Lesson's suck

[DaveD]

I just skied at a local school just to get another perspective on my many issues.  It's amaizing to me how one little recomendation can throw every other part of your skiing off. 

He told me to look cross coarse while pulling across the wake and to stop looking at the next ball.  While I was trying to do this, everything else went to Hell.  I easily made 6 straight passes at 22off 34mph on Tuesday and couldn't make one pass today.  I know it was a different lake and boat, but that shouldn't affect me that much. 

I know in the long run the lesson will help, but it's frustrating to take those backward steps. 

[Horton]

That is pretty old school coaching. I am not saying it is wrong but . . .  I would only give it to a kid who was just learning  . . . What was the coach trying to fix?

 

[DaveD]

I believe he was trying to get me to ski wider and earlier.  I wasn't sure about looking cross-course but I understood what result he was trying to get. 

 I feel like I'm pulling harder than the guys running 35off.  I'm feel like I'm turing the ski quickly.  Just can't seem to stay ahead on my 28 @34 pass.  Oh well, I'm going over to the west side of the state to have Ty Oppenlander work with me next Monday.  Hopefully he won't have to deconstruct and rebuild my skiing. 

[CedarLakeSkier]

Me and my son had a lesson with Ty just a couple of weeks ago.

 I think his lesson helped me.  It was the first lesson I had ever taken and I thought it was a great experience.  Ty seems like he's a good coach and he really gets you siked up about skiing (at least he did for us).

 I don't think lessons with him will "suck".   Let us know how it goes.

[ScarletArrow]

IMO - sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for (i.e. professional coaching)...or at least filter what someone is telling you.

I had the same experience the week of my first tournament regarding my gate sequence.

'Coach' moved me to a traditional pullout when the boat hit the pre-gates, glide, progessive turn in.

Not saying that anything he taught me was wrong...just that I went from being able to complete w/ my eyes closed to being erratic.

Anthony

[mopowpow]

I also had a 'Coach' last week that tried to get everyone to do a traditional gate instead of the 1 handed gate that most of us were doing.  I think it messed up more people than it helped. 

[Marco]

Keep in mind that getting out of your comfort zone may be necessary to advance and improve.  You may be able to easily run 22's with a technique that will not work at 28 or 32.  Most of the times I received professional coaching, my skiing went backwards at first, but as I worked at the new concepts, I caught back up and ended up skiing better.  You should not expect instantaneous results from coaching sessions, rather expect it to take some time to incorporate the new ideas. 

[DaveD]

Marco,

I agree with you, but that step back is sure frustrating. 

[Marco]

It sure is, but hang in there.  It'll come.

[DaveD]

My attitude towards lessons is changing.  I worked with Ty Oppenlander for a couple sets yesterday with a lot more success.  He worked on getting me to rotate my hips to the handle and being lower as I complete my turns.  Made a huge difference.  I still didn't run that elusive 28off pass but I was on my way until I took a header going from 3 to 4 on my last pass.  I don’t know what hurt more, the crash or my feet from being in the bindings for the entire set.  I love my D3 front and Wiley’s rear set-up but sitting at the end of the course while discussing the last pass and the next makes me understand other’s love of hard shells.  

I drove almost 3 hours to get to Ty's facility and still didn't get the award for coming the furthest.  A guy from Manistique (in the U.P.) took the award for the day.  Just goes to show how hard it is to find good instruction outside of Florida.

[Roger]

Who is doing the coaching can make a huge difference.

I just took my first lesson after 18 years competing two weekends ago. I'm one of the can run 35 crowd but not consistently and stuck at 2@38 as a tournament PB for several years now. So, I went to see Chet Raley two weekends ago. Now many people have watched and tried to help from the boat with varying degrees of success. But, Chet has an incredible eye for what is causing you difficulty and where it's starting. I just skied like I always do without discussion up front (he didn't ask and I didn't offer). This is just what I wanted since I didn't want him having any preconceptions before watching and trying to help me. My perceived problem is being a bit narrow and fast coming into my offside turn even though everyone says I have a great onside lean.

Chet's take after watching me run one 28 was: "Well, I can see we need to work on your transition into your offside turn." Seems I change edges so hard that I turn into the bouy instead of carrying out and wind up (you guessed it) narrow, fast, and with slack. This doesn't keep me from running 28 and 32 consistantly, but does catch up to me at 35 and beyond. He suggested that I have such a good onside lean that I should just try to stand up and go flat off the 2nd wake. He said with the lean I have, I will not be able to go flat, but my carry out should be much better with closer to the proper amount of inward lean and the line should stay tight. To say he nailed it would be absolutely correct! I have never skied so easily as my next 7 passes in the lesson. After returning to Okeeheelee, I ran my next 6 of 8 35 attempts, a percentage I've never before attained. I called to schedule my next session today...

 

Sounds like your 3 hour drive to Ty's was well worth it to me. Stick with the guy who you can relate to. The other guy may be the perfect coach for someone else, but maybe not for you...