Invest in yourself this winter with Vail Ski & Snowboard School skills clinics

When you think about the commitment you make coming to the slopes and purchasing airfare, lodging, lift tickets and equipment, are you also investing in the sport once you arrive? Many people only think about getting here and once they do, they struggle on the slopes. The Vail Ski & Snowboard School wants to help you advance your skills so you can have more fun while you are here and turn this sport into a lifelong passion.

In addition to adult private and group lessons and children’s classes, Vail Ski & Snowboard School has three-day clinics called Her Turn and Focused Learning. In the women’s specific Her Turn clinics, participants will have the same female instructor for all three days and the idea is to build confidence in a supportive way. During Focused Learning clinics the emphasis is on the mind-body connection where instructors use a blend of tactics from sports psychology and business insights to help with the learning process.

Created back in the 1980s, Her Turn is the longest running women’s program at Vail Mountain and is for intermediate to advanced skiers looking to progress their ski skills and gain confidence.

“In a lot of social skiing settings, it’s all about keeping up with each other to keep the group together, which can add lot pressure and be intimidating. Women participating in an all women group can have a completely different dynamic, which can be relaxing and encouraging, more suited to learning and improving,” said Julie Hahn, Vail Village Supervisor at Vail Ski & Snowboard School.

Participants in the Her Turn clinic fill out a one-page questionnaire that tells the instructor about their skiing, their goals for improving their skiing and their goals for the clinic. The group is split into similar levels of skiers and similar goals and every group will be working on different tasks. 

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“In these clinics, we strive to break down their goals to attainable steps. Together with the instructor, they can create a step-by-step progression which will lead to the desired outcome. So, whether it’s creating a better stance, learning to conquer those bumps, or mastering carving, progress is inevitable,” Hahn said.

In the Focused Learning clinics, Swaz Fraser, who is an alpine instructor examiner for the Professional Ski Instructors of America (PSIA), said the coaches use a science-based approach to learning.

“Learning occurs in the brain and the brain is made up of nerve cells and nerve cells are made up of vast interconnected systems of communication,” Fraser said. “These systems of communication are a bit like hiking trails. The more often you use the trail, the more worn and more familiar the path becomes. Learning is the same way.”

The Focused Learning clinics use proven learning strategies such as the Movement Analysis Model and Teaching Model and other modalities. It also utilizes video throughout the three days of clinics to help pin-point progress and document change, both day to day and season to season.

Focused Learning can also help someone overcome fear and anxiety when trying to come back to the slopes after an accident, injury or bad fall.

“Performance confidence is having confidence in your skills and is different than having personal confidence. Peak performance can be achieved and anxiety relieved through Focused Learning mental and physiological training approaches. Our coaches will help those who are afraid or have anxiety learn how to ski more efficiently, improve their confidence and help them make better decisions for safe, challenging and fun skiing.”

And fun is certainly the result in both of these programs. Many participants shared with Vail Ski & Snowboard School how much they enjoyed learning and feeling more confident on the slopes.

“The group I just coached wanted the clinic to last five days!” Fraser said. “They all reported stronger performance confidence and enjoyed skiing on parts of the mountain they wouldn’t normally experience.”

Hahn said the Her Turn coaches often hear the same sentiments. Students will say how they are now skiing the trees or exploring areas they had never thought of before, or how much fun they had skiing with their group.

“We have many that join us for a session each year and we are lucky enough to have return instructors that love the program as much as the participants,” Hahn said.  

The next Her Turn clinic is Feb. 28-Mar. 2 and the next Focused Learning clinic is Mar. 4-6. To learn more, go to Vail.com and search under the Lessons tab for Adult Signature Programs.