First Chair: PSIA-AASI Podcast

On this episode, podcast host George Thomas catches up with Pete Allison, Penn State Associate Professor of Values and Experiential Learning, Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management. This episode is part 2 of where you’ll learn about the PSU certificate program that is offered through the PSU Global Campus. Today, George and Pete discuss the making of the PSU mascot and motto, syllabus week and how to better engage students at the beginning of a lesson. They chat about teaching in general and connecting with your students no matter the topic. Tune in to hear more or head to thesnowpros.org.

On this episode, podcast host George Thomas catches up with Maggie Loring who is the chair of the Women’s Council for Equity and Inclusion (WCEI). Maggie talks about the history of the women’s council and what their goals and objectives are. Maggie talks about one of the main focal points is finding and they are working to improve the pipeline for women in snowsports to achieve career goals within the industry. George and Maggie talk about how the WCEI is a member resource that anyone can tap into to help progress their own initiatives within the industry. Tune in to hear more or head to thesnowpros.org.

On this episode, podcast host George Thomas catches up with Pete Allison, Penn State Associate Professor of Values and Experiential Learning, Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management. Since 2016, the Penn State Department of Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management in the College of Health and Human Development has been working closely with PSIA-AASI to evolve the association’s National Standards, Performance Guides, Assessment Forms, and to transform practices to be consistent across the country based on What Makes a Great Snowsports Instructor. The partnership has been key to aligning PSIA-AASI’s educational framework and structure, while unifying the professional experience for snow pros across the nation. The certificate program has just launched for this semester and is going well! Tune in to hear more or head to thesnowpros.org.

We’re diving into the teaching situations, national standards, teaching with guests and much more with AASI Team member Brian Donovan. Brian and George discuss the full gamut of how to create great experiences with our students and guests. The first topic discussed is how important good communication is, which devolves to new hire training, figuring out the goals of the instructor and your student, and how to help them achieve them. Tune in to hear more about some of the intricacies of teaching snowsports and how you can improve at assessments and certifications, for more, head to thesnowpros.org.

Geek out with some pro snowboarders and hear about how snowboards are made, how to choose the right board for you and how to help your students find the right board for them. AASI Snowboard Team member Lyndsey Stevens and AASI Snowboard Team alum Chuck Hewitt sit down with Tony Sasgen from Never Summer to discuss all things snowboarding. Listen to this fun bonus episode and get some useful insights on how to manage your board and learn more about why a snowboard is made the way it is. Learn more at thesnowpros.org

What's up, Snow Pros? Check out this pod with Rob Berlin. An instructor at Copper Mountain with his Snowboard Level III and Freestyle III certifications. First Char Podcast host George Thomas talks with Rob about all things Freestyle like the exam process, how to work towards getting certified, and his pathway to success in the industry. Coming from the Midwest, Rob moved to the Rockie Mountains after college and tuned into becoming an instructor. Rob is now on the Intermountain Development Team hoping to get on the Education Staff in the future. Learn more about Freestyle skiing and riding by heading to thesnowpros.org.

On this episode, podcast host George Thomas catches up with Kevin Jordan, a skier on the PSIA Alpine Team. Kevin and George talk about summers in Colorado and what is happening in Kevin's neck of the woods as a Mountain Bike Instructor at the mountain bike school in Aspen, CO. They chat all things mountain biking and instruction from Colorado. Listen in to hear the insights of going from a ski instructor to a mountain bike instructor. Learn more: thesnowpros.org.

On this special episode, we sit down with National Team member Kevin Jordan, National Team Alumna Brenna Kelleher, and Alex Jackson from CARV. Alex talks about what CARV does and how it can help you get better on snow. Brenna discusses how CARV is your "accountability partner" when your physical snowsports instructor can't be there. Kevin discusses why he uses CARV and what they're doing in Portillo. Listen in to learn how CARV can help you ski and improve how you teach. PSIA-AASI members can get great discounts on CARV products by using their pro offers. Learn more by heading to thesnowpros.org.

Listen to this podcast to hear how setting attainable goals and managing those goals can help propel you further into a professional snowsports career. You'll also hear how this applies to other areas of your life. Angelo Ross, the Education and Development Manager for PSIA-AASI chats with podcast host George Thomas about the importance of setting attainable goals. Check out Episode 714 to hear from Angelo on why experimentation and exploration when giving lessons is important. Then, head to Episode 710 and hear about The Expert Trap and how to avoid trapping your students in one. For more, head to thesnowpros.org.

In this episode, podcast host George Thomas catches up with the Education and Development Manager Angelo Ross at PSIA-AASI. Put faces to the names and find our podcasts on YouTube! George and Angel chat about Experimentation and Exploration in on-snow lessons. In a previous episode, George and Angelo talk about playfulness in lessons. This is the second part of episode 706. Angelo talks about the differences and comparisons between exploration and experimentation. Angelo dives into details about how this applies to lessons of all lessons and he relates instruction to science. Giving a snowsports lesson is like experimenting. Angelo talks about ways to use experimentation and exploration in lessons and how not to overwhelm students. Head to thesnowpros.org.