The snow is gone, but training never stops.
Every Tuesday and Wednesday we take our skis to the grass and work on the things that matter most in winter: balance, a stable core and clean slalom technique. And it counts double, because the very same lessons work for grass skiing and alpine skiing alike.
One training session, two sports
Grass skis are not just a summer substitute. The movement patterns are identical to alpine skiing: a stance centred over the middle of the ski, turns initiated by the legs, a quiet upper body and clear separation between what the legs do and what the torso does. Whoever learns this on grass carries it over to snow automatically. And the other way round, an alpine racer will find out within two runs how honest their technique really is. Grass does not forgive.
Lesson one: fore-aft balance
A grass ski runs on a track, it does not skid sideways. The moment you sit back, the ski shoots forward and you know about it instantly. There is no hiding behind a skidded turn, no rescue by the edge. That is why so much of our grass training is constant fore-aft balancing: shins in contact with the tongue of the boot, centre of mass over the middle of the ski, hands in front of the body. In the video you can see how even the younger racers settle into a low, centred stance after just a few sessions, because the surface demands exactly that.
Lesson two: core stability in slalom
The second big theme of our sessions is core and shoulder stability. In slalom the upper body should stay calm and the shoulders level, while the legs work underneath. As soon as the shoulders start chasing the skis, rotation follows, pressure on the outside ski is lost and the next gate arrives too late.
We use a simple drill for this, the one you can see in the photos: a slalom pole laid across the shoulders behind the head, arms spread wide. The pole works as a spirit level. Any tilt or twist of the shoulders shows up instantly, and the skier learns to keep the shoulders aligned with the slope and the core engaged from start to finish.
The pole across the shoulders works as a spirit level: level shoulders, engaged core, no rotation.
Why it works for alpine skiers too
Summer training on grass skis means dozens of extra gate runs without a glacier and without travel. One hour in a slalom course on grass gives the legs and the head the same volume of turns as a session on snow, and the habits built on grass, above all the centred stance and the quiet upper body, transfer to snow one to one. It is no coincidence that World Cup alpine racers use grass skis in their summer preparation.
Come and try it
We train twice a week and new faces are always welcome, kids and adults, grass skiers and alpine skiers:
- Tuesday from 17:00 - Zbraslav u Brna (lyzovani-zbraslav.cz)
- Wednesday from 17:00 - Velke Mezirici, Fajtuv kopec ski resort (skivm.cz)
You do not need your own equipment. Just give me a call in advance and I will bring enough test skis in the right lengths. You will find the phone number on the Contact page.