I re-posted this article in part to help me focus on and in part explain to others what I believe is one of the reasons so many skiers don’t actually significantly improve over their many years in the sport in terms of their execution of movement patterns appropriate or effective for the outcomes they wish to achieve. Whew, a fancy way of saying that while your sensations on snow or your perceived results may seem to have improved this can often be attributed to other factors such as equipment changes, environmental factors like improved visibility, psychological factors such as confidence or calmness, etc. Has anything changed physically or cognitively in terms of your skiing or is this primarily perception and not reality? I think you can guess my answer. Though it is possible to have an epiphany your body is a stubborn beast and wants to return quickly to its original state. BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT NORMAL FEELS LIKE!
In part why change doesn’t occur easily or we don’t maintain the progress that we achieved temporarily or once I believe is partly due to our strange assumption as adults that a brief exposure to a new experience (much like popping a pill to alleviate symptoms without addressing the underlying causes) will set in motion a steadily accumulating series of successes in technique on snow. As an instructor I found that the expectation of the student was often that a brief exposure to a situation (usually of an hour duration) within a group setting or a quick verbal tip was all that was needed to set in motion a permanent change on snow. While this often seems possible for athletic beginners there is a glass ceiling that is quickly reached in terms of further results. While some of this is clearly equipment restrictions (and there are other blogs more eminently equipped to deliver this content) often it is the lack of further investment in your personal performance that restricts the scope of the experiences that you are capable of.
One of the reasons that I became a kid’s coach was because firstly the expectations were more realistic and secondly if I could keep them engaged in the sport we had many years to work on their results. My goal over many years has been to try to synthesize a method of teaching adults that can bring to my small corner of the skiing world the best of both instruction and coaching in a format that works despite the obvious obstacles to this that I have touched on above. I’m almost there. However in a world where we often pay our personal trainers with 3 years university or training the equivalent of 2 to 3 times the average hourly wage in Canada to lead us to a glorious new body (we hope) we still think that advice on snow should be cheap or free (just a tip please). Real results take an investment and so this dialogue is an explanation of why I think that almost never works well. No one ever became a millionaire by teaching skiing or coaching the sport or remains passionate in this work without a real love of the sport but it’s still a truism that you often get what you pay for.
So here’s an article in a different field but a well put recognition of the similarity in context. This not only applies to executive coaching situations but to sports as well. Despite a coach or instructor’s sometimes considerable investments in personal development and coaching accreditation you’re often asked for an opinion on or free advice about someone’s technique. While it often feels the same way that another professional might feel when asked for free legal or medical advice its important to keep in mind that this is also your opportunity to promote your service and that a coaching solution will take more than a quick fix to implement and is definitely worth paying for.
A friend called me recently to get some help with a work situation that was driving her crazy. “Do you want advice or do you want me to coach you?” I asked.
“Aren’t they the same thing?” she replied.
No. They aren’t.
Coaching—or what you might know as Life, Business, Executive, or Leadership Coaching—has been around for about 30 years now. Although many people understand generally what it is, there are still some misconceptions out there. So what’s the difference between getting advice and getting coached?
The main difference is this: it’s not a coach’s job to give advice. No coach is smart enough or has the depth and breadth of knowledge to give perfect advice all the time. Truth is, most people don’t want advice. Even when the person being coached says “Tell me what you think I should do,” nobody really wants to be told what to do.
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One2One Coaching 