Trainers’ Certification Articles

By Ollie Midgley in 2023. Note that this was not an article written for the Trainers Certification, but a piece written by Ollie to help encourage the process of self reflection within SBINZ instructors. As Instructors, Trainers and Coaches we’re constantly guiding...

By Kain Mcwaters in 2022. We as humans often find ourselves thinking about the future or reflect on the past. Or shall we say... stressing about the future and/or dwell on the past. This is not always a negative thing but in some situations it can be dangerous...

By Nathan Bartindale in 2022. Everybody knows that finding the right stance is important for both us and our guests, but let’s have a closer look at exactly why it’s important to consider different stance options. Width The first thing we usually consider when we put...

By Jamie Middleton in 2022. For so long females have been influenced to think that periods suck, and that it’s a time we should just curl up in bed and eat chocolate. But what if I told you that periods are like a secret super power that female athletes and their...

By Ryan Knott in 2021. As instructors, coaches, and trainers, we often find ourselves confronting what we call the “stress response”, both in ourselves, and in those we are teaching. You may know it as a racing heartbeat, heavy breathing, a deep trembling or the...

By Guy McCully in 2020. We’ve seen Slopestyle athletes standing at the top of a course getting into ‘The Zone’. They’re mentally going through all the movements associated with doing the tricks in their run while statically reproducing their run on the spot. They’re...

By Nick Lamont in 2020. Teaching snowboarding has to be one of the most rewarding and satisfying feelings, but trust me, sometimes it’s one of the most frustrating things you could ever do. I’m sure everybody has experienced some level of frustration or negative...

By Hamish Barker in 2020. Understanding a guest is the cornerstone of teaching. But how can we understand the person, their aims, goals personality type in order to give them the best experience we can. In this essay, I aim to build links between concepts such as...

By Jamie Hill in 2019. Have you ever had a day when you wake up on the right side of the bed, your morning coffee or tea is just the right temperature and you enjoy the warmth as it fills your belly. You get to the mountain your boots slide on perfectly. The weather...

By Carlos Taurino in 2019. Snowboarding rewards us with strong and different emotions. Some, like stoke, joy and general good feelings are positive, making us keep riding and feeding our will to expand our knowledge. Some others, like fear and panic, can have a...

By James Howe in 2018. Motivation is a driving force that makes us act. Traditionally, motivation can be viewed as an invisible force that pushes us to either fulfil or satisfy a need or want. Subsequently this allows us to perform to the best of our ability. Ask...

By Josh Taylor in 2017. Every snowboarder has a preference as to whether or not they enjoy listening to music whilst riding. This is definitely a personal choice that can be influenced by past experiences of trying it out or even as to what your peers choose to do....

The ollie is a trick that we teach very early on in snowboarding. We teach it for many reasons: to have more fun, to get ready for jumps, to get onto rails, to get over last minute obstacles in our way. No matter why we are teaching it, the ollie has a huge variety of...

By Craig "Renski" Reynolds. Many new and old instructors are confused about the difference between snowboard instructing and snowboard coaching and are not sure whether we are instructors or coaches, or when we should be instructing and when we should be coaching. ...

By Freddie Bacon 2015. There is no one reason that can explain the global decline of snowboarding. In this article I will cover many reasons and offer my opinion as to what we as industry professionals can do to prevent any further decline. The issue that...

By Luke Gillet 2015. Ever gone through the motions or just pulled out a stock standard lesson locked in your head? I’m sure we all have but is it fair and is it good for our industry? No is quite blatantly the answer. So here are some tools and ideas on giving a...

By Greg Samson 2015. Snowboarding and music go together like bacon & everything! From the tracks used on our favourite riding vids, and the live bands playing at comps such as the X-games or Air and style, to the dude/dudesses sliding around the mt with headphones...

By Rich Waldie 2015. Just like in a lesson, where the instructor has to balance their goals with that of the student, for a trainer planning a clinic reconciling the wants of the instructors with the needs of the Snow sports School can be a difficult task. There’s...

By Tyler Kirk 2015. As instructors, trainers, coaches and mentors one of our primary focuses should be to facilitate and nurture motivation within our students. After all, our key role is to create life-long snowboarders, and certain forms of motivation are essential...

By Josh Barkman, 2015. Often, people during their everyday life, end up questioning themselves as to what they should do, or what they should say when making decisions. It is something that all instructors, coaches, and trainers will come to experience and have to...

By Ryan Thompson in 2011. In an era of world travel offering many different leisure activities the snowboard industry is in an extremely competitive market place. The challenge is to differentiate the snowboard industry from the other leisure and travel options to...

By Rhys Jones in 2010. The Method Air is the classic snowboard trick; a firm favourite for snowboarders since its origins.  Although to some people the Method may not be a difficult trick, to do one with style and panache is arguably one of the greatest challenges in...

By Kelly Barclay in 2008. To a beginner 'basic stance' is the way to stand on a snowboard. For an Instructor basic stance is a tool to make his or her job easier. To a Trainer/Examiner the basic stance is a standard by which to coach, it is a means in which to assess,...

By Dan Smith in 2007. When teaching frontside 360s, have you ever seen your students skid 90 degrees before takeoff and felt the need to shield your eyes as they almost catch a toe edge when they reach the lip of the jump?! If the students were lucky enough they will...

By Dayne Lewis in 2006. We've all heard the expression 'actions speak louder than words', but do we really understand how it can affect the learning outcome of our students? Our body language can be the difference between success and failure, whether we realise it or...

By Keith Stubbs in 2006. How big is your 'bag of tricks'? Instructors often refer to their 'bag of tricks' in reference to how many different teaching tools they have stored in their memory for a variety of situations. Storing these progressions in your memory is very...

By James Lea in 2006. Instructing pipe is the most rewarding and exciting part of my job. When I think about pipe it's like riding a wave; big bottom turn and then try to boost! Putting that theory into practice can be quite a different story however. As snowboarding...

By Lionel Haldane in 2006. Unfortunately one does not have to be involved in the Snowboard Instructing industry for very long before becoming aware of the number and frequency of snowboarding injuries occurring in the sport. It would also appear that it doesn't take...

By Richie Johnston in 2006. Physical preparation, technical skill and psychological readiness are the three fundamental steps to becoming the best rider you can be. However, psychological readiness is often most neglected and not seen as a significant variable. As...

By Lucien Gordon in 2006. Snowboarding is a very static sport when it comes to the muscles in our body. This is due to the nature of having our feet held in a position that does not change. Because of this position our body develops imbalances between opposing muscle...