The New Yawka in Arizona Thread

[raisingarizona]

Today was my 6th day on skis for the season and it was by far the best one yet.

This is my daughter Cody. It was her first day out for the season and it went so well I couldn't be happier. We have had our ups and downs skiing together but today I could tell that as long as I remain patient skiing is going to be something that she is going to fall in love with. It just clicked today and seeing her so stoked and happy made me feel so freaking good, I don't want to sound lame or anything but I was so happy I had to hold back my tears a little. I'm a little sensitive like that I guess.

The kid was even skiing switch for several hundred feet at a time!

 

[Harvey]

How old is Cody? I've had some great times skiing with Neve (9). She started when she was 3 1/2 and seems to have really good balance. In the last two years she's developed this somewhat rare(?) condition that cripples her with fear about things that aren't fearsome. It was somewhat under control the last two years, oddly she stopped skiing blacks, but had no issues in the trees? In the last three months it is totally off the rails. I hope we can ski this year.

 

[raisingarizona]

Cody is 8 and she has fear issues too. Her skills are fine for skiing anything but she gets scared on anything steep. There have been days where I feel like a total failure as a father for getting frustrated and her reacting from that. Parenting isn't always easy and I really want her to love skiing, I think it's going to come together this year I hope.

How are you dealing with your daughters fear?

 

[marcski]

Nice RA. You guys caught a bluebird day. Although, it appears you guys have plenty of those out in the DSW. My little one, who is 9.5 is slowly becoming my favorite ski buddy. She totally inherited the ski bug and is a diehard already. Last May, I took her to K-mart and she was loving the huge bumps on Superstar all weekend. You just need to remember that they are young and I try to put myself back into their boots. It's about quality time with your daughter out in the great outdoors more than ripping laps and great lines. If you put the time in now, it (and Cody) will keep paying you back in the years to come. It is starting to pay back dividends for me already. In May, I had to just stop and watch my baby rip up the bumps while these grown men were huffing and puffing and resting and she was passing them all!

 

[sig]

I started both my kids at 3 years old, a boy and girl. it is easy to lose patience. because of our ability and love of the sport we are dragging our kids to areas of the mtn other parents would never take them regardless of their age. We are probably a little selfish in dragging our kids into the woods and down black diamonds. Hang in there, it will pay off big time. Around age 9 my kids started ripping through almost everything. it has been a blast ever since. Well worth the effort.

 

[MC2]

In the last two years she's developed this somewhat rare(?) condition that cripples her with fear about things that aren't fearsome. It was somewhat under control the last two years, oddly she stopped skiing blacks, but had no issues in the trees? In the last three months it is totally off the rails. I hope we can ski this year.

Cody is 8 and she has fear issues too. Her skills are fine for skiing anything but she gets scared on anything steep. There have been days where I feel like a total failure as a father for getting frustrated and her reacting from that. Parenting isn't always easy and I really want her to love skiing, I think it's going to come together this year I hope.

How are you dealing with your daughters fear?

Have you guys tried getting these kids into groups? Especially in that age range, kids are starting to get pretty social and skiing in groups of other kids can really help ease fears. Some kids might be gung ho, and others will be timid, but a balance is usually found somewhere in the middle. Do they have any friends that ski? Or even friends that don't ski, but want to learn? Getting them to ski with other kids that are more scared than they are is a pretty good way to put fears in perspective sometimes.

Anyway, love this thread and that Powder article was sweet. Cool that you were involved in it.

 

[Harvey]

Cody is 8 and she has fear issues too. Her skills are fine for skiing anything but she gets scared on anything steep. There have been days where I feel like a total failure as a father for getting frustrated and her reacting from that. Parenting isn't always easy and I really want her to love skiing, I think it's going to come together this year I hope.

How are you dealing with your daughters fear?

Neve's condition causes fear issues that go way beyond skiing. It now impacts all aspects of our lives, a constant battle. With regard to skiing, I can only talk about what worked last year, this year is seems much worse, but I can tell you what I knew last year.

Matt is right, groups. Or maybe more accurately peers. We've don't to push Neve beyond her comfort zone in skiing. (We do push her in other areas.)

The first and last time Neve had skied a black was the day in 2011 when she skied Sagamore at Gore. Since then her fears had kept her off black terrain. We all know the trail rating system is a bit cocked at times but for Neve it's the RATING not the pitch that matters. (Gore skiers: Is Pine Knot really easier that Open Pit?)

Last season we learned something significant at Windham. X and I became buddies when we met at Gore in March of 2010. (He took my avatar that day!) One thing we learned is we have daughters who are almost exactly the same age. His daughter Lana and our Neve hit it off right away the first time they skied together at Tuxedo Ridge.

Last March We set up a day to ski at Windham and on Neve's insistence stayed to the blues all day. As the day went on Lana really wanted to ski a black. (So did X and I but we were silent). Lana kept pushing. "Come on Neve I KNOW you can do it!"

She pushed and pushed and finally Neve relentless. We hit this trail called "Why Not." It's a series of steps where the steep parts are marginally black but the spots in between are true blue. Neve did it because Lana pushed and didn't resent the pressure. Big high fives at the bottom and a triumphant ride home.

Windham Mountain: Adapt and Conquer | NY Ski Blog

Windham Mountain has built a reputation helping people face and conquer challenges. This weekend, on our own, we made some strides too.

nyskiblog.com

"Why Not"

Let her peers do the hard work.

Major thread hijack RA. Thanks for the opportunity to share the story.

 

[MC2]

Let her peers do the hard work.

Yep. In PSIA, they're really hammering the children's education lately, and a big part of it is the "CAP model", or how kids' cognitive, affective, and physical abilities change as they age. Being scared of things, but being nudged by friends, fits right into what they teach about the 7-11 year old age group. Coach can elaborate on this I'm sure (if he's reading this thread).

Now back to the regularly scheduled stoke from AZ.

 

[sig]

Have you guys tried getting these kids into groups? Especially in that age range, kids are starting to get pretty social and skiing in groups of other kids can really help ease fears. Some kids might be gung ho, and others will be timid, but a balance is usually found somewhere in the middle. Do they have any friends that ski? Or even friends that don't ski, but want to learn? Getting them to ski with other kids that are more scared than they are is a pretty good way to put fears in perspective sometimes.

Yep. In PSIA, they're really hammering the children's education lately, and a big part of it is the "CAP model", or how kids' cognitive, affective, and physical abilities change as they age. Being scared of things, but being nudged by friends, fits right into what they teach about the 7-11 year old age group. Coach can elaborate on this I'm sure (if he's reading this thread).

dead on. packs of kids skiing together is great fun. very little whining. whether its you leading the pack or a group lesson
the kids will enjoy making new friends and hanging out with there peers

 

[raisingarizona]

Yes on all of the above. We have had mixed results but I'm going to continue to work on skills with her this season and get her out with her peers. I also want to get her up with her peers without me, I'm thinking that might help but so far she won't go up without me, we are still working on her fear of unloading the top station! Baby steps I suppose. I need to work on my patience as well. It really does seem like it's going to be a breakthrough year though, she is just so much stronger, taller, and athletic so we will see.