Repetition: Along with "get down and give me 20", or "an apple a day", we should include "go out there and teach that <fill in the blank> lesson again" as a healthy routine, meant for your own good. Of course, no two classes are ever the same since your clients and the conditions of the day can vary so greatly. So, when I say "repetition", I'm referring to your opportunity to deliver a general topic enough times so that you really understand the cause and effect of your lesson plan and how it will meet the needs of your students for the conditions of the day. Your clients' level of fun and performance is your clue to the strengths and weaknesses in your plan, presentation, and performance. Through repetition, you'll begin to compare the level of success you have teaching the same lesson. You'll maintain what works well while replacing what doesn't; therefore ending up with a bag-o-tricks that seems to please all crowds. Through this weeding out process you should come to some technical conclusions about why some activities and strategies were successful, while others just bonked. You'll also find the time to replace all those techy buzzwords with simple descriptions of movements and sensations, and you'll develop analogies. The end result is a streamlined and easy to understand presentation. For the part-time instructor who teaches a series of lessons, like the concession snowsport school I work for, the task is much more difficult and the opportunities are fewer compared to the instructors at the resident schools. For example, the "1st day on snow" lesson is one that takes some practice delivering - there are so many challenges that can arise, there is so much info that is new to the student, and there are so many different methods for teaching this lesson. If an instructor only teaches this class once a year, they won't really develop a deep understanding of skill development in this lesson and the best teaching progressions to address this development. These instructors must push themselves to find more teaching opportunities. Volunteer yourself to your friends, relatives, strangers, whoever will let you share your mojo - it's your fast track to professional development.

Experimentation: Now, don't go out there and be so repetitive that you're developing a bunch of canned lessons. No grasshopper, you must continue to seek new innovations and revelations to add to your already growing understanding of our great sport and the people who wish to ascend to higher performance. People pay the big bucks to hear what's fresh, to see you spontaneously and passionately deliver your skiing gospel. The time to experiment is both on and off the clock. Off the clock, you should free ski and peer ski with the idea that you are doing some R&D - research and development. You should be mixing and matching different skill blends to different snow conditions, terrain features, and turn options. For example, let's say you've crafted a really sweet bump-skiing lesson that seems to work for most of your clientele. And let's say that you've been focussing on a narrower stance, strong simultaneous leg steering with flatter skis, speed control through a check at the bottom of the turn with a nicely timed blocking pole plant. I suggest you get out on your own time and compare this package of stance, movements, and tactics to a myriad of other possibilities. You may find that your combo still works best for you and your clientele, but only through this comprehensive testing can you really understand why. And it is more likely that you'll expand your skiing and teaching options as you find alternative benefits, sensations, and successes through skiing diversity. Then, while on the clock, you'll have a comfort zone with this expanded material. You should feel free to bring your fresh discoveries into your lessons. You can assure your clients that your material has passed rigorous testing - all without any harm to those little lab animals.

Collaboration: So where are you getting your insight to experiment with new teaching options? Where are you getting the repetition in clearly describing movements, progressions, tactics, and so forth? Where are you getting the energy, insight, and feedback to help you grow? Look around your snowsport building - look at all the pros next to you and take the time to collaborate with them. Through this collaboration, you'll gather various ideas you can apply to your lessons, you'll have to organize your thoughts and technical understanding of what you do so you can communicate it effectively to your peers, and you'll get into some good debates which will push everybody to think harder and validate why their approach can be successful. I meet many instructors who get frustrated while moving up their learning curve because they dive into all the great reference books and videos available to us and don't find "the answers". Books and videos are tools, and great things can be made from tools. But, think of two homebuilders sitting around and collaborating about building the dream house. They wouldn't sit around their toolboxes and say, "that's a mighty nice wrench you have there." No, they would cruise around and look at other houses to get ideas, they'd compare some of their best jobs and what made them so special, and they'd use their imagination to come up with innovative ideas for this dream house. Compare notes with your peers and create a vision for you dream lessons.