The Next Level
BY LANE MCLAUGHLIN PSIA-NW TECH VP
Where are you at in your snow-pro career? Did you recently jump on board and are eagerly climbing the ladder, or have you been there and done that and winding down some? If so, then your season may be fairly planned out already and you have an idea of where you’re going. However, I know there’s many of you who are nearing or have been floating around in that zone we call .Post Level III’. Its the level that’s not a level; you’ve been achievement driven through your teaching career, you’ve earned your Level III and you now ask yourself .what’s next?. and perhaps the road map is not clearly defined. Well, let me throw some options out there for you and see if we can nudge you along to some new goals.
Your Door Just Opened
Earning your Level III
certification is a HUGE accomplishment! Many people consider it .having arrived.
and perhaps the end of a journey to skiing/riding/teaching excellence. It
certainly is a milestone, but perhaps more of a junction than an end point. It’s
really the point where Morpheous (of Matrix movie fame) presents you with the
Red pill and Blue pill, perhaps the moment where you choose to see how far your
talent really goes.
If you chat with some of your favorite clinicians and mentors, you may very well hear them say something like .I earned my Level III certification and then I really learned how to become great skier/ rider/teacher!. . with a smirk and a tone of irony in discovering there’s so much more to learn and room for growth in a post Level III world. The certification process is more-or-less a system to help articulate, coach, and evaluate skill development and defines the minimum level of performance needed to achieve the next level. Although it serves a purpose in helping guide our membership along a path of improvement, we can all become less than inspired by .systems, levels, minimum standards ., some will want to bust down the door and roam beyond the framework they’ve been held within.
Of course, being in the position I’m in as Tech VP, I’m going to throw you my pitch to come through that door and participate in a variety of ways that can be inspiring, challenging, rewarding and therefore the .next level. in terms of effort and exploration. I welcome you to come participate in testing yourself among the best clinicians in our Division and finding out where you want to go next in your journey.
Specialty Clinicians
Because our sport and profession is quite diverse and always changing to some degree, new specialty topics routinely come along that require quick response and special expertise to provide membership with timely information and training. As talented as our Divisional Staff is, there’s always room for specialists to plug into niche areas where that extra level of expertise is needed.
Currently the hottest specialty
topics in our training curriculum are age specific training, which includes our
Advanced Children’s Education (ACE), taught by the JET-NW team, and Senior Tour
courses. Admittedly more important than the “hot feet, cool sunglasses, badass”
talents are the skills to relate to individuals, assess their needs, and modify
teaching behavior and lesson content accordingly. These programs are continuing
to grow and develop new curriculum and need people like you to take on the
challenge of bringing excellence to the program and its delivery to our
membership.
And what about Pipe & Park training? I’m assuming we’re way beyond the fad stage and the freestyle scene is anywhere from a small to a core part of the resort experience for many guests. We need to answer the call and develop a staff of clinicians who can get out to our members and member schools and show them how to effectively handle freestyle education in their daily work.
If you’re interested in becoming a JET-NW, Senior Tour, or Pipe & Park specialist within the division, contact the PSIA-NW office and they’ll refer you on to the team leaders in these areas and you’ll get in the communication loop for the selection process.
Divisional Clinic Leaders (DCL)
Remember all the mentors who helped you along the way to where you are now? Are you looking to wear the shoes and don the hat yourself? In the level of no levels, your next level can actually come through helping others come up through the same .system. that got you here. Being a DCL is a great opportunity to continue doing what you love to do while expanding your game. As a DCL you may get a wide variety of work assignments across the division and with each different topic, region, school, and individual member you encounter you’ll quickly discover just how diverse our membership is and therefore how much more there is for you to learn and improve on to adequately accommodate their needs.
There will be tryouts for Alpine DCLs this season, currently scheduled for March 3rd-5th and Snowboard DCLs March 1st-3rd, both at Stevens Pass. Unlike your past experience with exams, tryouts are a different animal in that defined tasks, minimum standards and a passing grade aren.t the measure of success. Instead, you essentially audition along with other DCLs and candidates to demonstrate your talents as a clinician. Success within our staff is measured by feedback from membership. Do they like your game? Are they inspired to participate? Did you deliver what they were looking for, etc.
Alpine Technical Team (Tech Team)
Participation on the Northwest Tech Team is another level, of effort that is. This corps represents those who want to step up to developing products, programs, and projects that keep our division evolving. The effort is nearly year round and it takes well-rounded individuals who are committed to evolving their skiing, teaching, presentation, communication, and leadership skills. You may make the team because of your strengths, but you’ll succeed as a team member by strengthening your weaknesses- you see how even in a post Level III world we get to admit, and therefore face, our weaknesses.
There will be tryouts for the Alpine Technical Team this season, currently scheduled for March 17th- 19th at Stevens Pass. Consider coming to these tryouts if you really want to step up and take on a variety of assignments that’ll take you into directions you may or may not have planned for in your teaching career. The opportunities unfold as you dig around in new areas to explore.
Tryout Camp
In years past, there’s been some sense among membership that access to becoming part of the divisional staff requires some kind of special connection, a secret handshake, the wink-wink from some inside player, or some other mysterious, and perhaps unfair, process. That’s not the case – it’s an open door and you’re welcome to come through.
To help create a friendlier process to train, get info, show your stuff, get feedback prior to the tryouts, we’ll be hosting a “Tryout Camp” this season, currently scheduled for Alpine on Jan 26th-28th at Mission Ridge and Snowboard on Jan 26th- 27th at Stevens Pass, well ahead of the DCL and Tech Team tryouts. Whether you are interested in becoming a specialty clinician, DCL, or Tech Team member, or to just play hard/train hard in your post Level III world, this camp will be a full immersion in tryout preparation, coaching, goal setting, feedback, and hands-on activities.
Wrap Up
There’s definitely no right or wrong way to go in your snow-pro career, just opportunities and options. Hopefully if you’ve enjoyed your participation in PSIA/AASI to this point and you wonder how to keep up your progression, give back to others, find new opportunities, do your thing across a wider membership base, or just keep busy that I’ve turned your attention to some options that pique your interest. If so, start letting people know about your intentions and let’s help make things happen for you.