Take a Ski Lesson

TAKE A SKI LESSON
clip from www.trirudy.com in Ottawa, Canada

Nordic Skiing is in full swing in the Gatineau Park, 12 minutes north
of Ottawa. There are a number of places where you can "Fast-track your
skiing, this season:"

Classes for beginners to novices - www.ottawa.ca City of Ottawa,
Classes, Skate and Classic;

Private and Group Lessons from beginner-advanced, www.xcottawa.ca
Gatineau Park, Skate and Classic

Camps for Intermediate to expert/elite skiers, www.xczone.com Nordic
skiing camps, Chelsea, QC, all styles

PART 1 - Student seeks Instructor

Masters ski camps offer the opportunity to tune-up and learn the most
progressive Nordic skiing technique. Let us share some of our thoughts
on nordic skiing instruction in general to help you make an informed
choice this season.


Having returned from years of racing internationally, we were
discouraged to find skiers still being taught technique, which elite
racers had discarded years previously. During our own early development
phases, we learnt pragmatic lessons that lead to outstanding results,
but we also spend many years floundering, doing things wrong and
following paths that lead nowhere; practicing contrived drills created
for their own sake, just wasting time and developing bad habits. Ski
skating evolved while we were on the circuit. Then, the athletes taught
themselves simply because there were no teachers - and it took a long
time. Nowadays, you don't need to go it alone.

An athletic person is only able to fully apply their fitness attributes
once they can master the basics of technique. First they must be shown,
otherwise, skiing can be an exercise in creative snow removal.

Good teachers are not passive observers, but active participants and
mentors in Nordic skiing. When they are not teaching, they are
studying, playing, training or racing. Students should not have pay
someone to stand at a bottom of a hill and count out intervals. That is
what a stop-watch is for! A coach/instructor needs to be skiing with
you - demonstrating not pontificating.

"Choose an instructor who you would prefer to ski like."


PART 2 - BENEFIT OF A LESSON OT TWO

Will you be empowered to ski significantly faster immediately after a
ski lesson? - not likely. The reality is, that there needs to be a
serious commitment to practice on your part. However, a good instructor
is guaranteed to shorten their learning curve and give you the edge.
First and foremost, we can save you years of development effort in one
lesson, by steering you clear of what not to do, and point your skiing
in the right direction.

Although, residual old-school rhetoric persists, as it did in the early
days of skate skiing, you can now learn the most progressive Nordic
skiing technique. You will know how to train technique in the most
optimal fashion, with a few key, purposeful and high-value drills. You
will become "ruthlessly efficient" in your methods.

Ski camps offer an ideal social setting for meeting people with common
interests, and connecting with "kindred spirits" or future training
partners.

PART 3 - VALUE

How much is your time worth? Add up all the hours of spent trying to
figure skiing out on your own. We have all seen people who have been
skiing 30 years never get past a novice level. What is the value of
having specialists in the sport personally address your needs? The sad
truth is that most people spend more money on wax than instruction.
What is going to give you the best return on your investment?