry a little stuffed animal as part of your overall teaching strategy. It needs to be small enough that it fits in your pocket, but big enough that it's easy for kids to grab off the snow with mittens. By skiing in front of the kids and getting them to focus on the stuffed animal, you can teach them to look up. A funny hand puppet is great for this too!⁠ ⁠"
"It's normal for children to look down at their own skis while gliding downhill. This is a problem with adults too, but because children's heads are larger in proportion to their bodies, for kids it can create a really awkward stance on the skis. An easy way to solve this is to ski a little ways in front of them, and ask them to watch your hands. Move nice and slow and ask them to call out how many fingers you are showing. Mittens make this game tricky, so it might be just be thumps up and thumbs down.⁠ ⁠"

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