First Chair: PSIA-AASI Podcast

Clear expectations. Meaningful feedback. A fair opportunity to demonstrate your skills. These are central to a positive assessment experience—and PSIA-AASI’s quality assurance and enhancement (QAE) work is helping move that experience forward. On this episode of First Chair, George Thomas joins PSIA-AASI’s Dave Schuiling and Penn State University’s Pete Allison for an encouraging update on how QAE is supporting a more consistent, welcoming, and constructive assessment culture across Regions. Through on-snow observations, assessment data, and collaborative education staff training, this work helps identify what’s working and where additional support can make a difference. Those insights inform better resources, shared understanding among assessors, and feedback that helps members continue improving. Dave and Pete explain what this means for you: greater confidence in assessment expectations, clearer connections between scores and national standards, and useful direction for your development—whether you achieve your certification or are preparing for another attempt. They also discuss updated assessment forms and how Regions are sharing expertise to strengthen the experience together. QAE is an ongoing investment in members, education staff, and the value of PSIA-AASI credentials. Hear why Dave and Pete are excited about the progress—and the opportunities ahead.

For instructors who spend long days in ski boots, fit matters. But what if the boot-fitting process could start from home? In this episode of First Chair, host George Thomas meets JP Huber, lead product developer at Boot Solutions, one of PSIA-AASI’s newer Official Suppliers. Drawing on his family’s decades of experience at Powder House ski shops, JP explains how the company combines iPhone foot scans, personalized boot recommendations, and physical replicas of your feet to fit ski boots remotely. Learn how the process works—from scanning your feet and receiving a custom fit report to boot modifications and follow-up adjustments. JP also shares the family collaboration behind the technology and explains how PSIA-AASI members can get started. Explore your member offer through PSIA-AASI’s pro offers, and learn more at https://bootsolutions.com.

Ever finish a season thinking, “I really meant to work on that”? Before winter fills your calendar, give your goals a little attention. On First Chair, PSIA-AASI National Team member Brian Donovan shares a simple place to start: One stretch goal. One consistency goal. One fun goal. That could mean improving your lesson wrap-ups, making time to practice, or getting more laps with someone you love riding with. Brian and host George Thomas talk through how to make those goals specific, keep them visible, and adjust as you learn. Brian also shares what he’s working toward this season—including more days snowboarding with his wife. Listen to First Chair, then find Brian’s article, “Your Best Season Yet Starts with a Plan,” and the goal-setting worksheet in the Fall 2026 issue of 32 Degrees.

What does it take to bring eight Regions together around a shared vision for snowsports education? A lot of collaboration—and a commitment to helping instructors succeed. On this episode of First Chair, host George Thomas catches up with PSIA-AASI CEO Jeff Lifgren and Director of Education and Credentialing Dave Schuiling to explore the progress behind education alignment and what’s ahead for the association. Jeff and Dave share how years of collaboration among regional leaders, education staff, and volunteer task forces have helped build a stronger foundation for national standards, performance guides, assessment resources, and education staff training. The goal: clearer expectations, more connected resources, and a more consistent experience for members. The conversation goes beyond certification, too. Dave explains how the people, teaching, and technical skills outlined in the standards connect directly to the work instructors do with guests every day. Whether you’re preparing for your next assessment or building your confidence as a teacher, those connections can help make your professional development more purposeful. You’ll also hear about: • Bringing national consistency and regional expertise together. • Supporting education staff through shared training and collaboration. • Developing digital assessment tools that could inform future training and resources. • Using quality assurance and enhancement to support continued improvement. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the people and progress moving PSIA-AASI education forward—and the opportunities that this work is helping create for instructors across the country. Explore education resources at https://thesnowpros.org/ and connect with your Region for event and assessment details.

What if new-hire training focused less on telling instructors what to do and more on helping them discover how to teach? First Chair catches up with Rick Rauch, training manager at Telluride Ski Area, to explore a different approach to preparing new instructors for their first lessons. Drawing from ecological dynamics and constraints-based learning, Rick explains how Telluride shifted away from lecture-heavy training and instead challenged new hires to help create their own teaching progressions. Rick breaks down the idea of moving instructors from “copy” to “choose” to “create,” how trainers can become facilitators rather than lecturers, and why giving new instructors permission to experiment can build confidence and adaptability. He also shares practical ideas for creating a learning environment where new instructors feel comfortable speaking up, trying something different, and learning from what works—and what doesn't. The result? In the first year of this approach, 45 new instructors earned 58 new certifications across Alpine, Snowboard, and Children's Specialist 1, while Rick says the group also demonstrated greater confidence working with guests. Whether you train new hires, lead a snowsports school, or are developing your own teaching skills, this episode offers a fresh way to think about how instructors learn. Key Takeaways - Move beyond “copy.” New instructors naturally begin by copying what they've been shown, but training can give them opportunities to choose and create much earlier in their development. - Let new hires participate in their own learning. Rather than simply presenting a beginner progression, Telluride gives instructors constraints and asks the group to develop an approach while trainers facilitate and guide the process. - Create an environment where experimentation is expected. Trainers intentionally establish a space where new hires are comfortable contributing ideas and being themselves. - Don't plan, prepare. Instead of relying on predetermined lesson plans, Rick encourages instructors to understand what a guest currently has and what they need to safely and comfortably reach their goal—then “teach the gap.” - Trainers can facilitate rather than dictate. Clear constraints still keep teaching technically, personally, and motivationally appropriate while leaving room for instructors to develop their own solutions.