CREATE SAFETY
Manage terrain choice, equipment, group positioning, task difficulty and awareness of other slope users.
COACHING EDUCATION
MORE THAN
“JUST DO THIS.”
A snowboard instructor does more than demonstrate a turn. The role is to create a safe learning environment, understand the student and guide useful change.
INSTRUCTOR RESPONSIBILITIES
THE INSTRUCTOR’S
REAL JOB.
A good lesson is not measured by how many tips were delivered. It is measured by whether the student became safer, clearer, more capable and better able to continue learning.
OBSERVE MOVEMENT
See how body movement affects the snowboard and distinguish causes from visible outcomes.
DESIGN PROGRESSION
Choose a task that is challenging enough to create learning without overwhelming the student.
BUILD INDEPENDENCE
Help the student understand what to feel, notice and practise after the lesson ends.
STUDENT-CENTRED COACHING
TEACH THE PERSON.
NOT JUST THE TASK.
Two students attempting the same movement may need different explanations, terrain, pacing or feedback. Coaching begins with the learner, not with a fixed script.
- Clarify the student’s goals, experience and concerns
- Check what the student already understands and feels
- Use demonstrations that highlight the intended outcome
- Give concise feedback that can be used while moving
- Adapt the task when the student response is different from expected
- Confirm learning by asking the student to describe the change
OBSERVE → ACT → REVIEW
A COACHING
FEEDBACK LOOP.
Observation only becomes coaching when it leads to an intervention, a new attempt and an honest check of the result.
OBSERVE
What happened to the board, turn and speed?
INTERPRET
Which movement relationship most likely influenced that outcome?
INTERVENE
What cue, task, terrain or constraint may create a useful change?
EVALUATE
Did the change produce the intended result for this student?