A thank you letter to James and the SnowLand Club:
I am writing to express my appreciation for the incredible coaching that James and his team provided me with. In just the short span of two and a half months of collaborating with James and the SnowLand Club, my skiing techniques have soared to a new height, and I passed my CSIA Level 2 instructor exam in February of 2024 on a first try!
Before working with James, I passed my CSIA Level 1 instructor exam in March of 2023 without coaching. I was entirely self-taught, and even though I passed, there was still a lot of room for improvement.
Therefore, in early December of 2023, I started taking a variety of James’ classes, including private lessons, semi-private lessons, and group lessons. Each lesson I participated in taught me something new. In the first lesson, I learned about different turn shapes, from C turns to S turns to Z turns. In the second, I learned about controlling the turn size, such as how to ski medium turns or how to manage smaller ones. In the last few lessons, I learned and grew more accustomed to the fine details of skiing, and was even able to try out the moguls!
Even on the chairlift, James continued to teach and give me pointers. He taught me how to analyze the skiing of others, how to apply important drills in order to improve critical technique issues, and most importantly, how to be safe when skiing and teaching.
By the end of the season, not only was I able to dramatically improve my skiing technique, but I was also able to apply the principles I learned to help others improve as well. With James’s coaching, I went from being an amateur skier to a confident one.
This is not to say that it didn’t take hard work for me to get where I am today. I attended his lessons once a week each Sunday, and spent the rest of my skiing time practicing and honing my skills using the methods he had taught me. I fully committed myself to the sport in order to improve, and this meant balancing my life outside of skiing as well. I had to wake up a lot earlier each weekend, manage my time a lot better, and really step up my game in general, which wasn’t easy.
This being said, participating in James’ classes helped me to truly delve into the sport and view it in a way that I never did before. His dedication to teaching me really inspired me and pushed me towards successfully completing my goal.
Thanks again, James, for the exceptional coaching!
Jillian Ouyang, 16