Can we stop pushing small children so hard to ski?

californiagrownWhat have your interactions with the dad been like? How do the other coaches approach the coaching- fun factor vs pushing trick progression?

Maybe you're in the wrong program?

.Roockley.Not much really, the kid normally turns up late after the session starts and I see the dad at the end for a few minutes before they leave.

There's 3 coaches, we swap each week but normally there's an advanced group, womens group and a little kids group, everyone is roughly the same ability in each group.

It's a very chill atmosphere, if the kids want to learn something then yeah we will push them to try it but otherwise it's just getting them more comfortable hitting features and suggesting things to try

californiagrownThen pull the kids old man aside and tell him that kids progress the most when theyre having fun, NOT when theyre doing it cause they're afraid of parental wrath.

If he's sucking the fun out of it for the kid, you should tell the dad.

.Roockley.Been there done that, he laughed it off but when I went to get back on the lift he was giving his kid a death stare

.Roockley.Been there done that, he laughed it off but when I went to get back on the lift he was giving his kid a death stare

californiagrownTry to make it fun for the kid even when his dad doesn't.

john18061806just adopt the kid?

californiagrownSo, let little johnny know that the snowdome is a safe place and he doesn't have to do what his dad tells him there. He just has to have fun and try to get better at his own pace, and you'll be there to help him the whole way.

Try to make it fun for the kid even when his dad doesn't.

AlsoKnownAsWell the kid kind of has to live with his dad outside of being at the snowdome. If the snowdome is a chill place, that's cool, but if the dad grounds the kid or screams at him 24/7 for disobeying then it's still not super chill

AlsoKnownAsWell the kid kind of has to live with his dad outside of being at the snowdome. If the snowdome is a chill place, that's cool, but if the dad grounds the kid or screams at him 24/7 for disobeying then it's still not super chill

.Roockley.I'm over coaching (I think).

I really enjoy skiing and thought that sharing my stoke with people would be fun. After 4 years away (instructing and general skiing) from the UK I came back to coach some freestyle at the indoor slope. In that time the vibe seems to have completely changed from hanging out with friends, goofing around to having to progress as much as possible as quickly as possible.

Children as young as 6 are on the academy which is sick, but tonight is the final nail in the coffin for me. The last few weeks I've noticed pushy parents (who don't ski or come and ski at the same time as the kids) pushing them to learn more tricks. One kid started crying and when I asked why he said his dad said he had to land a 3 over the kicker or else he would be grounded. He thought the jump was too big for him to try and refused to ski so his dad couldn't see him. After telling him he could do what he wanted instead of that he did a few laps and his dad took him off the slope. I'm pretty sure he made a complaint against me (lolz)

Why the fuck are we telling kids this is what skiing is having? If they don't enjoy they aren't going to stick around and want to be better.

Any one else noticing this?



TL;DR. Soccer moms turning into ski moms. It sucks.

50KalI've seen way to many kids being forced to ski and start crying.

50KalI've seen way to many kids being forced to ski and start crying.

50KalI've seen way to many kids being forced to ski and start crying.

FridgeBangersHi I don't know where in the UK you teach but down south in MK as a instructor I've never witnessed this on freestyle nights. All the regulars come down to shred and their parents are really cool and chill. I've never witnessed a pushy parent, pushing there kids to do freestyle. However on Sno Academy; in the mournings, we get the occasional dad or mum that thinks their child should be in the higher level but other than that not really noticed it down south. I'm sure it happens however I haven't witnessed it yet.

.Roockley.there's a lot of things wrong with the place i work (not going to name names so i don't get banned from skiing there, it's pretty obvious though)

yeah, academy is bad when you have that but another thing i picked up on was a kid saying he has to learn a trick to do for his competition run cause his parents said

i think i'm just jaded

LonelyOkay, about to rant because this shit pisses me off.

So if you've ever been to crystal you know that most of our "Black Diamonds" are just open and steep straightaways. They aren't particularly difficult, I can go switch down most of them.

But as a small child, those hills look scary as fuck, I remember looking over one when I was about eight. It looked like it was where the world ended and dropped off. I did NOT want to go down it.

Fast forward to last year. I'm heading up the lift with the boys (lift goes right above this slope) and I see two little kids about 1/4 of the way down. Both have lost their skis and poles and because of the steepness of the slope they where struggling to get them back on. I hop off the lift and ski down to them, grabbing they're poles and taking them down. Then I just went under them so I could hold they're skis while they clicked in.

As they get clicked in I hear something. What could it be? Just their asshole father standing at the bottom of the hill shouting up that they are worthless skiers and he should never take them skiing. The dads walks back to the lodge deck where the rest of the rich preppy shithead parents are sitting.

I check to make sure the kids are ready to go and then I ski down to the bottom and hop on the lift. Almost to the top of the lift when I look down and see that the kids have fallen again. So once more I go down and help them get up. At this point all the rest of the parents are now shouting at the kids "why don't you just slide down on your ass" and numerous other things along the lines of that. Now that shit pissed me off.

So I helped the kids down the rest of the hill, and me and one of my pals (German with a short temper) ski over to all the parents drinking and laughing at the lodge. More or less I called the dad a shit head and told that he should get his balls out of his purse and be a man instead of a bitch. Yelling ensues. My german friend knocks all they're drinks off the edge tells them to fuck off and gives them the finger. We leave.

Apparently they called patrol on us. Patrol knows us so I explained the situation, patrol went and talked to them, turned out one was skiing on a stolen pass, and they where all kicked off the mountain.

Moral of the story fuck you if your a pushy parent you're a piece of shit /rant

50KalI've seen way to many kids being forced to ski and start crying.

Breaking_Radhttps://www.newschoolers.com/videos/watch/792295/Pizza----Do-a-Pizza--Yard-Sale-skiing-ski-crash-free-skiing-extreme


If you don't crash you ain't trying.

LonelyOkay, about to rant because this shit pisses me off.

So if you've ever been to crystal you know that most of our "Black Diamonds" are just open and steep straightaways. They aren't particularly difficult, I can go switch down most of them.

But as a small child, those hills look scary as fuck, I remember looking over one when I was about eight. It looked like it was where the world ended and dropped off. I did NOT want to go down it.

Fast forward to last year. I'm heading up the lift with the boys (lift goes right above this slope) and I see two little kids about 1/4 of the way down. Both have lost their skis and poles and because of the steepness of the slope they where struggling to get them back on. I hop off the lift and ski down to them, grabbing they're poles and taking them down. Then I just went under them so I could hold they're skis while they clicked in.

As they get clicked in I hear something. What could it be? Just their asshole father standing at the bottom of the hill shouting up that they are worthless skiers and he should never take them skiing. The dads walks back to the lodge deck where the rest of the rich preppy shithead parents are sitting.

I check to make sure the kids are ready to go and then I ski down to the bottom and hop on the lift. Almost to the top of the lift when I look down and see that the kids have fallen again. So once more I go down and help them get up. At this point all the rest of the parents are now shouting at the kids "why don't you just slide down on your ass" and numerous other things along the lines of that. Now that shit pissed me off.

So I helped the kids down the rest of the hill, and me and one of my pals (German with a short temper) ski over to all the parents drinking and laughing at the lodge. More or less I called the dad a shit head and told that he should get his balls out of his purse and be a man instead of a bitch. Yelling ensues. My german friend knocks all they're drinks off the edge tells them to fuck off and gives them the finger. We leave.

Apparently they called patrol on us. Patrol knows us so I explained the situation, patrol went and talked to them, turned out one was skiing on a stolen pass, and they where all kicked off the mountain.

Moral of the story fuck you if your a pushy parent you're a piece of shit /rant

THEDIRTYBUBBLEMy dad was always somewhat pushy with any sport I did. But he knew where to draw the line. He never made me do anything I didn't want to, but he could always persuade me to do it. I'm glad he used methods of persuasion rather than just threatening me.

ParryWithAnAI had to take a USSA entry level class a few years ago. The guy who was running the class told us that parents will take the entry level class so they can be in the start gate of comps.

Whats more fun then having your coach and mom telling you what to do. Good luck telling mom you dont want to corked 7 after she spent 5k buying your gear, tickets, rental car ect... Oh and she spent the time to take the coaching class.

.Roockley.I'm over coaching (I think).

I really enjoy skiing and thought that sharing my stoke with people would be fun. After 4 years away (instructing and general skiing) from the UK I came back to coach some freestyle at the indoor slope. In that time the vibe seems to have completely changed from hanging out with friends, goofing around to having to progress as much as possible as quickly as possible.

Children as young as 6 are on the academy which is sick, but tonight is the final nail in the coffin for me. The last few weeks I've noticed pushy parents (who don't ski or come and ski at the same time as the kids) pushing them to learn more tricks. One kid started crying and when I asked why he said his dad said he had to land a 3 over the kicker or else he would be grounded. He thought the jump was too big for him to try and refused to ski so his dad couldn't see him. After telling him he could do what he wanted instead of that he did a few laps and his dad took him off the slope. I'm pretty sure he made a complaint against me (lolz)

Why the fuck are we telling kids this is what skiing is having? If they don't enjoy they aren't going to stick around and want to be better.

Any one else noticing this?



TL;DR. Soccer moms turning into ski moms. It sucks.