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Reprints From The Professional Skier

Fall 1997 - "Tricks Of The Trade Make Adaptive Skiing Easier" by Doug Pringle

This article is reprinted from The Professional Skier. All copyrights apply. Please see our copyright and disclaimer notice page.

Because innovation and imagination are the keys to success in adaptive ski teaching, good instructors are constantly experimenting with ways to combine specialized equipment, teaching strategies, and techniques to best suit their students' learning needs. That said, however, it doesn't hurt to have a few fallbacks - those tried and true methods of eliciting proper movement from your students. Having a few "tricks of the trade" at your disposal can make you that much more prepared to get your students off to the right start.

In this article, I explore a few methods that many skilled adaptive instructors use to aid their students' skiing abilities. Rather than write about my favorites, I decided to ask some of the leaders in the field to share theirs, especially those methods that work well with beginners.

Bamboo Pole, Inverted Wedge

Meeche White, director of the National Ability Center in Park City, Utah, gives high marks to a method of assist whereby the instructor uses a bamboo pole (or ski pole) and an inverted wedge. It works well with "stand-up" students, such as people with visual impairments and developmental disabilities, she says.

You and your student should face each other and grasp a pole held horizontally between the two of you. Make sure the student's hands are in a natural position, i.e., hip high, forward, and slightly away from the body just as the hands would be when holding ski poles. While maintaining this mutual grip on the pole, the student skis in a gliding wedge and you ski backwards in an inverted wedge (heels together, tips out).

"This assist gives students a feeling of security, and after a few turns, they begin to relax," White explains. "As the instructor, I have good control of their speed, direction, and movement. I want them to get the feet of gliding, developing balance, and experiencing gentle steering without upper- and lower-body separation."

Gently pull the student into the turn with little or no explanation. Once the student is relaxed, and as mileage increases, you can focus the student's attention on feeling the feet steering. You can also gradually relinquish control to the student.

The biggest problem is that students want to lean on the pole for support. "I just relax my arms, eliminating my resistance, and they stand back up," says White.

There are a number of variations on the bamboo-pole theme, including one in which you and the student ski side by side as the two of you hold onto a pole that stretches across in front. Another option is the "horse and buggy," in which you ski in front of or behind the student while the two of you share a pole held in each hand.

The Dowel Test

Katherine Hayes Rodriguez, director of California's Tahoe Adaptive Ski School, says she and her staff use a method called "the dowel test" to properly position the seat on a mono-ski. It is also used with bi-skis, especially for those students who require wedges or cants to achieve a natural, balanced, middle-of-the-ski stance.

For the purpose of this article, I will focus on using the dowel test on a monoski mounted on a snow ski with an adjustable (fore/aft) binding. This configuration is typical of the mono-skis used in ski schools across the country. The goal of this test is to adjust the binding placement for each student so that his or her neutral, center-of-mass balance point is over the mid-cord position of the ski.

Start by locating the mid-cord of the ski and marking it. Measure the length of the ski from tip to tail and, using a black marker, make a mark on the side of the ski at the middle of the measured length. Place the "ready-to-ski" student (i.e., one dressed in ski clothes and boots with outriggers in hand) in the mono-ski.

Next, place a 2-inch diameter dowel on the floor and roll the mono-skier onto the dowel so that the dowel is centered directly under your mark on the ski. Have the skier assume an athletic stance for his or her ability level. "A beginner will sit erect with little forward flexion at the waist, while an advanced skier will be in a dynamic position with outriggers closer to the feet," Rodriguez explains. Roll the mono-ski forward or backward on the dowel until the balance point is found. The skier should be able to tip the ski from shovel to tail with a small head nod.

If the skier is resting on the tail of the ski or if he or she can't tip forward with a slight head movement, the seat is too far back. Adjust the seat forward in 1/2 to 1-inch increments until the skier is balanced over the mid-cord. Adjust the seat back if the skier is too far forward.

For the mono-ski to perform as designed, it is essential that the skier is balanced over the middle of the ski. If the skier is seated too far forward, he or shee will apply excess forward pressure on the ski when in the neutral position. If too far back, the skier will apply excess pressure to the tail.

Since the body size, structure and weight distribution of mono-skiers vary, this test is essential. Sometimes you have to be patient, as several adjustments will have to be made. For each adjustment, you will need to transfer your student out of the mono-ski to make the adjustment and then put him or her back in to test the result. You may also find it necessary to add padding to various points within the mono-ski to improve the "fit" and enable the skier to more efficiently turn the ski. If the student does not have legs, he or she may find that turning is easier if you weight the front of the mono-ski with sandbags.

The Two-Point Hold

"The two-point hold is a great assist that you can use with four-trackers, visually impaired students, and almost any student on two skis," says Hal O'Leary, director of The National Sports Center for the Disabled in Winter Park, Colorado. It is especially helpful for students with severe balance problems and those who have difficulty controlling their hips, he says.

To perform a two-point hold, stand behind your student with one ski between the student's skis. Move in close, bending at the waist, so that your shoulder touches the student's back, about shoulder-blade high. "You can provide a lot of support in this position and you have several hand-placement options," O'Leary says.

For students who find it difficult to control their hips, place your hands on their hips. You can help them prevent excess hip projection by keeping their hips centered throughout each turn. With this assist position, you can also help them achieve hip rotation or inhibit over-rotation.

Another variation is to place one hand on the hip and the other on the opposite leg. "This works well with a hemiplegic or someone who has one weak side," O'Leary explains. The student's weak-side ski is between your skis, putting you in position to best assist the weaker side. With a couple of pats on the student's leg you can reinforce verbal instruction to steer the foot or pressure the ski on that side. Be aware that in some students, touching or patting their muscles may trigger spasticity. In that case, stick with guiding the hip bone and knee.

It's not uncommon for instructors to use a two-point hold while changing their hand placement throughout the assisted turns. They place one hand on the dominant leg (outside ski) and the other on the opposite hip. The instructors then switch hand positions in the new turn and the cycle repeats. This can be difficult or impractical, however, if you are small and your student is large.

Wherever the hands are placed, their purpose is to gently assist with steering and with proper hip placement. Hand cues (pats) can be used to reinforce verbal cues. By supporting the student's balance and positioning in this manner, you decrease the risk of fatigue, thus allowing for more mileage - a key ingredient in any lesson. Gradually decrease your support and assistance as the student becomes more comfortable and kinesthetically aware of proper body positioning. You can decrease direct physical assistance yet still help guide the student by using a ski bra with reins.

The Utility Of Tricks

When introducing the exhilarating sport of skiing to a person with a disabilityor taking an adaptive student one notch higher in his or her ability to maneuver down a ski slope-you might find that a successful lesson relies on equal parts ingenuity, invention, and incorporation of a few methods that are already tried and true.

Editor's note: For more information on these techniques and others see PSIA's Adaptive Manual, available this fall through the 1997-98 Accessories Catalog.

Doug Pringle is a Level III certified alpine instructor and a Level III certified adaptive instructor who teaches at California's Tahoe Adaptive Ski School. He is also the president of Disabled Sports USA.