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Reprints From The Professional Skier

Spring 1998 - "Children Learn Life Skills On The Slopes" by Marie Russell-Shaw and Amy Zahm

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

Few would doubt that the time a child spends doing puzzles, adding numbers on a chalkboard, or sounding out the sentences in Green Eggs and Ham has tremendous impact on his or her development. But a child also gains significant life skills by batting a ball, running a race, or sliding around on skis or a snowboard.

When children participate in sports, whether individually or as part of a team, they have the opportunity to learn valuable lessons in problem-solving, responsibility, cooperation, and self-reliance that can be transferred to many different aspects of their lives. This article explores how sports can enrich children's lives and suggests how ski and snowboard instructors can shape this enriching experience.

Part 1: Linking Sports To Life Skills

We all know that physical activity enhances a person's endurance, flexibility, and strength. And research overwhelmingly indicates that people who engage in physical activity on a regular basis are generally healthier than those who do not (Checkley 1996). But did you know that in addition to promoting physical health, physical activity can increase our mental capacity for learning and enhance emotional well-being?

Recent research on how the brain develops and works indicates that movement is essential to learning. In her book Smart Moves, neurophysiologist and professional educator Carla Hannaford states that 13 different studies have found that exercise stimulates the growth of developing brains and prevents the deterioration of older brains.

"Movement awakens and activates many of our mental capacities; it integrates and anchors new information and experience into our neural networks; and it is vital to all the actions by which we embody and express our learning, our understanding, and ourselves," Hannaford writes. As for emotional benefits, you need only talk to a runner about the "high" he or she experiences while running to understand how exercise can affect your sense of well-being.

Meeting Needs

Abraham Maslow and other educational psychologists theorize that all people have basic psychological needs that provide the intrinsic motivation necessary for development and learning. We try to meet these needs because doing so makes us feel good. Although some educational theories identify more psychological needs than others, they all--in one way or another--cite the following as basic human needs:

asensation, the need to receive sensory input or stimulation from our environment
aself-direction, the need to be responsible for ourselves and make our own decisions
aaffiliation with others, the need to relate and cooperate with other people
aachievement, the need to feel competent, capable, and worthy; to have self-esteem

We have these needs throughout our lives. The strategies we develop to meet these needs are fundamental life skills.

It's not difficult to see how participating in sports can give children the opportunity to meet these needs and, thus, develop important life skills. When engaged in physical activity, children receive input from all their senses: visual, auditory, kinesthetic or proprioceptive, and even those senses that provide information about taste and smell . For example, when skiing, a child can see the angle of the slope, hear the skis move over the surface of the snow, feel the sensation of sliding, taste the cold snow, and smell the pine trees. Through sports, children can learn to tune their senses to filter out unneeded information and direct focus to where it is needed.

Regarding the need for self-direction, children who participate in sports learn to direct their actions and take responsibility for those actions. They learn to decide which movement skill is needed or what strategy will achieve a desired goal.

Sports also offer children the opportunity to affiliate with others and learn valuable social skills. Team sports encourage them to make decisions cooperatively and develop strategies to work together toward a common goal. Similarly, participants in individual sports, such as biking, in-line skating, windsurfing, skiing, or snowboarding, often must learn cooperation skills to share the same "playing field." Individual sports can usually be done with a friend, sibling, or parent, and kids often enjoy the sport more when they can share their exuberance or playful ideas with someone else.

In addition to helping children acquire interpersonal skills, sports cultivate "intrapersonal" skills. Through sports, children can develop greater self-esteem and a sense of competence by achieving and acknowledging success. To recognize whether they have succeeded, children need to develop goal-setting and evaluation skills. Goals are generally quite clear in sports, as is the criteria for evaluation, such as completing a course or hitting a ball.

Missed Opportunities

Although sports can provide wonderful benefits for children, a recent report by the U.S. Surgeon General indicates that many young people do not take part in physical activity (Checkley 1996). According to the report, nearly half of the American population between the ages of 12 and 21 are not vigorously active on a regular basis. Furthermore, the report indicates that physical activity declines sharply as age or grade increases. Only 19 percent of all high school students are physically active for 20 minutes or more five days a week. The bulk of that activity occurs in physical education classes rather than in other recreational opportunities.

The Surgeon General's report also indicates that childhood and adolescence may be pivotal times for preventing sedentary patterns among adults; people who develop the "habit" of being physically active in their youth are more likely to maintain the habit through their lifetime.

Participation in physical activity may be low for a number of reasons. In Smart Moves, Hannaford states, "Our society has tended to downgrade physical achievement and minimize its importance in 'serious' endeavors like work and school." She also writes that sports participation takes a backseat to other activities that compete for a child's time and attention in the world today, such as watching television, using computers, and playing video games.

Another deterrent to a child's involvement in sports may be negative experiences in the past (for the child or a parent who influences the child's decision to participate). If children feel incompetent in a particular sport, they will likely withdraw and find something else to do. Likewise, if parents feel incompetent at the sport, they may steer their sons or daughters away from the activity to protect them from experiencing those same feelings of inadequacy. And it's not just a fear of failure that may block participation. If, through previous sports experiences, children had little chance for excitement or were unable to take an active role in decision-making, they may drop the sport because it isn't meeting their basic needs.

Why Choose Snowsports?

On the bright side, parents are becoming more aware of how physical activity can benefit health and development and are seeking recreational opportunities for their children. With athletic programs for soccer, hockey, basketball, baseball, and swimming available to children as young as five or six, there are numerous recreational activities to choose from. For many children not a season goes by when they aren't participating in one sport or another.

That being the case, instructors, trainers, and directors in the snowsports industry should emphasize the benefits of including skiing and snowboarding as part of a family's winter recreational activities. As individual sports, skiing and snowboarding offer different opportunities for personal achievement and growth than team sports do. For instance, individual sports can offer an elevated sense of excitement and stimulation and a more personalized level of competition. With sports such as skiing and snowboarding, children can mold their own experiences to elicit as much excitement as they want.

In team sports, there is a risk that less-skilled players may spend more time on the sidelines than in the game, or not be chosen for the team at all. This can discourage children from participating in team sports and take the fun out of physical activity. In contrast, there are no sidelines in individual sports. Children don't need a team, a coach, or a referee, and they can participate at any level they choose, regardless of their age.

Beyond The Physical

If you've ever taught or watched a children's ski or snowboard lesson, you know that children learn much more than the physical skills necessary to slide, turn, and stop on snow. Their problemsolving skills, sense of responsibility, cooperation, and social skills also get a healthy workout.

A child's ability to solve problems and learn responsibility is enhanced by the winter environment. Unlike a gymnasium or playing field, the mountain playground is huge and constantly changing. As snow falls, temperatures change, and other skiers use the trails, the skiing surface is different from day to day and run to run. What was smooth and groomed in the morning may be bumpy and uneven by lunchtime. Snow that was light and fluffy on the first run may be thick and heavy by afternoon. Groomed runs get icy as the day progresses. Fog rolls in and out and winds blow, changing visibility. Whether skiing with one or two others or as part of a larger group, skiers and snowboarders must continually assess their environment and modify their actions accordingly.

Responsibility is further shaped by the internal and external consequences of decisions. Your Responsibility Code, developed by the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), provides rules of the road for all skiers and snowboarders and promotes on-hill etiquette as well as safety. By following the code, young skiers and snowboarders learn the importance of safety and respect for others on the mountain. Failure to abide by these rules may not only result in personal injury but in hurting someone else. In extreme cases, unsafe conduct may even lead to the loss of skiing privileges.

Of course, some decisions carry less severe consequences. Children quickly learn that if they choose to ski a challenging run when fog or snow limits visibility, the run will likely become more difficult and less fun than it would be if conditions were better. They also soon realize that choosing to ski a bumpy run with slow, round turns may result in successfully completing the run without falling. Faced with decisions like these each time they make a run, children learn to think before they act and to deal with the consequences of their choices.

Another benefit of skiing or snowboarding occurs when children improve their social skills in the context of a group lesson in which they play, interact, and learn. Although students can work on individual skills within a group lesson, sharing a class with others gives a child the opportunities to share ideas and skills and to be aware of the needs of fellow students. It's important that parents understand this.

They should know, too, that in contrast to the team environment where the best players are the stars and the slower players may be relegated to the sidelines, everyone in a group participates and learns together. The focus is on cooperation rather than competition, with stronger students helping their peers. By participating in such simple tasks as helping each other up in the wake of a crash, taking turns as group leader, or making sure that the class stays together, children learn responsibility and consideration for others. And by developing and improving specific skills through on-hill exercises, children boost their self-esteem.

Skiing and snowboarding also help children develop the intrinsic or internal motivation that drives development. Learning to wedge, turn, and stop can be motivation for getting to ride the chairlift. Learning to ski parallel allows a child to successfully ski a blue run that was once too difficult. Mastering short turns helps the child ski a bump run without falling.

By linking one skill to another, children gain satisfaction and a sense of achievement without being involved in a competitive situation. The motivation to play and succeed comes from internal feelings and situations the child can influence rather than from external situations over which the child has no control. The focus becomes "Did I have fun?" rather than "Did I win?" In addition to building skills with the help of an instructor, skiing and snowboarding offers a chance for parents to enhance a child's on-hill development. Instead of cheering from the sidelines, parents can join their children in the activity and build on the learning process by providing support and encouragement. They can also help their kids put in the "mileage" they need to improve. In this setting, children can increase their confidence and enthusiasm by leading their parents on secret trails, over jumps, and down favorite runs. And by participating with and encouraging their young skiers and snowboarders, parents can enhance their own teaching and listening skills.

Part II: The Instructor's Role

Once the parents and children have decided to try skiing or snowboarding, instructors and coaches face the challenge of motivating children to begin and continue pursuing the sport. We can do this by helping them enjoy experiences that satisfy their basic needs for sensation, self-direction, affiliation, and achievement. Rather than provide step-by-step instructions for skiing or snowboarding, we can help children develop the knowledge, skills, and thought processes necessary to make independent decisions on the slopes. The beauty of this approach is that such learning applies to many aspects of their lives.

Learning to make decisions can intimidate children. Rather than simply responding to an adult's direction, they are learning to figure things out for themselves. This process of trial and error may be initially frustrating but will encourage valuable problem-solving skills.

In order for the child to feel comfortable making mistakes as a part of learning, a trustful and caring relationship must exist between the child and the teacher. We must be genuine in our actions, responding as real people rather than know-it-all authority figures. By accepting and respecting each child's efforts and decisions-and avoiding the urge to control his or her responses-we are building the foundation of a learning partnership.

Sensory Awareness

Children as well as adults use their senses to experience the world around them. Building learning experiences that are rich in sensory input helps meet the child's need for stimulation and excitement. The experience of learning the movement patterns of skiing or snowboarding can be enhanced by helping children tune into what they feel, see, and hear.

We should help children focus their awareness, not only on how their body feels when it performs a movement pattern but also on how the skis and the environment respond. Do the skis slide smoothly or scrape the snow? Is your track round or Z-shaped? Do the skis sound quiet or loud on the snow? Rather than tell children what they should be sensing, we should help them discover what they are sensing. To avoid sensory overload, it's best to limit the focus to one sense at a time.

Simply put, children can use sensory input to make decisions and evaluate results. Recalling sensations can help them repeat experiences, learn other movement patterns for skiing or snowboarding, and transfer skills to a variety of physical activities.

Becoming Responsible

As noted, another basic human need is to have self-direction, i.e., to feel responsible. To become responsible, children need to learn to make decisions and solve problems for themselves. Instructors and coaches can help children do this by providing the process and the options from which they may choose to develop their own solutions.

The movement options you teach within a lesson represent one resource the child can draw from when deciding how to negotiate the slopes. Your Responsibility Code is another. But rather than teach children that these are rules with which they must comply, we should help them use the code as a guide for on-slope decisions. For example, rather than tell children to stop at an intersection, inquire what they can do to avoid running into someone when two trails meet. Allow them to try their solution, in a safe way. Then help them determine if they need to make adjustments to improve their solution.

Although we should leave the decision to the child, we can guide the process. The following steps for creative problem-solving are adapted from Creative Teachers, Creative Students by John Baer:

1.   Explore the situation and gather information.
2.   Define the problem to be solved.
3.   Generate possible solutions and select one.
4.   Develop a course of action and implement the plan.
5.   Evaluate the results and make adjustments where needed.

Granted, it takes more time to let children figure out what to do than to just tell them. But the reward for taking the time is that we enhance their ability to take responsibility for themselves in their journey through life.

Communicating and Cooperating

Just because skiing and snowboarding don't require children to play with others, don't assume that snowsports cannot fulfill a child's need for affiliation. Participating with others can enrich the experience, and merely having the opportunity to share with companions what he or she senses or likes to do can help a child feel that he or she plays a special role in the group.

One opportunity for sharing comes from asking each child in a group to select a run for everyone to ski or ride during the day. We can enhance the experience by asking the child to describe one thing that the group can look or listen for or seek to feel on that run. Cooperative activities such as coming up with a team name or developing a plan to keep the group together are team builders. Competitive activities such as relay races, one-on-one challenges, or elimination games tend to identify stars rather than build teams.

Keep in mind that when children interact, conflicts sometimes occur. Resolving conflict is a part of learning how to work together effectively. Just as individual mistakes can be an opportunity for learning, so can a conflict between two or more children. It's important to take time to help each child understand the other's point of view, discuss why each child feels the way he or she does, and agree upon a compromise. Developing awareness of the needs and opinions of others in the group--and learning that compromise is sometimes necessary helps children discover important tools for resolving conflicts they may encounter in other aspects of their lives.

Developing Self-Esteem

As mentioned before, a child develops a sense of competence and self-esteem by achieving goals and acknowledging success. When developing self-esteem, it is important that children learn to set realistic goals. Instructors can help children set such goals by having them clarify what they want to do and explaining what steps are necessary to reach the goal. Just as we help children learn a movement pattern by first learning individual skill movements and then combining them into a whole, we can help children define the steps they must complete to meet a goal.

We can also help children understand what to expect during the process of reaching goals. We should let them know that this process involves trial and error and that an error made along the path toward reaching a goal is an opportunity to make an adjustment and move onward.

To acknowledge success, children need to learn to recognize their accomplishments. We can help by doling out lots of positive reinforcement. It's vital to let children know that we recognize and appreciate what they are doing.

Conclusion

If properly instilled, concepts such as problem-solving, responsibility, cooperation, and self-reliance can be transferred from on-hill experiences into a child's everyday world. Encouraging youths to participate in physical activity may help them tackle and meet challenges in all sorts of endeavors. By learning to rely on their abilities, they can pursue activities with more confidence.

And if they encounter an occasional failure, they will be better equipped to acknowledge that they made a poor decision, didn't invest enough effort, or took on a bit too much. Moreover, children will likely come to view challenging tasks as adventures and opportunities to learn new things.

Participating in sports such as skiing and snowboarding won't guarantee that a child will grow up to be a well-adjusted, self-actualized adult. But given all the valuable lessons that can be learned, snowsports are sure to point them in the right direction.

For more information concerning specific aspects of "coaching for life skills," such as problem-solving, goal-setting, providing feedback, and creating learning experiences, please refer to the PSIA Children's Instruction Manual.

Marie Russell-Shaw is a training coordinator at The Big Mountain Ski School in Montana. A PSIA-NRM clinician and examiner, she is also co-coach of the PSIA junior Education Team and the primary author of PSIA's Children's Instruction Manual.

Amy Zahm is a ski instructor at Crystal Mountain, Washington. She is a member of the junior Education Team and a PSIA-NW clinician and examiner.

References

Baer, John. 1997. Creative Teachers, Creative Students. Needham Heights, Mass.: Allyn and Bacon,

Checkley, Kathy. 1996. "Physical Education: Preparing Students to Be Active for Life." Curriculum Update, Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Fall: 1-3, 6-8.

Hannaford, Carla. 1995. Smart Moves: Why Learning Is Not All In Your Head. Arlington, Va.: Great Ocean Publishers.

Kohn, Alfie. 1996. Beyond Discipline: From Compliance to Community. Alexandria, Va.: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.

Professional Ski Instructors of America. 1997. Children's Instruction Manual. Lakewood, Colo.: PSIA.

Stevens, Luc., Wim. Van Werkhoven, and Jos Castelijns. 1997. "Reclaiming Kid's Motivation" Educational Leadership. 53, 8: 60-62.