We came in early, which, if you know anything about Team PomPom, is a miracle within itself because we are usually about 15-20 minutes late. As much as I love coaching 5-and 6-year-olds, it is extremely difficult to move them about the mountain in a timely fashion. Bathroom breaks, emergency snacks, bloody noses…they all control our movement more than the lifelines do.
But they are awesome and will ski anything—well, almost. After skiing with me for one month, they have become a wee bit snobbish about their choice of trail. They are not interested in the beautifully groomed, wide-open terrain that the grownups like. They are looking for the fun signs.
What is a fun sign, you might ask? Part of it is me taking advantage of their inability to read words like caution. The other is appreciating the fine work that Ski Patrol does of marking trails for our benefit. When you see two sticks of bamboo crossed with a yellow circle on it, that’s a fun sign. If it has two yellow circles (Caution & Thin Cover), that means “double fun” and is a trail we should never miss at all, whatsoever.
And so, we don’t. If we see a fun sign, we will ski it. We love the mix of moguls and bare spots as much as the next kid, even if we come to a dead stop when we hit the grass. We are learning, and that’s okay. Last week, we learned to rub snow on our pants to remove the mud, a valuable lesson that they will remember into adulthood when they crash into the mud on Superstar in June.
We are learning to put the patches together and find the snowy line through the mess of green and brown. This will transfer easily when the brown patches become trees as we head into the woods. We are learning to see the trail, to see the variety in the terrain, and to find the best, snowiest line through. Although they don’t realize it, they’ll be able to find the fun route on the groomies, too.
Balance becomes essential as the terrain is constantly shifting. We are perfecting one perfect turn that will hinder us into a pattern. We are blowing up that pattern and will be able to adapt our technique to anything. Your balance has to be just a bit further back on the grass so you have room to get caught and swing forward. You have to adjust your stance, get your hands forward, and be ready. You’ll need that later in the woods, on the race course, and in the moguls.
And my athletes are learning to be prepared for anything the mountain might throw at them. If you come over a roller like F.I.S., you better be ready for what’s on the other side. If it was perfectly groomed, you could come over blind and fast, focused on nothing. But on a fun trail? There could be a bald spot on the transition that you have to be ready for with quick feet, a jump, and some quick Tigger turns. Yes, bouncy turns like Tigger from Winnie the Pooh. They are 5 & 6 years old, remember?
We’re not just teaching these kids to be good skiers; we’re always thinking about improving their turns. We are giving them skills for life. Because life isn’t perfectly groomed, where you can travel at an average of 29 mph. It’s a fun trail full of challenges and variety. And it will take you out if you’re not paying attention. Trying all the crazy, weird things is what makes you better, more adaptable, and receptive to change. If all you’re trained to do is make one perfect turn, can you imagine the trauma when you cannot make that turn perfect?
I’ve been there, stuck in that one perfect turn. It’s a trap, and it’s really hard to get out of, both mentally and physically. Instead, you have to dance with the mountain, and it always leads, so stop trying to dominate it and tell it what to do. Learn the lessons that the mountain wants to teach you, and you will become a more beautiful, receptive skier—and person.
This past weekend, we got stuck in a river bed and had to stop everything while we scraped everyone’s skis off. A big bump in the road of life, but we learned to get out our season passes, sit down and scrape our skis off. Nothing to do about it but acknowledge the challenge and address it. Because what are we really learning? That we, no matter what age we are, are responsible for ourselves, our bodies and our gear. So we better ski the Fun Signs.
Merisa is a longtime Killington resident, global real estate advisor, and coach PomPom. She can be reached at [email protected].
