Proud of my awesome wife

[aswinter05]

Some of you may remember my wife's face plant a couple weeks back. She got back up and hit all 6 greens for her first time the other day. Feel free to chime in with some pointers that may help her prepare for the oranges.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E9KZKRu1xo0

 

[Steven_Haines]

I think she'd probably ski better if you took her out for a nice steak dinner and bottle of wine! You're a lucky man having a wife that shares your passion!

[Ed_Johnson]

Definitely count your blessings....My Wife skied and was an excellent driver for 15 years..Says she won't do it anymore because I was to SERIOUS about it..Hasn't driven or skied in years..Don't make my mistake and Congratulations !!!

[Than_Bogan]

I'd consider mixing in some oranges right away. I've never been a huge fan of shadowing because I truly believe the most fundamental skill of slalom is generating the speed and angle behind the boat to get wide.

 

Half course is just about building some confidence, and the previous video shows she has no lack of that!!

 

Next step is holding the angle and building enough speed to carry out really wide and get ahead of the buoys. Slowest boat speed that doesn't drive her nuts!

 

One man's opinion anyhow.

[A_B]

Awesome! Got to love a gal that gets back up in the saddle after getting thrown off.

 

I would say have her focus on wake crossings where she isn't letting her knees bounce up so much. That kills the ski being on edge and knifing through the wake.

 

Two drills I like with rookies:

Go to 28 off. Have her try to pass the boat on each side pulling out from the wake at first, then from the middle, then over both wakes.

The goal is good form out on the side, with elbows to vest, arms straight, handle down on hip, on balls of feet, and try to put her shoulder in the water when she is out to the side. This helps the brain break free of the "stand up" mind set, and progressing through one wake cut then both, at a shorter rope where the wakes are flatter, builds confidence. If she is in good position, she can lean away and stay in that position a long time, if too far back, she will fall backwards into the water, which are pretty harmless falls.

 

After the correct position is hit, I have them go over the wake back and forth without popping up, and then have them get wider and wider.

 

A good couple good sets of this, and 15 off all of sudden becomes easy..

[gsm_peter]

@OB

Is the recomendation for all rookies to go 28 off every now and then?

At what speed?

brgds

Peter

[6balls]

@AB love the panda!

[A_B]

I will assume you meant @AB, as I don't think OB has been in this thread.

 

I like to get them on a fun loop where the wakes aren't as intimidating and they can get the acceleration feel and not need pulls that last forever. Also good to develop rhythm.

 

I see more smiles from beginning course skiers after running 28 off free skiing than 15 off.

 

I would be curios to hear your wife's reaction. Slow the boat down as slow as you need so she can resist the boat through both wakes.

 

[A_B]

You have a couple recommendations. No harm in trying them and seeing what works best for you and your wife. What helped me progress may not help you, or vice versa. There is no one-rule fits all in skiing, as evidenced by LF or RF forward, fin settings, boots, wings, compressed, straight legs or in between, open to boat, closed to boat, etc... Have fun.

[Ed_Johnson]

Most Wife's do not like to be "Corrected" by their Husbands..Believe me I know !!

 

What ever you do, make sure she is having "Fun." Please keep telling her how "Great" she's doing, no matter what !!! I would only give her some instruction if she asks, then keep it simple and light....It is usually better to have a good coach work with her and just keep telling her she is doing great.

 

If I had a time machine, this is what I should have done, and my Wife would still be driving and skiing today !!!

 

 

[gsm_peter]

Oppps

Sorry AB and OB.

Mixed up the names.

Anyhow I will try a shorter line just to get a feeling of it this summer.

That is freeskiing for me.

 

 

[Joeprunc]

@aswinter05 That is awesome! I think you should have her continue to run those speeds for as long as she feels comfortable. Only have her go for the orange balls once she feels like she is ready to. I'm trying to get my wife to start moving from open water to the course, but she is very timid of the buoys (and a little embarrassed). A lot of the people out here don't want to share a course with people that can't run 35 off. But I think I found a local club that doesn't fall in that stereotype.

 

@Ed_Johnson Thank you for the advice :). Still being in the "honeymoon phase" with my wife she can take criticism and corrections, but I can tell how extremely happy she is when I tell her how awesome she was doing. I want to keep my wife in the boat for as long as I can still afford to put gas in it. I will only give her words of encouragement from now on...unless she asks. Then only mention on point or area to work on.

[Than_Bogan]

@Joeprunc Ya know I hear that about "deep shortline only" attitude, and I've never been convinced that it's real. We all started out bad, and I usually find the deep shortliners are among the most encouraging to beginners because they know how much freakin' fun this sport can be and want to see more people get to experience that!

 

I feel it's more a perception issue than anything. I hear all the time people say "I'm not good enough for tournaments [or whatever.]" My new response is "Whaddya mean? The boat can't pull you?"

 

I'm not saying everyone will go out of their way to be friendly. Everyone has busy lives right now and often wants to just get their thing done and get out of there. But I also think genuine UNfriendliness is quite rare in the ski community.

[Joeprunc]

@Than_Bogan I agree that most skiers I have come across are welcoming of all skiers into their sport with open arms. Heck that's why I visit this board frequently, as I feel extremely welcomed and encouraged as a 15' off skier. And I appreciate the support and guidance that I receive here. All of my course skiing encounters have been very encouraging, except for one experience that was spot on with the "DSO" attitude. I'd rather not go into details on the incident here. Maybe the other group of skiers was having a bad day and I'd like to think they didn't mean to come across that way.

 

Sorry for the hijack...I hope my wife can ski like that some day.

[slalom frog]

Andrew - what are you using to film with? Something mounted to the pylon?

[aswinter05]

@slalom frog , "EZ Cam" mount on the pylon. GoPro Hero 3

[bigtex2011]

my spouse rounding 2 at 35 last year. good times

[aswinter05]

Megan took another fall at Coble. Worth posting

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnIB2L0eQrI