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Scooter Drill

Primary Skills: Focuses on gliding and balance on one ski.

Secondary Skills: Can be used to develop a tall gliding position.

Drill Details: Have the students remove both poles and one ski. With the one ski in the opposite track (i.e. if the ski is on the left foot have them place it in the right-hand classic track so as not to step on the tracks with their ski boots) push with the ski-less foot and glide on one ski. Aim for a dynamic push, an upright/tall glide position, and as long a glide as possible.

“Gorilla Ski”

Primary Skills: Forward lean for hips-forward position.

Secondary Skills: Balance and dynamic push/power.

Drill Details: Without poles and with both skis on, have the students ski back and forth with as great of a forward lean as possible. The challenge is to get them to start with a 90-degree bend at the waist. A brief video will often help to illustrate to the class how little they are bent over if you are having trouble getting sufficient forward lean. This helps to promote forward lean and allows the students to experience the feeling of balancing with a forward body position. In the overemphasized lean the student will also often naturally use (or can be encouraged to use) a dynamic flexion at the ankle to generate the power needed for forward propulsion.

“Tin Man”/”Stick-man” Ski

Primary Skills: Tall gliding position.

Secondary Skills: Illustration of the lack of power that results from a tall/static position.

Drill Details: Without poles and with both skis on, have the students ski back and forth with their body as tall and straight as possible and with as little flex in any joint as possible while moving. This works well in parallel with the Gorilla Ski (above) to allow the students to compare and contrast a bent-over position with a very tall and stiff position. 

Primary Skill: Lengthening glide.

Secondary Skill: Improving balance, power and weight shift.

Drill Details: On a relatively straight section of track place two sets of markers in the snow to indicate the start/end of a section of track (use your own poles, gloves, bags, balls, branches, etc). Without poles, have the students count the number of strides it takes them to get from the start to the end marker. The challenge is to get them to be able to reduce the total number of strides by lengthening their glide through improved balance and/or weight shift and/or body position or by improving their power through more dynamic push/preload. Best used at periodic intervals after other drills/discussions/exercises working on related skills. Can be used in this way to “prove” that progress is being made (if it is…).

© 2005 Jeff Stainsby