CP inspired idea

[Horton]

I'm working on something right now that is inspired by Parrish but honestly I've never heard anyone talk about it the way I think about it. Maybe it is a different thought process for something everybody else does, maybe it is something new (doubtful) or maybe I'm just using different words. (maybe it is a crackpot idea)

 

Instead of thinking about keeping my inside shoulder high approaching the buoy or some other similar thought process, I'm trying to keep my line of sight high from the first wake to the ball line. I guess you could say I'm trying to feel like my chin is as high off the water as possible. The result is that my center of mass moves back towards the wakes/boat less and later. I am standing taller on the ski at the end of the edge change. I find that I am wider and earlier approaching the buoy with less effort. It is easy for me to do this running 32s. If I can implement it this summer at 38 is another question.

 

Matt Rini has talked to me about subjects that I think are related. Matt encouraged me to keep my sternum pointing out down past the edge change and especially approaching offside resist rolling my shoulders towards the boat. / Matt Brown and I also have discussed similar topics in reference to Smith's edge change.

 

I'm not sure it's genius but am having fun skiing in February.

[Razorskier1]

@Horton -- I think you're on to something. Similar to what Jodi Fisher tells me about keeping my hips and sternum pointed where I want to go. He believes that creates more efficient cross course movement (I agree from my testing) than having hips and shoulders too open to the boat (which he believe causes you to give up cross course angle and speed). When I combine that with the idea of standing tall like CP, I get an amazing kick outbound off of the second wake. Partly it feels like what happens is that by being in a more still position on my ski and not giving anything away to the boat it forces the boat to pull me up later and swing me more (creating the arc of the turn). Good stuff.

[6balls]

I believe it probably slows the edge change some as well. Still start it at the same location, but the completion of the roll to full on turning edge is slower.

Keeps from setting up a pre-load by preventing the shoulders from dropping in before it's time to turn, thus giving a smoother, running hook up rather than an over-turn, stall, then go.

[ForrestGump]

Last April I was at a tournament at Aquaplex and Chad Baker was in a judges tower while I skied. Afterwards he came up to me and said almost these exact same things. He said I should keep my vision up and to almost go into slow motion from the centerline out to the buoy. It took me about 3 months to figure out what he was actually trying to tell me but when I did it was a bit of an "ah hah" moment.

[Sethski]

Yeah, this is consistent with a lot of things I believe some great skiers work on, but another way to approach it. Sounds good. I never try it this way, but the goal is the same (which seems to be what 6balls and ShaneH seemed to experience). The place where most of us mortals lose much of the value of the work we have done in the course (in other words where we lose most of the energy we create) is through the transition where we give up our connection to the rope, our power, our position, and our outbound direction. Some of this was perhaps taught to those of us who have been skiing for 30 plus years.

 

In order to combat this and keep people focused on moving out and maintaining their position, I did away with using the phrase edge change all together. At the point where we talk about the edge change (which I personally refer to as the "transition") the real goal is to swing off of the centerline with energy and actually USE the energy you created from the turn to the wakes. If you give up the pressure on the rope you lose the ale on the rope and are no longer able to maintain an efficient path into the subsequent turn...much like you guys mentioned.

 

Nice idea Horton.

 

Seth Stisher

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[Horton]

So I am not a total Crackpot? Who knew?

[MAD11]

Shane,

 

That is almost a believable story except for one thing. It involves Baker actually speaking. Especially since I was there. He swears to me he can't say anything when I am there.

[ForrestGump]

Marc, you were in the boat so he WAS able to get a word in edge wise. :)

[matthewbrown]

@Horton, what you and I were talking about last year was not so much getting taller from the first wake out to the buoy, but rather coming up gradually out of the cut...a very slow elongated transition from the cutting edge, to the turning edge. At that Gold Rush tournament from the tower view, it was clear that Nate was doing this much more so than anyone else. Everyone else was holding the same intensity past the second wake and then releasing it all at once, resulting in slightly harder transitions and slightly more parallel speed. We all know how the word "slightly" really gets magnified at 39 and 41. Nate never had that happen with his long controlled transitions. I think that because of CP's length, he is able to have much slower transitions like Nate. If thinking about getting taller helps you do this, then I'm all for it. I would of course point out that this will be easier to complete by establishing as much speed as possible with the lightest load possible. @Horton, you need a coach, everyone needs a coach and not just here and there....to really excel properly you need someone who knows what the hell they are talking about in the boat nearly every set especially for those of us who aren't blessed with perfect feel and awareness in the course.

[Horton]

@matthewbrown There's no question that what I'm playing with is not exactly what we talked about at Gold Rush. I do think it dovetails in with what we were watching. It's one of those things you play with at longer line lengths and wonder if it will be meaningful with a shorter rope. We will see.

 

I was originally just trying to be taller at the buoy. After a number of passes I realized that I had unintentionally slowed down my edge change and improved my outbound path.

 

Do I need a coach? Like I need a Japanese girlfriend! The difference is a coach would improve my ball count and not cost me my marriage. If I could get you to move Bako I think I would pick up three or four buoys.

 

I think most of us are not only self coaching but making it up as we go along. I hope to get to Orlando a few times this year and I keep threatening to come up to Chico with Dirt.