What skills and traits does a volunteer need?
Volunteers should have a good command of skiing fundamentals. That's especially true for our downhill program, where you must be able to control yourself, and possibly a student, going down the hill. Volunteers should be able to focus on their students and not on their own skiing ability. No teaching experience is required – SOLO will teach you techniques and methods to use. A sense of humor and patience are also valuable skills. Any experience working with people with disabilities is certainly helpful, but not mandatory.
Orientation and Training
SOLO requires each volunteer, even our long-time volunteers, to come to an orientation meeting and an indoor exercise session in December. (NOTE: In this year of the pandemic, we will instead have a virtual meeting; see our home page for details.) Attendance at these meeting gives both students and volunteers a chance to become familiar with one another. We will also share information with volunteers about different conditions we may encounter with our students. We need our volunteers to know how to deal with various situations.
Downhill volunteers are also encouraged to attend a training session at Swiss Valley where we will learn and practice using various adaptive teaching tools and techniques. This training session is typically held in December shortly after they open. A training session for cross-country volunteers will be held immediately following the first Saturday ski outing.