By NICK HIGGINSON
Any great ski hill has icons. Sometimes it’s particular runs, or après venues, or touring routes, and sometimes they’re people who have become such a fabric of the mountain they transcend eras and carve out their own piece of culture on the hill.
I would put Phill O’Neill, or Evil Dr Phill as he is affectionately known to Hotham’s young skiers in this category.
Phill has worked as a kids instructor at Hotham for 23 winters, teaching skiing to a generation of youngsters with passion and dedication.
He is an essential connective tissue for instructors at the mountain, a ripping bloke with a lifetime of passion for teaching kids.
Phill found ski instructing by accident, returning from England in 1998 after a stint with Chichester Priory Park playing professional cricket.
Finding skiing through work friends, he mistakenly ended up on a six-week instructor certification course in Whistler, rather than the skier improvement course he tried to book.
At the end of the six weeks Phill called home to quit his logistics job, arriving at Hotham four weeks later for the hiring clinic and never looking back.
“I think the advice that was given at the end of my first winter still rings true,” he said
“I remember being told ‘this is the best job you’ll ever have, so whatever you need to do to stay in the industry, figure it out.’”

Watching Phill in my early years as a ski instructor it was clear that he was an elite operator who knew what he was doing, and was constantly booked for lessons.
You could forgive him for not having too much time to break down his methodology to a wet behind the ears pup, yet when I asked Phill how he does it, he spent 20 minutes with me breaking down how to structure your day with kids, how to help families get the most out of their trip, and how to keep yourself working.
Part of the magic of Phill’s craft is making the teaching almost invisible to the kids, learning to move differently on their skis without noticing they’re getting taught.
A day full of fun and games where they leave with versatile skills, laughing and bonding along the way.
Any idiot can tell you how to ski, but can they teach you to do it when the listener doesn’t have sophisticated language?
“I think for me the thing that I had to do to stay in the industry was teaching kids,” Phill said.
“I was placed in kids at Copper Mountain one year, and was hating it the first few days, asking my supervisor to be placed somewhere else.
‘Then they gave me a group of seven-year-old boys, and we just had fun for the whole day.
‘I remember walking into the office that day and saying to the supervisor, ‘I’m good here, I’ll stay.
“He gave me some advice that has stuck with me, which is your worst and best day teaching kids normally come together.
“You’ll have a catastrophe of a day with kids when they’re upset, it’s all new, their gear doesn’t fit, it’s uncomfortable, it’s scary, it’s all new.
“Then they’ll arrive the second day and they’re like, ‘ok, I’m up for this’.
“You don’t often get the same with adults, and I’ve never gone back.”
I think Phill’s skill comes through his ability to keep the child inside him alive across all these years.
A constant, walking reminder at morning lineup each day that, hey, this is supposed to be fun.
You will often see him giggling along with his kids or playing low level pranks on fellow staff with an expression on his face like a 14-year-old who’s left a whoopee cushion under the teacher’s chair.

Phill brings enormous dedication, enthusiasm and effort to teaching kids, a period of a Snowsports career which many try to avoid or find tedious.
Rain, snow or sunshine he is out there, infectious smile and childlike joy to get to work with kids each day.
His ability to connect with kids and create memorable and fun lessons is a shining example to younger instructors coming up through the ranks.
I remember learning so much through just watching how he went about his day, making the seemingly ‘dead’ times in a lesson fun.
Whether it was riddles in the check-in-line at the Big D, or games on the bus home to end the day.
His genuine love for sharing the sport with young people creates such a culture of joy that it’s unsurprising to find that many of his former students have gone on to become ski instructors themselves.
“It would be more than 30 kids, probably closer to 50 who have gone on to become instructors themselves,” Phill said.
“I went back to Big White one year and the place was full of them.
“I know for sure there are four who have completed their level 4, full certification, probably a few more.
“I’ve had kids who I’ve taught who I’ve subsequently done instructor training with also.
“I think that’s something that makes me really proud and happy, that somewhere along their time with me, either through how I’ve taught or just the fun they’ve had they’ve seen that this is something they might want to have a crack at doing.
‘Sharing that love of the sport to a point where you have kids that want to grow up and try and do the thing you love is very rewarding.”
Phill is a great bloke who just wants to have a laugh, throw some darts and poke fun at his pals after a day of work.
One of those people that are the beating heart of our mountains, who make the experience amazing for guests, staff and people blowing through the hills at different stages of their lives.
At the risk of prematurely eulogising him, I wanted to show some love to one of the pillars of our community who makes Hotham a special place to live and work.
“Hotham in particular is made by the community here, and I think Australian ski hills in general are so exciting to come back to, find out what your friends have been up to the past eight months,” he said.
“I’ve never had a bad winter here.
“There’s been seasons with better snowfall, but working with these people and in this community has never gotten old.”
If you think Phill is the right guy to teach your kids, contact Hotham Snowsports, or find him at Hotham Hotel torching fellow instructors at darts with his opposite hand.