The annual NH Region’s “Skier Enhancement Seminar” with PSIA Board of Education Examiner Kathy Brennan continues to attract ski patrollers from all over the state.  Ten ski patrol members joined her on the frigid slopes of Waterville Valley Resort on January 25th, 2014, maxing out the event and participating in a skier-movements seminar where techniques are practiced that lead to easier, more effective skiing.  The event is designed to give each individual personalized coaching and guided practice.  The clinic’s goal is to coach each participant with individualized care that can lead to a breakthrough in performance.

Kathy Brennan can be found at Arc2Arc.com

Kathy Brennan is the New Hampshire representative on the Professional Ski Instructors of America’s (PSIA) Education and Certification Committee and a two time Eastern Demonstration Team member.  Kathy works with students, instructors, and other members of the Board of Education to help them to achieve their performance goals.  She joined us for an all-day coaching event to help us make our own personal breakthroughs.  The group is limited every year to 10 ski patrollers and begins on green and blue slopes, focusing on improving each skiers’ techniques.

This year Waterville Valley hosted with polar conditions, delivering a fierce westerly wind and near zero temperatures.  The chairlifts to the top did not open until noontime because of high winds.  With such cold morning temperatures, Kathy Brennan setup a video recording opportunity on the slopes.  Heading indoors to review the videos gave everyone a chance to re-warm their fingers and toes as we assembled inside the Ski School locker-room to review videos.

Everybody benefited from watching their video in slow motion, with backward and forward analysis.  Kathy expertly explained how slight adjustments could be employed by each of us to feel improvements in the way our skis would grip the snow surface.  Below is a compilation of everyone’s video, showing a few seconds…

After warming, we returned to the slopes to employ the suggestions.  With guidance from Kathy, each of us was able to take the original suggestions and feel how our performance improved.  Kathy’s guided coaching continued throughout the day as each individual progressed towards their personal goal.

Some of us were working on feeling more edging, others worked on ways to improve balance.  Adjusting the skier’s stance to improve balance, increase edging and pressure under foot; and finding methods to let the skis do more of the steering around the entire turn.  Ultimately, all of us found improvements that lead to a more stable and relaxed skiing technique.  At the end of the day, the participants got to fill out an evaluation/questionnaire form.  Below are a few of the comments.

 What did you like most about this program?: 

"The personalized video feedback. I suggest video be done at all 
skier enhancements and reviews be done over lunch in the interest 
of time."

"I like the fact that it is held at a larger mountain with good 
terrain options. I like the fact that it is run by a higher level 
PSIA instructor (This is a MUST). I like the fact that it is at a 
mountain that no one patrols at so you can get the most of not 
being pulled out of a clinic or have to worry about radio calls. 
You can just go ski and focus on skiing."

"The opportunity to ski with a PSIA Education Committee ski 
instructor was awesome.  Kathy is an excellent instructor with an 
incredible amount of experience who has a gift for teaching.  The 
methods of instruction used were very easy to understand and 
translate into real world skiing.  An incredibly valuable experi-
ence. Please bring Kathy back for next year's clinic."

"...had fun and learned a great deal despite sub-zero air temps 
and high winds! Thanks to NH for a great skill building day.  I 
can patrol better tomorrow with what I learned today."

The Waterville Valley Skier Enhancement Seminar has developed a following among a small group of returning Patrollers.  It seems that a third of the class attended the previous year.  After tapping into the great coaching for two or three seasons, Patrollers make a significant leap forward in their skiing.  The Waterville Valley event began in 2001 and has established itself as an annual favorite with the avid support of NH Region Ski Patrol members.  Make sure to watch the Region event calendar in the fall and register for next year’s event as soon as registration begins. . .