How accreditation can help you identify a quality trainer
Just because you are an expert, does not guarantee you can teach
I’ve never liked the saying “those who can’t do, teach”. It doesn’t give appropriate credit to the fact that teaching in itself is an important skill. Equally, being an expert in something does not mean you are able to impart that skill or knowledge to others. Never has this been more apparent to me than in the Italian Alps in my first ever ski lesson.
You only live once (YOLO)
In a YOLO moment my friend and I (neither of whom are remotely sporty) decided to learn to ski in our 30s. We got a good deal on flights and an Air bnb and booked ourselves 4 days of 2 hour lessons with a local ski school with an English speaking instructor. Since a dry ski slope when I was 11 isn’t really comparable, I had never skied. This was all explained to the ski school in advance and in person to the instructor at the beginning of the first class.
Day one of training : A slippery slope...
The instructor checked our boots, made us move first with the left ski only, then the right ski only then put us on the ‘magic carpet’ to the top of the baby slope. No explanations.
He then brought each of us down a part of the slope hand in hand with random words in limited English, trying to get us to move across the slope. While he worked with my friend, I was poised on the slope with no idea how to keep myself upright. At the end of the class we reflected that he sent us straight up to the top of the slope, never actually told us what to do or explained the technique. He also didn’t have the vocabulary to explain what was needed or answer our questions. We explained this to the ski school and were given a new instructor who was fluent in English.
Day two of training : The learning begins...
Our second day could not have been more different. The instructor was in fact fluent in English. He also had the skills to communicate the basics of skiing to people who had never done it before. He explained the positions of the skis, what to do with the poles, how to slow down and stop and had us practice on a small incline at the bottom of the slopes. By the time he put me on the magic carpet, I knew what to expect. By the end of the 2 hour class I had skied the length of the baby slope twice, unaided (and without falling) with a couple of small turns.
The value of a good instructor
Over the next couple of days his excellent teaching skills were apparent. After each run, he provided feedback to both of us about our techniques and clearly explained each exercise we were doing. He was also extremely observant to our learning styles and noted that I preferred to follow his path down the slope and, unconsciously, was mirroring his movements. So instead of verbalising that I needed to put more pressure on the outside ski, he exaggerated the movement and I followed suit.
Now I am not about to become a regular skier but I did have a fantastic week learning a new skill and drastically improved over 3 days thanks to his classes.
A teacher who can teach is a gift - accreditation validates that skill
The ability to teach or train is not a given. We don’t all have it. I have no doubt the first instructor had been skiing for over 30 years and was an accomplished skier. That didn’t help me learn. Expertise and knowledge are distinct from teaching ability and installing confidence in your students. That’s why APMG assess all our trainers for teaching skills as well as knowledge of the subject area and syllabus they teach. An Olympic gold medallist could have been my instructor but if they didn’t clearly articulate the position of my skis in order to stop whilst flying downhill, things would have been very messy!
