jimgrossman wrote:I must be a 'glutton for punishment' to come back here for more, but as much as the comments here can be slightly irritating, I understand that you can't produce a pearl without first a grain of sand... And I hope, as I'm sure all father's do, that he will shine one day.
He works hard at improving his skiing, and I have to work equally hard with my hopefully brief and effective words of instruction. The comments I get here force me to question and reassess everything I thought I thought I knew about skiing. I appreciate that.
P.S. Good news is that I finally I have a video of me to expose to the ravages of this board, and in a course no less, where all of my age old bad habits come out in full form. Now you'll get to see what my son is up against with me as a roll model... Will try to transfer from DVD and post up here asap.
As always,
Enjoy!
Well Jim - nothing is forcing you to "come back here for more" if you find this place that irritating.
You have a good skier here. His coordination and RoM is rare for any age, but he still demonstrates a fundamental lack of understanding of using his feet in the turn. Everything is generated by dropping the hip into the turn - which is a dead-end movement for a junior racer. He's never been taught to ski from a natural-width stance and balance on his stance ski. He has the ability to do it, there is no doubt about that. A week with the right direction and this little guy would be skiing at the level of a top J3. Kids this young will learn fast, and pick up a lot of it naturally, but you need to point him in the right direction. So far the video evidence suggests you're just doing the same things over and over, hoping the approach is going to keep working.
Based on the videos and photos you've put up and the comments you'ev made; I can come to only one conclusion: You as a coach, are maxed out. What is lacking in his skiing is actually your short coming as a coach. You find this place irritating because you can't see it and don't understand it. Unless you change your approach SIGNIFICANTLY and educate yourself beyond what you're reading in Ski Racing magazine and USSCA publications; your son will have to get his coaching else where, or figure it out for himself once he is old enough to do so - something that is too often the case for talented youngsters - and why many of them stagnate quickly. In the last year, from what you've shown us, there is already a sign of stagnation in your son's skiing. He isn't improving from a technical perspective; just refining the technique he's been using all along. That's a bad sign for a kid this young.
He's a great little skier, and I think he has the potential to be REALLY great. Don't be the reason that he never gets there.
Discipline is the refining fire by which talent becomes ability.
www.youtube.com/c/heluvaskier