Baller lundberg Posted August 5, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 5, 2011 I am a long time open water skier (and lurker) who has finally decided to see if years of free skiing can work in the course. On Monday I'm headed to a private lake for an all day lesson (great birthday gift from my wife). What should I expect, any advice? (I'm 37, normally ski 15 off @ 33-34 mph) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller lcarnes Posted August 5, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 5, 2011 The buoys will completely change your point of reference. Having slowly made the transition from strictly open water skiing to course skiing over the last few years, I'm still continually amazed at how much more energy is required to get through the course. So hopefully your all day lesson will be broken down into sets. Three sets in a day (usually 6-8 passes through the course) will likely be all you can take in a day. If you are in warm water (and where isn't it warm?), consider taping your hands. Blisters can ruin a great ski day-and they can happen in just one set if your hands are not callused-typically I have much more pressure on my hands in the course vs open water skiing. Hopefully your instructor will have some good taping methods. I use either Duck brand tape or J&J waterproof adhesive. Expect to slow the boat down considerably to help you get the timing of the course. Good luck and have fun! It should be a blast! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Deke Posted August 5, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 5, 2011 Don't expect anything, just be completely open. OTOH don't be surprised if you do a lot of work on body position without going around the buoys. Be prepared to drop at each end and discuss your last and next pass. And mostly, have fun! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
501Brandon Posted August 5, 2011 Share Posted August 5, 2011 Take a notepad and write down the information as it is said AND as you precieve and understand it. When you review it later they may both make sense at a later date. Especially once you "feel" what it is your instructed to do. HAVE FUN and be prepared for the addiction and tomorrow morning before you leave the house say thanks and apologize to your wife! Thanks cause your probably going to love this and Sorry cause you may have found a new love come tomorrow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Supporting Member Than_Bogan Posted August 5, 2011 Supporting Member Share Posted August 5, 2011 One thing not yet mentioned: Expect to go slowwwwwly. It's impossible to learn the course at much faster than 26 mph, which at first will feel ridiculous. At that point, Deke's advice kicks in. Also don't be surprised if your parting impression is "wow, I was doing EVERYTHING wrong." I had that impression after my first formal lesson, and I'd already been running the course for years by then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bxroads Posted August 6, 2011 Share Posted August 6, 2011 Lundberg, I'm probably below your level of skiing because I only really started last year. But for me the course has been very depressing, I keep having to tell myself "this is fun". It's a lot harder than it looks. Don't expect to go out there and tear it up. And if happens to come easy for you, please don't tell me about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller ToddL Posted August 6, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 6, 2011 This should be obvious, but just in case... If you have someone video, make sure they know to keep rolling for the instruction while stopped. I've seen students' observers video tape only the skiing and not the instruction - what a lost opportunity. Then, when you watch the video: View the pass, listen to the instruction, then rewind and review the prior pass again. Try to see what the instructor saw. Try to understand the opportunity that the instructor saw and thus the suggested changes. Then, during the next pass, see if you can perceive a change in your skiing from the prior pass. Did you change how you skied? Did you do what the instructor asked? The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. People taking lessons, need to think about that a bit. Improvement is by definition a change. Thus, you have to do something different if you want to improve. After the instructor tells you to do something different, your next pass must feel different because you did something differently. If you always feel the same when you ski, then you aren't doing anything differently. (Now conversely, if you are skiing to build muscle memory of a good technique and set new habits, you are trying to ski exactly the same way repeatedly...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Boody Posted August 6, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 6, 2011 Everytime I got a lesson, I struggled to ski a lot of bouys and often was not impressed with the coaching. However, I had the "ah hah" moment after the fact. Weeks or months later. So take some time to absorb what you learned, it WILL benefit you in the long run, if not immediately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
454SS Posted August 7, 2011 Share Posted August 7, 2011 Having just learned to ski the course this summer the biggest difference that I noticed is that the course forces you to ski equally well on both on and off sides. Having been a long time free skier my off side turn was lacking badly in comparison to my on side turn. I immediately noticed this when I first started and it was one of the biggest things I had to correct, also as stated previously don't be afraid to go slow at first, I started at 28 mph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller lundberg Posted August 7, 2011 Author Baller Share Posted August 7, 2011 Thanks everyone for the words of wisdom! I'll let you know how it goes tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller MattP Posted August 7, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 7, 2011 What coach are you going to? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller lundberg Posted August 7, 2011 Author Baller Share Posted August 7, 2011 I'm headed up to Bow Lake in Washington. I'm not sure who the instructor will be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ RichardDoane Posted August 7, 2011 Baller_ Share Posted August 7, 2011 Micah is a good guy @ Bow, let us know how it went. lundberg - where do you usually ski in western wa ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller lundberg Posted August 8, 2011 Author Baller Share Posted August 8, 2011 I grew up skiing on Lake Sammamish, but now I ski mostly weekday mornings before work on Lake Washington (between Bellevue and Mercer Island). If you see a blue 92 nautique between 6 and 7 am while driving on I-90 that's us. Now I'm off to the lake! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller lundberg Posted August 8, 2011 Author Baller Share Posted August 8, 2011 Thanks everyone for the advice. It was all spot on. I skied slow and got a bunch of things to work on. I got in 6 sets (maybe 32 passes) and made a handfull of 15 off at 30mph. My hands lasted untill the last pass (I'm glad I picked up the pro locks). Now it is back to open water to work on things. I'm sure that will not be my last time on a private lake. (In the morning Phil was helping me and the afternoon it was Justin). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller lundberg Posted August 9, 2011 Author Baller Share Posted August 9, 2011 You are right. I'm hurting right now! In the bright side it is a continual reminder of a fun day yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
east tx skier Posted August 9, 2011 Share Posted August 9, 2011 Late, but to quote Clubber Lang, "Pain." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ RichardDoane Posted August 9, 2011 Baller_ Share Posted August 9, 2011 lundberg -shoot me an email and we'll tow you through the course @ the broho sometime this summer, richard@burienautorepair.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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