What we can learn from kids in the Outdoors

My winters in Idaho, in a nutshell: I’m on skis with the Sun Valley Sunshine warming my chilled bones...about 25% of my class is listening to instructions while the other 75% is dreaming of hucking jumps

Michelle Obama wrote: “For me the hours flew. Working with children had a wonderful obliterative effect, wiping out stress, forcing me into the moment”.

Reading this really struck a chord. When you’re with kids, there’s not a lot of time or desire to mull over your daily stressors, because after all kids don’t care much about the past and aren’t really invested in the future (unless it’s counting down the 126 days to their birthday). They are masters of what we adults have such a hard time with—living in the moment.

As a coach, it’s my job to keep these kids safe, have as much fun as possible, and maybe teach them a thing or two about skiing. All in all, I see it as my job to help grow their passion for a sport I hold dear along with their passion for being active in the outdoors. 

What’s amazing though, is the lessons I learn from the kids. Life lessons. Lessons like giving your friend a big hug and holding on for a few seconds is not a sign of weakness, but of kindness...or that mistakes are OK so long as we learn from them. Lessons on honesty and being true to others and yourself, or that being a boy wearing a pink helmet is cool and as a girl there’s no reason you can’t—and shouldn’t strive to—outshine all the boys. That crying is OK. Not only is crying OK, but so is a big old smile, wearing your emotion on your sleeve with no shame. And that sometimes all you need when you’re in a crabby mood is some hot cocoa and a cheese stick.

Just for fun, I’ll tell the kids I’m some age like 8 or 9 and after some heavy contemplation (“there’s no way this 6’3” guy with a mustache is 8, right?!”) they call me on my crap, pointing to the fact that I’m a ‘grown up’ so my being 8 is impossible. Like being a ‘grown up’ is some portal we walk through at a certain age and have all the answers. But actually, it seems to be just the opposite. But nonetheless, when teaching, I sometimes feel like a goofy 8 year old again without a care in the world. And I love it.