learning 28' off: help please.

[Laz]

Dear ballers,

This is a video of

.  The voice you hear is Jim Kilsdonk from Waterski Costa Rica.  Already I can see many issues.

First, my gate is 'el crapola'.  I have very little angle.  I don't counter into the gate and have a way to go before attempting a one-handed gate.

Second, i'm too compressed, especially after I cross the wake.  I'm not getting my hips and legs forward.

Third, not much countering.  I really have to concentrate to make this happen.

I find that all waterski theory disappears in a puff of smoke as soon as I ski past the 55m gates.

Any other suggestions?

 

 

 

 

[Chef23]

I would say getting higher up on the boat for the gate will make a big difference. Width at the beginning leads to width through the pass. April Coble tells me to get uncomfortably high on the boat for my gates and it makes a big difference to how easy the pass feels.

[Bud Man]

Laz,

It looks like you are a good skier. It appears that the boat speed was about 33mph and I have heard Schnitz say that a good technique for learning a new rope length is to slow the speed down.

 

You said: “Second, i'm too compressed, especially after I cross the wake.†I believe maybe that ought to be your number one focus. There are compressed styles that work for skiing, but it sounds to me that is not your target. Hearing your comment lends me to believe you are after a leverage body position (Chris Parrish) instead of a counter weight compressed position (Marcus Brown).

 

You asked for suggestions, so here is mine. Pick the skier you want to ski like and print a freeze frame of their leverage positions (left and right). Burn that image in your head. Attach a rope to something that will allow you to get into that position. Stand up a mirror so that you can see yourself with the pictures at the top to compare yourself to. Spend as much time as you can on that rope with the mirror and two pictures. Then when you get on the water repeat the pulling position starting your first pass without the buoys, I read where Ed J. suggested entering the gates from the right to completely avoid the buoys but still get a feel of the width of the course. He is a wise skier to listen to with a wealth of knowledge.

 

Post another video after a while and let us see your progress.

 

Brent, You are such a help to embed the videos. Thank you.

[Chef23]

Brent's advice helped me get past 32 off pretty consistently this summer. A good solid edge through both wakes then letting the ski finish the turn to get better angle off the ball. That added with the gate thought was key for me. The thing about the gate is you only need to think about it before you start the pass. After that you can move on to another thought. I don't like having too much going through my head while I am skiing.

[Horton]

I'm going to agree with most of the other comments made. What I'm going to tell you represents 90% of the coaching I give to skiers who are not yet running 35 off.

Starting with your gate: your roll in for the gate is your one opportunity in the course to set perfect body position. At every other moment in a slalom pass you are rushing to get somewhere or recovering from a previous mistake.

So starting with the moment before you begin to rotate the ski toward the gates, your shoulders, hips and ankles need to be in perfect alignment. I take a somewhat unconventional approach to body alignment. I say just stand up. The straighter your back leg is the further forward your pelvis will be. You do not actually want your knees to be locked out, but you should be pushing to get the ski as far from your chin as you can all the way until your edge change.

Followers of " new school" may see what I say above is blasphemy. If you are fit enough and talented enough to drive both knees forward all the way through the wakes, yes that is superior. I have only ever met one non-pro skier who consistently skis with a a lot forward knee bend. That is Bruce Butterfield. The real goal, new school or not, is to get your center of mass forward on the ski and use your skeletal structure. Most skiers bend their knees and move their hips back - this is BAD.

Phrases that I use to describe what you should be thinking from the ball to the wakes: try to get your bindings from your chin, push on your feet, try to be aware of the pressure on the bottom of both feet, extend both legs all the way to the edge change.....

When you have achieved alignment, you will be in a position known as stacked. The difference between skiers at your level and skiers were running 35 off is largely how stacked they are. I would encourage you to work on nothing else for a month. Please feel free to post additional videos.

[Tuney]

I am by no means qualified to give advice.... but I am going to make a comment anyway. I was dropping my hips into the wakes similar to how you are and I think it was a mental thing. Kind of like bracing yourself for impact (impact in this case would be the wakes). I skied with Trent F last year and he told me to take my trailing hand to the handle with my hips and lean.

 That should set you up standing tall and all that is left is trusting yourself through the wakes.  It was huge for my skiing. 

[Laz]

Thanks to everyone for looking at my 28 off pass and providing insight.

All of these comments are worthy of close study.  I'm very motivated to make 28' off a routine pass, not a freak accident.  I will have to make some of this stuff work to have a chance at 32' off.  Why?  Cause it sure beats workin'.

I was going at 55k (34.2mph) with Zero Off set at B2. (Like that made a difference http://www.ballofspray.com/vanillaforum/js/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-wink.gif).

Bud Man, if I have a skier to emmulate, might as well aim high.  I would go with Jamie Beauchesne.  We are both left foot forward..and that is all our skiing has in common.  I did a side by side comparison with my 28' off pass and JB skiing.  That's what prompted this thread.  The comparison looks like two different sports.

Brent, your advice is sound.  Paul Roberts at Summerski (summerski.ca) is always telling me to be more patient at the turn.  BTW, if you are ever in or near Toronto, come ski with us.

Horton, I can do what you say pulling against a tree.  This summer, I will try and do it behind a boat. (And I mean that in the most polite way possible).

Tuney: from your mouth to the god of skiing's ears. 

Now, I'm off to get a hair dryer and a long extension cord to liquify my lake.

 

[Chef23]

I prefer Parrish he is more of a traditional skier and while tall his technique I think is very good to emulate. This is a great video to watch of him:

[Horton]