speed at the ball

[Horton]

I hope everyone looks at Trent's short article on the front page about speed. I really like how Trent states the fundamentals in an easy to understand way.

 

I also really want a pink ski.

[6balls]

Yah, good stuff.

[skihart]

I like how he explains it......but I was kind of left hanging. It would be nice to see a follow up article on the execution.

[Stevie Boy]

I really like Trents take on things, one of the things I like most, is hooking up with the handle, in a smoother fashion, instead of that big pull, because of speed difference, its alright being slow at the ball but your gonna have to make the time up somewhere, which is not a problem if you are in good position or feeling strong, when your a little tired or not quite in the right position, the result could end up with an OTF manouvre, I vote for more speed at the bouy, yet again direction is King, or for some people Queen.

[ral]

I do not want a pink ski...

[mrpreuss]

The real question and the missing piece :

 

Maintaining your direction as you leave the second wake will allow you to swing wider, and therefore higher on the boat.

 

That, is the most important part of carrying speed, How do you do this? That, detective is the right question.

[Gloersen]

Salient point Trent is making.

 

Always have considered “speed” as desirable; “fast” as undesirable. There is a difference (semantically).

 

Visualize a great, smooth pass; in total control, staying stacked, skiing from the handle at the core, good outbound direction, effortless reaches & turns, no crushing loads, just super wide & early with plenty of space. Drop at the end & ask why they can’t be all that way (maybe for some of you they are :) ).

 

Now consider the ugly pass; just hanging on to squeak by each ball, feeling out of control at times, separated from the core, super fast at times, slamming turns, & just connecting the dots.

 

Both “successful” passes in the same period of time, but the “easy” one covered a greater distance and therefore on average; greater speed. The crappy “fast” pass covered less distance and thus less speed.

 

“Speed” (positive velocity) is an ally.

 

Insofar as achieving that velocity past the 2nd wake; grasping what TW states below about it; seems it should be so easy.

 

Just wish I could do it consistently instead of a random incident.

 

 

“Here’s how it should be done. Through the wakes, and even past the wakes, maintain some of the upper body and lean away from the boat. Instead of letting the outside shoulder lift back in toward the wakes, keep the shoulders level. Do whatever it takes to keep the shoulders and the rest of the upper body in the same position that they were in behind the boat. The elbows should stay right where they were during the cut, right on the sides of the vest. The chest should remain upright, the elbows stay tucked in to the body, and the hips should stay up close to the handle. Instead of letting the upper body get pulled back in, keep it leaning away from the boat and moving across the course. Allow the ski to swing through beyond the upper body and on to the new turning edge by softening up the legs and letting the ski release from the load it built up during the acceleration. From the boat, the skier should look quiet and still from the waist up. It’s the ski, the knees and hips that should be doing most of the movement. This will result in more direction across the course through the edge-change transition, and allow the turns to be set up earlier and from a wider point.”

[Bruce_Butterfield]

Excellent perspective from Trent. As for "how", you just need to dig into the archives.....

 

http://www.ballofspray.com/tech-articles/87-what-the-heck-is-handle-control

 

 

[Gloersen]

@BruceButterfield

 

among the best articles in the archives....

 

most of all.... "if you execute proper handle control, the edge change will happen automatically".

 

words to ski by.

 

any land drills to help ingrain this into muscle memory???

[Stevie Boy]

Ok can someone help me out here, some of my best skiing was when I used to drift into the Gate bouy line and then nail it through the gates (back of the boat), then I decided to get help with my skiing and everybody told me not to lean, stay more upright and do not go so hard, result for me is not being able to maintain direction and getting pulled off edge into the bouy, so I developed this inbetween thing which is far from ideal because it is never consistent, any thoughts on this guy,s.

You look at mapple and jeff rodgers and boy they are leaning, another successful skier, in the UK uses the term "MAXIMUM WELLIE" so do we go easy, or do we ski with attitude ?

[Than_Bogan]

@Bruce I've said this before and will again: For advanced skiers trying to master extremely short line lengths, that article is the most useful article ever written.

 

Thanks again for that!

[Razorskier1]

Trent is absolutely right here. Like every aspect of this sport, however, it requires that you do the things that make it happen. For me that means handle control and load management, allowing me to "stay at the end of the rope". Too much load and the boat will bring me up whether I want to or not, and shoot me at the ball with too much speed, bad direction, and a loose line, even if I can control the handle. Right amount of load and good handle control and the boat lifts me up slowly and sends me wide at the end of the rope as far up on the boat as I want to be. Love these threads on technique!

[Gloersen]

@OB, certainly concur, too often trying to hug that RHGB that I have to hold back, sometimes the ski hooks up generating angle that appears will go wide right and then have to give up the lean.

 

Considering aiming for the middle during the winter month practice and building upon the velocity.

 

What AM states in the clip during the 5:00 to ~8:30 segment definitely hits the mark imho.

 

Most Ballers probably have it (if not, it's worth purchase just for the didactics); recommend it for review.

 

Slalom_With_Andy_Mapple_Video

 

 

 

 

[6balls]

I recall there's a comment in there where Andy is asked what he's giving it behind the boat on a scale of 1 to 10, and his answer is 10!

[skibug]

Seems I have heard that from another, current, top pro too...

[Dusty]

Especially for you technically oriented skiers- speed is only half(?) of velocity- velocity is speed with direction. Ski designers step in here, but I suspect skies are created to turn when moving within a 'window' of speeds. Too fast or too slow, seems to cause "issues"?

[Bill Gladding]

I agree with that Dusty. Also your fin, wing and other adjustments are going to function best at a certain range of speeds. Operating out of range, expect less than optimal results...

[Chef23]

@Gloerson I was thinking about that video when reading Trent's article and this thread. AM talks about creating as much space and if I remember correctly speed as possible. It seems that AM doesn't mind the speed if he has the space.

[Stevie Boy]

Watching the same video, what about the sequence, showing AM run an awsome pass with no gates, ie, not up on the boat at all, I watch some Pro,s and the angle on the gate seems to decrease the shorter the line length, if you are looking for maximum width just before or at the bouy, is it possible to create too much space and effectively arrive at your optimum width too early, is less more ?

[6balls]

That no gate pass is amazing. What a skier!

[Than_Bogan]

Random aside: Some of the math I've been trying to do lately seems to go with this, notably reaching peak speed fairly near to the ball and keeping it up going into the buoy both seem to occur on the "optimal" path (as defined by one possibly-relevant metric).

 

I point this out only because it *might* mean my math and choice of metric are on the right track because I'm getting results that mesh with what Trent says to do.

[Dusty]

About 10 years ago, I asked Jason Paredes what he thought about in the course- He said simply "width" ... Whatever it takes to get width would then be the ideal?- speed plus direction, however you get it. All the top skiers manage speed well- if there is a goal to my pitiful skiing, there it is. I agree with Bill Gladding too re: tuning- I have been 'schooled' by several with the advice that you can set up your ski for its best performance for only 3 to 4 passes. Longer lines wont be as good nor will shorter- probably because of differences in speed? In my case since I don't have 3 or 4 passes, I'm good to go!