Winter gate vid

[Old MS Accout]

Awesome short clip on th efront page about gates. This is the hybred gate approach that I have been trying to master for a few years. Great info on width and turn in.

It works well for me until I ski with Skidawg and try to do what he does. Then I get all messed up and have to find my way back again.    

[lkb]

That looks pretty much just like what Chet teaches. That's the one that works best for me.

[scoke]

 

lkb, curious about the comment regarding Chet's gate teaching. When was the last time you skied with him?

 

[lkb]

Scoke, late November. What are your thoughts?

[Chef23]

I agree great article.  I have always been a two handed gate guy but do think what he says about his combo method makes some sense.  The biggest key for me is the point he mentions about getting wide or up high on the boat.  This was one of the biggest things I worked on at Coble's last year.

[scoke]

 

There were obviously some great points in Terrys video, obviously he knows what he is talking about but some of the things were the opposite of recent Chet teachings. But one of the issues is it's not a one size fits all approach considering we can acclerate all differently due to body sizes/strengths and natural techniques.

I think I was at Chets the weekend before you last year.

Last week I spent some time down there and was surprised to hear some of the evolution of his coaching (from his mouth too). He didn't use any of the same words last week that he was using back at the end of October as well as we worked on some different things conceptually etc. It was quite enjoyable and he is on the right track and still the best coach in the world, strong words right there.

 We worked on my gate quite a bit. It had some elements of what terry was describing but my pull out was after the boat was through the greens and I was two handing the gate too.

[lkb]

Scoke, sorry I missed you at Chet's. It would have been nice to meet a fellow BOS'er.

The thing I noticed about the video of Terry was how muched it looked like video I have of CHet's gate from last fall. That was really all I was trying to say in my first post.

When I was there thanksgiving, he had me doing the reverse course 2 ball to start my pass. It was a drill to make my turn in for the gate better. So, I was making a 2 ball turn at the first ball you come to on the left side. Anyhow, He would signal me when to pull out for that ball. After doing that drill many times over three days, I asked him what was the definitive marker when to pull out for that. He quickly said he was varying the mark by 20 ft and I hadn't even realized it. I think the point he was trying to teach me was that it all had to do with carrying the right amount of energy to that point where I wanted to turn.  Hope that makes sense.

 Does he try to convince you to try a one handed gate? Now that I think back I can't remember seeing anybody there do a two hander.

[jlittle]

It's been a couple years since I skied with Chet but at that time he was not teaching the one hander like Terry's doing it.  He was starting the pull out later and making a more fluid turn in similar to Rossi but not quite as abrupt as MB.  I have heard that's changed a little.

Myself, I have thoughts of returning to a two handed gate every year for the last few years.  I stick with the one hander because as spring progresses, and I get some sets logged, in my mind I have a better chance of salvaging an okay gate if I screw something up along the way.  There is nothing wrong with a two handed gate a-la Willy, CP or Doane.  There's a plug for you Zippy.  How 'bout that company.

 My bigest problem is I load the line too heavy upon my turn in and through the wakes.  Gotta think resist.  I can get away with loading it heavy all the way through 32 off because with the extra space created I have enough time to slow the ski and turn 1 ball.  If I'm on my game 35 is even managable.  But at 35 you really can't be playing tug-o-war.  Or at least with my stackhouse form I can't.  My $.02

[RichardDoane]

seems like a one handed gate is more beneficial to the LFF guys

[lkb]

Run six, maybe their pullout points are different and it's one skier at 34 and one at 36 but if you watch Chet's gate you will see him edge out, standup with both hands still on the handle, glide for a bit on a flat ski, drop his hand off, reach and then go, I see Terry doing the same thing...Terry's seems a little more drawn out but it's in slo motion too. The basic movements are the same.

[jlittle]

lkb, sorry but I have not seen Chet ski in awhile.  And I just looked back on when we went down and skied with him.  It was spring of 2006.  And then we flew him up here mid summer for a refresher so he could see our progress.  Or lack there of.  So it's been more than a couple years ago.

IIRC he was just getting started on coaching the OHG at that time.  Or rather that winter he had just bought into the idea that it might have some benifits.  He said it was going to be nerve racking at first but to start when the 55's hit the front of the boat on a couple passes.  Then he said wait 'til you see them come out from behind the boat.  Then he said try and work your way 'til the tip of your ski was at the 55's before pulling out.  And he was pushing the tip of the ski idea and then adjust from there.

That being said Wim was not starting that way while we were there.  He was experimenting with the "new gate" but giving it more room.  There was a video from the boat of him floating around somewhere from June of '06 and it's apparent he is starting before the 55's come into the picture.  He also has a little glide when he gets his full width.  You all have probably seen it.  Him running down the line, 28 through 39. 

 What I found was.  If I started my pull out when the tip of my ski hit the 55s, got correct width (like Terry is talking about) I was rushing my turn in and loading the line hard so I would make the gates.  Or thinking I needed to load hard to make them.  And was fast into 1 ball.  From the start of the pull out to turn in was just to quick for my little brain to process.  I panicked sort of.  Not all the time but it took a lot of concentration to not panic.  So I have since settled on starting when the buoys appear out of the back of the boat.

 I think this is why I have thoughts of going back to a two handed gate in the spring.  Because every thing feels fast in the spring.  Yes, I'm LFF.

[malibuowner]

Terry and I have been working on perfecting this gate for about five years now.

Unfortunatley he already had it perfected when we first met and I'm still trying to do it as well as he does.....

[MrJones]

I did the one handed gate from '06 through last June when I watched CP run through 41 from the boat in a RC. I talked to him about going back to the two hander, after he did the one hand gate for awhile. He told me that he just felt it was more consistent. I went back to two handed after that tourney and don't regret it. My wife switched back a month or so later and ran her best score in several years in a fall tourney. 

IMHO, unless you ski "a lot" the timing of the one handed gate is difficult.  I also believe that it is easy to get lost with a one handed gate in regard to width in the course. As a LFF skier I felt that even when I had a so-so one handed gate I could still get a good one. The problem I found was that even with the "good" one I found myself having trouble with two. What I realized was that the easier turn in for the one hander allowed me to get lax on my width, still get a good one, but then have width issues in the rest of the course. 

Terry's gate makes me think about giving the one hander another go. Of course, I don't really know how you can make it look better than what CP was doing last season. I love watching Will and JB, but I can't physically do what they do. Tall and quiet with the body is more doable for me and the two hander seems to set me up better than the OHG in that regard.

(Having said all that I will probably show up at Darwin's in June doing the one hander again...)

 

[Old MS Accout]

Check out the knee bend on his secong attempt. Unreal.

(Having said all that I will probably show up at Darwin's in June doing the one hander again...)

Jones,

and with a new ski

[MrJones]

MS

I hate to speak too soon, but I strongly believe that I will be on the Strada for all of '10. I might actually ski a little better if I stayed on one stick for an entire season. That changing 2-3 weeks before regionals is not good for the old confidence.

[RichardDoane]

Scot - I promised myself to just stay on my Strada until Eddie comes up with something better, so it might be a while......

[Boody]

I do want to thank Terry Winter for posting his video clips, I have found them to be quite helpful.  Keep em coming!

[RichardDoane]

OF's son Tomas had a great time skiing with Terry last week, and came back with quite a few coaching tips that have been helpful.  It's kind of weird being coached by a 15 yr old, but they were things that he noticed in my skiing that I'm sure he picked up from Terry.  So Scholl's $$$ was well spent.