It’s that time of the year when people are going for Level 2 Alpine. I know that because I was studying hard just 2 years ago. Last night at our weekly clinic, I was helping to give feedback to others who are going for Level 2 this year. Next week, I’ll be giving even more guidance to that crew and we’ll be going over the benchmarks as well.
And then I’m also seeing more sales of my book: My Journey to Level 2 Alpine: What Helped Me Pass the PSIA Level 2 Exam and even one person from last night bought my book this morning… awesome!
Level 2 Exam Tips
Since I’m in a “Level 2” kind of mindset right now, I thought I’d point out some things that might help anyone in that situation right now:
- Don’t teach too many things. Pick one drill that’s appropriate for your lesson, base your static on it, do it both ways (left and right), “DIRT” it and then put it into our skiing. You only have 20 minutes, so keep it simple.
- Stay away from saying “I want you to…” and instead put it on the student with “if/then” statements.
- Stay away from technical terms as you’ll get questioned on what they mean. If you do use them during your lesson, define them right then… like you would do if you were teaching real students.
- Plan the terrain for your lesson. Know some great spots to teach whatever lesson you might get. You might need to get to that ski area a day early and ski it a bit. Don’t fail your exam by not knowing where to teach. Give yourself every advantage you can.
- Be safe. Don’t stop the group under a lift or in a dangerous place. Interject the code where appropriate.
- Know the 5 fundamentals – memorize them word for word so you can recite them on demand.
- Work together as a group (I explain this in my book).
- Always explain HOW to do something. Explain the movements needed to do it.
- Your demos need to be spot on. Practice your garlands, 1000 steps, etc.
- Work on your benchmarks and on your skiing.
Again, my book has a lot more than what I list here but I want everyone to pass, so I thought I’d give out some general tips. It sucks to fail, so spend all the time you have getting ready – mentally and physically.
Go into the exam giving yourself every possible advantage you can so that you’re confident!
As I was writing this, I received an email from another instructor I know asking me to be a guest host at his hill where people are preparing for Level 2… cool!
