How to Teach Snowboarding Lessons

Whether your friend or family member wants to learn how to snowboard, or you've just become a certified snowboard instructor and want a few more helpful tips before hitting the slopes with your first student, teaching snowboard fundamentals properly will eliminate bad or dangerous habits. Your student will quickly learn that snowboarding takes more than a few hours to learn and that physical and mental strength are pertinent. Stay patient and helpful, and remember to explain every step thoroughly.

Things You'll Need

  • Snowboard with attached bindings
  • Snowboard boots
  • Winter gear (jacket, gloves, hat, scarf, snow pants)
  • Winter goggles
  • Snowboard leash
  • Stomp pad
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Instructions

  1. Getting to Know the Board

    • 1
      Bindings are either strap-in or click-in. Click-in bindings require a specific boot.

      Determine which way your students ride: regular or goofy. Regular riders have their left foot forward, or up front, while goofy riders have their right foot forward. Teach your students that no way is wrong; stance is simply a matter of comfort. Find a flat area and demonstrate to your students how to attach the bindings to their boots. Strap each student's leash—which should already be connected to the board—to her shin area. Show your students how to fasten her front foot; the ankle strap should fasten first, then the toe strap. Tell your students to make sure their heels are always secure, then secure the toe strap.

      If a student has click-in bindings, check to ensure that he is wearing the proper boot. Demonstrate that the inside of the boot clicks in first, then the outside.

    • 2

      Skate around with your students on the flat terrain. Let them become accustomed to the feel and weight of the board. Your students can skate with their back, unrestrained foot. Depending on their comfort, they can keep their other foot either behind or in front of the board.

    • 3

      Find an incline, and glide with your students down the hill. Have them place their back foot onto the stomp pad. Inform your students that their back foot and leg has the control; applying pressure to either heel or toes will determine which way they will go. Strap in the back foot after a couple of times gliding (see References section for some animated basic tutorials).

    Maneuvering

    • 4
      Getting on and off a ski lift takes some practice with a snowboard.

      Demonstrate how to move up the slope with the snowboard attached. Face uphill with the toe edge on the snow, knees bent and hands on the ground. Have your students pull their legs toward their hands to inch their way up the mountain. This can become tiring, so offer plenty of support.

    • 5

      Make your way to the tow rope. Keep your students attached to the board. Practice the "falling leaf" motion by beginning on the edge that your students find most comfortable. Your students may be a little frightened and may thus stay perpendicular to the slope in a stopped motion—not a problem, as they have just taught themselves how to stop. Lead by example.

    • 6

      Ride up the ski lift with your students. Demonstrate how to take off the back foot binding. On the ride up, explain how to dismount the ski lift: by setting your unhinged back foot onto the stomp pad and gliding off. This can prove for beginners, so prepare to catch a potentially falling student.

    • 7

      Practice the falling leaf motion more, both heel-side and toe-side. If your students begin to catch on, pick up the pace and demonstrate how to carve. If they seem tired, grab a cup of hot chocolate from the warming hut and save the faster stuff for the next lesson.

    • 8

      Elaborate on the several types of styles of snowboarding. Once your students becomes more comfortable with their boards and the slopes, they will begin to determine which style is best and most fun for them (see References section for a list of styles).