First Chair: PSIA-AASI Podcast

Tune in and learn more about our newest Cross Country team member, Justin Arndt. Justin got his first certification in the Rocky Mountain region at the age of 16 and climbed the ranks all the way to a National Team member at the age of 21. At 21, Justin is the youngest member to ever join the team. He talks about his journey and some of the challenges and successes he’s faced along the way. Justin...

Join us for an interesting chat with Pete Allison who just got back from Bulgaria where he attended the first International Symposium on Snow Sports Education, an event organized by the National Sports Academy "Vassil Levski" in Bulgaria. The symposium brought together experts, educators, and industry professionals to discuss the development and improvement of snow sports education in the region....

Join us on this fun episode with Angelo Ross and Pete Allison as they discuss the benefits of traveling to a new region to take clinics or assessments in other regions across the country. To Angelo, the benefits are endless. From navigating a new parking lot to meeting new people to experiencing the way other people teach, traveling to another region can open your mind. Pete dives into how academi...

National Team members Matt Larson and Peter Novom join us this week for a deep dive into the benefits of trying and joining freestyle events. Freestyle is an exploration of skiing and snowboarding. Freestyle is an exploration of your own skills and a way to expand your horizons. Hear about the ins and outs of park rules, apprehensions, and excitement that can all stem from freestyle. Register for...

Join us for this introductory chat with Nicole LaVoi, Ph. D., creator of CoachingHER, a digital education platform designed to help coaches and instructors better support female athletes. Developed by the Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport at the University of Minnesota, it provides evidence-based resources to address gender bias, foster inclusivity, and enhance coaching effectiv...

Pete Allison and Angelo Ross join us again talking this time about the words we use and why they matter. Angelo discusses defining the real-life experiences of learning the language of the craft of snowsports instructing and why it matters to not only educate your guests but also educate yourself so you can more appropriately deliver teaching and technical concepts. Pete goes on to talk about how...

Join us for a chat with George Thomas and Eric Sheckleton, an original member of the AASI Snowboard team from 1996-2000 and current President of Interski. Erik was a key player in the formation of the original Rider Rally back in 1999 which was held at Whitefish, Montana. Eric worked with Randy Price, another AASI Team member, to bring the first national Rider Rally to Big Sky, Montana in 2000. Th...

Join us for a chat with George, Pete and Mark about the Penn State instructor training program. Mark works as an instructor in the Eastern Region and learned about the PSU program in 2023. Since then, he has successfully completed the course and shared his thoughts on the process. TL;DR, the program was easy,and efficient, provided many “ah-ha" moments and connected the dots between instruction an...

Eric Rolls, the Technical Coach for the AASI Snowboard Team joins us this week to talk about the 25th anniversary of Rider Rally – one of the largest snowboarders-only events in the country! Rider Rally 2025 will be held April 21-25 at Copper Mountain in Colorado. The first Rider Rally event happened in the winter of 1999/2000 and 25 years later, we’re bringing back the independence and radness of...

Geoff Krill, the PSIA Adaptive Team coach, joins us from Breckenridge, Colorado where the Hartford Ski Spectacular Adaptive event just wrapped up. Geoff talks about the ski instructor academy where National Team members and Education Staff from regions around the country came to learn, explore and connect with others. The point that was hit home much of the week, is that good adaptive teaching is...

One of the biggest opportunities that stems from the PSIA-AASI resources is the professional development opportunity. Join podcast host George Thomas and guest Pete Allison chat through ways to organize your goals. Between local, regional and national events, on top of trainings and lessons – there are plenty of options around to help you professionally develop. Pro development doesn’t have to be...

Penn State University and PSIA-AASI have had a solid relationship for years. One of the big results of this partnership is a new course designed to allow you to easily earn college credit online while working towards your level 1 certification in any discipline. This course (RPTM 215) is truly revolutionary as it provides a breadth of education outside of snowsports instruction as well as material...

Sometimes stories come across your feed that just hit you right in the feels. That’s what happened with Ben Nilsson when we asked “How do you use your snowsports education training in other areas of your life.” Ben responded and mentioned he had been in a horrific accident on the mountain leaving him with a long road to recovery. Ben mentioned how the training he got from PSIA-AASI and the way he...

On this feature episode, we’re chatting with Interski President and former AASI Snowboard Team member Eric Sheckleton. You’ll also hear from Pete Allison, a regular guest on First Chair Podcast and Pete Kray, the Lead Writer for PSIA-AASI. This group is chatting about Interski, what it is, what it means and how we’re preparing for the return of Interski to the US! Interski has not been in the US s...

PSIA Alpine Team Member Kevin Jordan sits down with our podcast host, George Thomas at Team Training to chat about what the week of Training entailed. Kevin goes into detail talking about what the week holds and what the larger goals were to come from this event. There was more of a mechanical focus to this Training that involved some pre-work relating to the basic parallel turn. Kevin talks about...

CARV is a PSIA-AASI Official Supplier which provides data on your skiing. Dozens of pressure and motion sensors work to provide you with data that can help you improve your skiing. CARV used to be a insertable footbed product but due to its popularity and use, they’ve updated it to be a clip on attachment. CARV tracks your ski IQ, which is similar to Strava, where you can track your skiing metrics...

AASI Snowboard Team member Brian Donovan joins us again for Part 2 of The Good, The Great and the Let’s Maybe Not Try That Again. In this episode, George and Brian chat about things that are going to help make your lessons more fun, more engaging and help you further your certifications. Brian talks about how instructors are very good at describing the “what” in a lesson. Do this to fix that. Some...

On this episode, podcast host George Thomas (LIII Alpine) catches up with Andy Stein who is the Digital Marketing Manager for PSIA-AASI. You may have seen Andy on the recent social series “American Snow: The History of US Snowsports Instruction" where he discussed the history of PSIA-AASI. On this episode, Andy and George chat about putting tiny habits into motion and relevant areas where you can...

On this episode, podcast host George Thomas (LIII Alpine) catches up with Pete Allison, Associate Professor at Penn State University and Josh Pighetti, Ph. D candidate researching how to be inspirational in your teaching regarding snowsports instruction and PSIA-AASI. Pete talks about where this research topic came from – the 2021 PSIA-AASI National Team tryouts – and how PSIA-AASI can work toward...

On this episode, podcast host George Thomas (LIII Alpine) catches up with Pete Allison, Associate Professor at Penn State University. Pete has been working with PSIA-AASI for nearly a decade and is working to prove the value and worth of a PSIA-AASI certification. The (Learning Connection Model) LCM is PSIA-AASI's main educational tool. It identifies the student as the center of three pillars of g...

On this episode, podcast host George Thomas (LIII Alpine) catches up with Angelo Ross who’s the Education Development Manager for PSIA-AASI. In this episode, George and Angelo talk about being honest about what’s going on in your life. This is a great episode on finding ways to start identifying and producing solutions to tough teaching situations you may face. Angelo talks about how important it...

On this episode, podcast host George Thomas (LIII Alpine) catches up with Ben Potts – a PSIA National Alpine Team member. On this episode, George and Ben talk about what life’s like in New Zealand. Ben and George chatted back on pod 712 while Ben was teaching at the Woodward camp at Copper Mountain in Colorado. After New Zealand, Ben may stop in South America before heading back to the States for...

On this episode, podcast host George Thomas (LIII Alpine) catches up with Angelo Ross who’s the Education Development Manager for PSIA-AASI. On this episode, George and Angelo talk about purposeful warmups. A purposeful warmup is an exercise that you are very mindful about. It can be a physical warmup or a mental warmup. Angelo gives several examples of what this looks like and how to apply it to...

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, sylla...

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...