How do ski instructors and coaches develop after their certification? What kind of changes do they go through in their professional careers? And if so, how do they perceive those changes?
Ski pro trainees generally find their professional training appealing and, at the same time, challenging. The subjects of study, the assimilation and training of the technical model, the pedagogical practices, and the socio-cultural environment combine to impact their lives, but the transition from apprentice to proficient takes place when they face their first learners and athletes as they graduate as professionals. It is a moment of questioning whether one has the necessary characteristics for this profession and one’s own ability to overcome the divergence between theory and practice.
Novice ski pros tend to experience the following difficulties at the beginning of their professional career (adapted from Rønnestad & von der Lippe):
- Lack of confidence about producing a beneficial effect on their learners/athletes.
- Feeling of uncertainty about losing control of the ski lesson/training session.
- Insecurity in dealing with learners/athletes.
- Concern about moral or ethical issues that arise in the development of practices.
- Concern about feeling powerless in dealing with learner/athlete’s situations.
- Indignation with learners/athletes who hinder their efforts to help them.
- Guilt about not having known how to solve a critical situation.
- Anxiety to transmit and demonstrate what they have learned in their training.
- Tendency to disappointment in the face of learners/athletes who are prone not to show improvement.
These initial difficulties, which are dealt with in their formative stage, will diminish with experience. At this stage, the collaborative attitude of Ski School or Ski Club Directors and Supervisors have a great influence on the professional development of the beginner instructor/coach.
General aspects of professional development
Adopting an open attitude towards one’s own learning is preponderant to enhance one’s professional competence. Continuous reflection on one’s actions is another attitude that contributes to professional growth.
A greater integration between the professional Self and the personal Self, articulating theoretical-conceptual affinities and personality on the one hand, and the freedom to apply teaching methods that best suit the skier on the other, generates the strengthening of self-confidence and self-efficacy as a professional.
In the beginning, anxiety is a common aspect when transmitting knowledge or leading groups, but over time, most ski pros learn to manage it. High performance standards, unrealistic expectations, fear of feeling incompatible with teaching, and a sense of lack of professional competence are the basic factors that trigger the anxiety typical of novice instructors/coaches.
When they begin to practice professionally, they generally tend to apply problem-solving strategies. They are prone to adapt the skier’s goals to their own teaching scheme or ‘script’ that they have, momentarily, at their disposal, without considering each skier’s own needs. Over time, they begin to collaborate with them acting as ‘facilitators‘ rather than ‘problem solvers’.
The novice professionals try to ‘train’ themselves by remembering what they have learned during their training or by imitating experienced pros. They rely on the expertise of others, while experienced professionals rely on their own.
The learners/athletes are their main source of evolution, influencing self-learning since they provide a source of continuous feedback. There is, generally, a gradual transition from the ‘instructor Self’ or the ‘coach Self’ protagonist towards the learner/athlete as the main actor in a teaching-learning context.
In professional practice, sympathy and empathy have great significance because it is one thing to have sympathy for the skier and another to practice empathy. Empathy is the sensitivity and willingness to understand the skier’s thoughts, feelings, and efforts. The empathy of a ski pro is observed when placing himself in the ‘skis’ of his learner/athlete.
