Riding the tail.....

[ForrestGump]

@skijay BINGO! If you can move through the edge change with the chest facing the tree tops, it's money.

[SQuartly]

I watched the video and I have to say I agree with most of the comments about your hips and bending your front leg. I dont know if you've tried this already but elevating your back foot slightly should help you feel a bit more comfortable on the ski. I broke my back ankle and as a consequence have limited movement in it someone recommended that I placed a piece of plastic the width of a small chopping board cut to shape under my RTP and i immediately felt more comfortable Ive since changed back but I skied with it for a few years and it helped me. I can't imagine that it will dramatically change your skiing but it should help you feel more balanced.

 

[lpskier]

If you have a physical limitation due to a shortened achilles, you can address the problem with a shim under your rear heel or a lift under the entire back foot, as necessary. You can start with something like a couple dimes glued under your rear plate, to a Dr. Scholl's heel lift, to something like a Radar RTP with a cushion.

[bogboy]

@ShaneH, I am embarrassed, I miss understood you. Thank you for your help.

[ToddL]

OK, I'll give it a try for you @ctsmith... On the dock, (or at your computer, just stand up right now...), do this:

Stand up with your front foot forward as if your feet were in your bindings. Stand as tall has your body will allow.While standing tall, adjust your weight to 90% on your front foot, thinking about having most of the weight on the ball of that foot, tooStand proud - like at attention / Point the top of your sternum upwardThrust your hips forward as if to try to bend backward at the waist a little.Still 90% on your front foot? correct if necessary without losing everything else.Now, pretend your hips/waist is in a brace in this position so that you cannot bend there at all.Now, bend your front ankle only...Your front knee will move forward and down slightly as a result.Your waist/hips should still be in that pretend brace.Your upper body had to lean "back" a bit to counter-balance for your front knee coming forward.Also, your body from the front knee up to your sternum should be in a straight line still.Still 90% on your front foot? correct if necessary without losing everything else.

 

If you have done this correctly, you can even lift your back foot off the ground even though your upper body appears to be leaning "back"...

 

Feel this position. Flex your ankles a little without losing that pretend waist/hip brace.

This whole position is basically "stacked." You still have some "shock absorbers" for wakes, etc. but your upper body (front knee to sternum) stays stacked.

 

Next steps are to:

Do this position with a slight lean on a handle on a pole.

Then take a ride down the lake in this position, staying behind the boat.

Note - from now until the day you die, never ride the ski in any other body position. Never "relax" and get lazy. That would equal your old body position. Always ride in the new position, from deep water start and through the coast down into the water at the other end, around the turns, always...

Next trip down the lake, start at the curl of the wake in this position and make a slight lean outbound making sure that you stay like a statue in this position while leaning.

Do this on both sides.

Next, start at the white water spray line outside of the wake and gently cross the wake without losing this position. Feel the pressure under your front foot... feel the sternum pointed up...

 

If at anytime you lose position, back off, reset, and start over.

 

The most critical time in this process will be when you attempt to apply this to an actual buoy pass... You have to be relentless in this position. Be especially perfect from curl to lean out to glide. Then, be especially perfect during your initiation of rotation toward the gates. These motions are the ones that kick you back into old habits. Be relentless. Feel the pressure under your front foot, feel the sternum up. Maintain the perfect body position from lean out (setup to gates), glide, and turn-in towards the gates. Once that is all in order, you will find that it is easier to maintain this position through the edge change (stay tall through the edge change)... Also, you will have more time at 1-ball. Thus, then you will have the luxury of being relentless with this position through and around 1-ball.

 

Improvements will slowly migrate to later buoys and eventually the full pass. But always start right.

 

One last thing... When you do this position correctly, you will find that you don't have to lean so hard on the boat. If you get it right while still leaning as hard as you do now, you will feel some new speed into the buoy. It is OK, but just realize that is simply a confirmation of improvement. When you do the position correctly, the pass will feel easier or like it takes less effort. Again, this is confirmation of improvement. When in the correct position, the ski and the boat do all the work. Your only job is to stay stacked, simply resist the boat at a comfortable lean...

 

[ctsmith]

Todd, my boss is looking at me like I am crazy (as I'm doing your procedures at my desk). Appreciate it. I'll report back.

[ctsmith]

I've been leaning on a door handle all afternoon (pretty good prop actually). Headed home and to the lake. Stack position, stack position, stack position...........

[Horton]

@ToddL

I have to respectfully disagree with your advice. Your end goal is correct but I think your path is a little old school and idealistic.

 

The human body folds on two major hinges. Knees and hips. If your back leg is not pushing down, your hips will fall back. Fastest way to get stacked, straighten / press your back leg and that will move your center of mass (hips) forward and as a result put weight on your front foot. I would never tell a skier to try to unweight their back leg.

 

The fastest way to get to a 95 percent perfect ski position is with equal power through both feet. Attempting to move most or all weight to your front foot generally leads to unanticipated results.

 

My favorite is the skier who tries to get on the toes of their back foot, bends back leg to do so and ends up with hips way back.

 

Also typical is the skier who is trying to get forward by bringing shoulders forward. We all know how this ends. Please get video when you try this.

 

Lastly. The idea of a front ankle bending forward. Yes this works for a few skies. Generally they are super elite skiers like Terry Winter.

[ToddL]

@Horton - thanks for sharing your input on this one! I do like hearing other ways to help skiers get into the right position. I'm going to play with your method some on my next trip to the lake. I may learn a new solution to this basic body position issue.

 

Regardless of which mechanics achieve the goal, I do still subscribe to the muscle memory factor. Whatever works, do it always. Never "relax" out of that stacked position. Be stacked always from out of the water to coasting back in at the other end of the lake.

 

Finally, I still also believe that the initial motion outbound and the initial motion to turn in for the gates are critical moments when skiers loose their stack. These movements have to be re-learned while staying stacked.

[ctsmith]

Friday afternoon, as hard as it was, I never entered the course, working in the open water with focus on "off" side. Had high hopes for Saturday but ended up skiing on a new (to me) and very challenging lake (1500 ft). Took a set to get settled in and then all focus was getting through the gate and I can't think about two things at once :) so I can't say I was able to move forward with my form.

 

During the Friday afternoon session, focus on the back leg and proud chest seemed to be getting me somewhere. I'm anxious to try it out in the course.

[SkiJay]

@ctsmith Don't get discouraged if you don't see results right away. You may be working the "back leg" concept for a long time to come. I liken the rate of progress in slalom skiing to the rate at which paint fades ... unless you are Bailey Austin.

[Horton]

@ctsmith

 

I have only hatched a few good ideas over the years and the link below is one of them. It still 90% of all my coaching.

 

http://www.ballofspray.com/component/content/article/35-ballofspray-water-ski-news/54-basic-relaxed-position

[davemac]

I couldn't agree any more with @horton here. In an effort to get away from (old school) tail riding habit, I consciously tried to unweight back foot...which results in back knee bend and/or chronic heel lift. More deterimentally....the unintended effect is that it causes front leg to want to lock straight. To ski this way, it is almost necessary to lean back and ski defensively...only worsening the "tail riding".

Just this weekend while getting some coaching help, I was trying to figure out why my turn in (after pullout) was so uncomfortable and inefficient. The light came on, when I realized I was still "unweighting" my rear leg too much at the turn in.

"Counter-intuitivity" and "muscle memory" are what make this sport so difficult...and why quality coaching is so important.

 

[ToddL]

@davemac - thanks for sharing your story. Thanks again, @Horton, for setting things straight.

[ToddL]

So, to summarize, we have:

a) Fastest way to get stacked, straighten / press your back leg and that will move your center of mass (hips) forward and as a result put weight on your front foot, and

b) Attempt to point your chest to the tree tops. You can't pull your hips up if your chest is pointed down. But if you point your chest up, the hips will naturally move up and the shoulders move back.

 

So, I tried to do this just now. It works, but I would add a little bit more...

 

a) Stand tall, bend your front ankle a little, then press you back leg which moves your weight forward and puts more weight on the front of the ski.

When you add a little front ankle bend before you press with the back foot, the result puts the skier's weight a bit more forward and stacked. The possible error without that extra bit, is a skier with both legs straight. By adding that front ankle bend before the back leg press, the skier is still tall, relaxed, forward and hips up all at once.

 

b) Attempt to point [the top of the sternum up] to the tree tops.

By focusing specifically at the top of the sternum, the skier is chest proud. If we are less specific with the whole chest up, the skier may end up leaning back too far. It is more correct to think about curving only the top of the chest (sternum) upwards...

 

Good stuff. Thanks!

 

[jdk99]

great discussion for us intermediate guys. hate to hijack the thread but quick question for you experienced guys relating to maintaining a stacked/balanced position:

 

do you have any tips on how to stay stacked upon taking the hit after the turn? i have all the best intentions and manage to stay stacked thru the turn only to get pulled forward at the waist once the turn is completed and the line loads.

[ToddL]

@jeffklop99 - I would guess that the hit that pulls you out of stacked position is due to excessive slack, yes?

 

A skier who is getting excessive slack is never going to learn how to stay stacked at the conclusion of the turn. A skier who already knows how to stay stacked can take an occasional hit and still recover.

 

Try to figure out how to minimize the slack. Many reasons why it is occurring, but it likely one of these elements driving these issues: you might be generating extra, unneeded speed after the second wake (too much effort, too far past the centerline of the boat path), you might be skiing down-course (directly at the buoy) after the second wake, or you might be riding flat between the second wake and the initiation of the turn.

 

If you are still having difficulty learning how to finish the turn without slack and staying stacked, consider shadowing or skiing narrower than the buoys while you are building stacked body position muscle memory.

[Moggie]

@jeffklop99 - If this is occurring at 15off I suggest you try and get wider. I've found that when narrow through the course on a long line your angle relative to the boat, at the point you load the line, causes the acceleration phase to occur when the load on the line is near its peak. By getting wider you load the line at a greater angle meaning you can build speed more progressively and hence line load is less making it easier to maintain your stack position.

[ctsmith]

I went through a stage of slack in the line. My problem was what Todd said, skiing down course after the second wake, i.e. not on edge, no angle, getting ahead of the boat.

[ral]

IMHO, and without trying to discourage anyone, usually for non-kids all of this makes sense and falls into place when you start getting into shorter lines, i.e. have some serious mileage in the course. It is not usual to see someone with a perfect position that is just able to run 15 off, and it is even less usual to see someone that struggles at 15 off jumping into deep 32 just by following good advice and land exercises.

 

The concepts are useful and need to be present, but there is no magic path in this sport (again, just IMHO)

[wilecoyote]

I just tried the above advice (@ ToddL summary) last night, and while I only got a look at 3 ball (where I've been before) everything felt much more in control. I'm still learning everything, so I think another problem is I'm turning way past the ball. If I can keep working on position, when I get my timing for the turn right I think things will come together. This is a great discussion for us beginners, I'm feeling progress on virtually every pass thanks to you guys.

[ToddL]

@wilecoyote - If you wait until you are certain you will round the buoy before you start your turn, then you are already way too late. With good body position across the wakes, you will generate sufficient speed and an appropriate angle such that you will be able to initiate the start of the turn before you know you have that buoy.

 

When I am skiing, I think about this... I'm in my lean, resisting the boat. I feel the first wake pass, then the second wake pass. Just as I feel the water after the 2nd wake, I initiate my edge change. I roll the ski over to a turning edge. As I do this, I start to look down course to see where I am with regards to the buoy line and the upcoming buoy. I add more inside edge (rolling the ski further over on the turning edge) or I maintain my current turning edge based upon my turn trajectory at this point - still this is rarely a significant adjustment. I then wait and let the ski come back around in front of me as I am coming around the buoy, and prepare to get into position for the next wake crossing.

 

The point of all that is: I don't look for my position relative to the buoy until after my edge change. My edge change is relatively in the same point just off the second wake. Prior to that point, I am just thinking about maintaining good leaning position.

 

Skiers at long line or a very slow speeds (26 or less) may have to maintain their lean a little longer to get out to the buoys. Skiers at 28 or faster should be able to reach buoy width simply by leaning through both wakes and initiating the edge change right after the second wake.

 

I see some beginners who are leaning for a long time past the second wake or are stopping their lean while behind the boat and waiting for the buoy to approach before turning. That method will always result in slack line. I say, "you should never be waiting to turn... you should always be leaning or turning with nothing in between." The speed and aggressiveness of the edge change doesn't have to be intense, but it should be continual. Your ski should move fluidly from the leaning edge to the turning edge as one fluid motion with no significant pauses along the way.

 

Lean stacked, Bump (wake1), Bump (wake2), Smooth (just after 2nd wake), Edge-change, Assess, Reach/release, then Patience until ski comes around fully...

[wilecoyote]

Thanks @ToddL. I'll try that tonight. This weekend I was behind my boat (for the first time, lovin' it) and we don't have a course so I was working on position as above, and easing in to the pull slower rather than cranking it on too soon. Hopefully 3 ball will be mine tonight!

[ctsmith]

I figured out the crux of my problem. I've only skied two sets in 10 days. Aint going to improve much at that rate. I was able to get a set in Tuesday afternoon before the July 4th monsoon moved in down south (100% chance of rain Wed/Thur/Fri with a few inches already having hit the ground before lunch on Wed). The good news is that I felt much improvement. I skied till dark and have had a busy day at work so I haven't been able to check the video to see if the improvement was perceived or real.

[ctsmith]

Here's a few passes on 7/2/13. Better, worse, the same?

 

https://vimeo.com/69669252

 

[wilecoyote]

@ToddL, I tried your timing thing last night, I know I've still got tonnes of position issues, even though I'm felling pretty strong, but I turned 3 several times and even got a look at 4 once so I'm pretty happy. I'm still starting by pulling out on the 1 ball side so I'm not even doing gates yet, but as per your advice I started turning much sooner at 1 ball and the pass started to get better just by doing that. I'm still having a hard time keeping the line tight on the 135 side (RFF) but my onside is good, so if I can get the offside form a bit more like the onside then I think I'll do a lot better. Water was glass last night, so it was a really nice set to ski regardless of how well I did in the course.

[ToddL]

@ctsmith looks better to me! You did have more weight forward and your ski rode more consistently throughout. Just watch where the water is breaking on the ski in the first video and then this recent video.

 

You also have good timing from buoy to buoy in that you keep a tight line throughout.

 

The key opportunity for improvement now is to change how you initiate your turn to the gates. During your glide before the turn, stay a bit taller and check your chest up. When it is time to turn, initiate the motion while tall and by pointing the right knee toward the direction you want to go. Do not start leaning on the handle until your left hip is up under the handle. Thus, you are pivoting your body while staying tall and stacked. The last parts of your body to turn towards the gates are the shoulders. Another way to think about this is to direct the ski with your hips not your shoulders. This initiation of the turn in more from the hips than shoulders will also help you from losing stack at the very first wake crossing. When you do this correctly, you should feel like you have a more efficient lean and more time to enjoy the turn around 1-ball.

 

Then at 1-ball, repeat this concept. Your hips finish the turn and move back between you and the boat before your shoulders do. Again, the finish of the turn is driven by the hips moving around the turn and then shifting inward toward the boat's centerline. The shoulders are following the hips. This can be helped by waiting until the hips have moves around before you reach for the handle w your right hand. Again, when you do this right, you will feel earlier to 2-ball. This gives you more time to finish the turn at two using the same method again...

 

Each of these adjustments give you more time at the subsequent buoy which gives you more time to concentrate and adjust your form. It all starts with the glide and initial motion to turn towards the gates.

 

 

[ctsmith]

Thanks for your advice Todd. I'll soak it in over the next couple of days and hopefully be able to try it on the water before the end of the weekend. Intentions were to get in a lot of skiing over the extended weekend but the monsoon is preventing it. We've had 5" of rain in 24 hour period and no signs of slowing down in the next two days. I'm not complaining. The lake I ski on was lowered 8' last summer for maintenance and we've only had enough rain since then to raise it 2' (down 6' now). Its a natural watershed and usually comes up twice the amount of rain so I'm hoping we'll gain 2' this weekend.

 

I am feeling a rhythm for the first time and not feeling rushed. It seems like the effect is exponential because now I am able (have time) to focus on whatever it is I'm working on the entire pass. When rhythm is not there and everything is rushed it is hard to focus. Focus and scramble mode go together like fire and rain. I am hoping its about to start clicking now. Would love to see 34 mph by the end of the year, but I've got to get more sets in for that to happen.

[SkiKolb]

While I did not read every word of this thread, but after looking at the videos, I would suggest to remember to keep the arms straight, especially coming into the 1st wake. My wife is working of the same speeds and line length, and when her arms are straight it really helps.

[jayski]

@ToddL sorry but have to respectfully disagree with your statement of 'pulling' through both wakes and edge changing "when you feel the water again"...that is not going to help people progress though the passes...edge changes need to start occurring at the second wake at the latest...this has been discussed and proven repeatedly here and elsewhere, there is a great video of Seth doing it at long line and watch Nate or any of the pros...what everyone seems to forget or miss is that the edge change is not a full body initiation, it starts with your lower half..."pulling" past the second wake and beyond is just setting oneself up for too much speed in to the buoy and slack line..

 

also in a couple posts above you are describing a massive movement towards blocking through the gates, "lead with your right knee, left hip under handle, shoulders to turn last towards gates", maybe 20 years ago that was the status quo but not today...carve the path with your right hip, hips square as possible down course along with shoulders, as soon as you start rotating your hips and shoulder closed one better not get their butt behind them cause you surely can expect a nice trip OTF...that position your describing is not a strong secure position by any means and it increases the chances for further issues ahead exponentially

[ctsmith]

I am so confused :)

[wilecoyote]

Me too! I'm just happy right now that I can stay stacked (well stacked for me at least) until I turn 1 ball and then it all goes to hell.

[jayski]

Seth 15 off 30mph...

 

 

[ctsmith]

Crap! I kept telling myself there is no way to slice through the wake at the slower speeds. Wrong!

[wilecoyote]

I don't know how many times I've watched that, but it never gets old!

[BraceMaker]

How much wider do you figure his pull out is for 15 off 30 mph than shortline 36 mph?

[ToddL]

@jayski - At least you're respectful when you disagree... Just kidding. Disagree all you want. Differing points of view lead to better discussion and ultimately better understanding.

 

There are different schools of thought about skiing for sure. I want to be clear, I do not really promote the "turn and burn" style of skiing where the skier loads the ski right out of the turn and leans with closed shoulders with all his or her might.

 

I do agree with shoulders open to the boat. The turn is more about the ski and lower body than the upper body. Skiers who "drive" the ski with their head and shoulders are not going to win against the skiers who stay open to the boat from the waist up.

 

On a slalom, a skiers stance is slightly open on their "on side" wake crossing (Right Foot Forward going through the gates). However, in the off side, the stance of the hips is more closed. The pelvis is pretty much pointed in the same direction of the ski. The shoulders, however, can be pointed elsewhere.

 

LFF skiers have to deal with this issue during their entrance gate wake crossing. If a LFF skier closes his shoulders to the boat (or points them to the far shore) during the gate wake crossing, it will cause the issues @jayski cautions about. To test this grab a handle and tie it to a pole. Get into an offside lean position. Aim your chest "to the far shore" - did you butt drop out behind you and shoulder get in front of your hips? Yep. Now, open your shoulders so that your chest is facing down the rope/line while still keeping your feet (ski) pointed to the far shore. Are your hips up more? Yep. This is the open to the boat method. With open shoulders but ski pointed cross course, the skier can simply lean away from the boat's pull and slice through the wakes.

 

The point I was trying to make is that if the skier initiates the turn with the head and shoulders, the butt will be behind the hips. The hips initiate everything. Watch the Seth 30MPH video again and focus on his hips and how he uses them to initiate a change in direction or to generate acceleration out of the buoy. This is most obvious when he makes his initial movement outbound to pull out before the gates.

 

The Seth video shows some good stuff, but I think it can also lead to an unintended habit of cranking the turns. Seth is very efficient at completing his turns with angle, so he is able to transfer than angle into acceleration back to the center-line of the boat's path. If you watch carefully, he does let the ski complete the turn and allow it and his hips to move all the way around and back between him and the boat before he really leans hard on the boat. If you didn't notice this, you would think he was cranking the end of his turns, but he is not. He is patient at the end of the turns.

 

 

He is so efficient at this that he can completely end his lean at the first wake. His edge change happens between the wakes, and he lands off the second wake on an inside edge. Most new skiers are simply not that efficient and must maintain their lean _at least_ to the center-line and only initiate edge change as the go through the second wake.

 

I said above: "I see some beginners who are leaning for a long time past the second wake or are stopping their lean while behind the boat and waiting for the buoy to approach before turning. That method will always result in slack line. "

 

I guess there will always be some debate about when is the best time to stop the lean and initiate the edge change. Someone who skis much better than I ever will once said that the edge change just happens when the ski's path crosses under the handle's path. If the skier puts the ski on an agreesive path cross course like Seth does, then this event of ski crossing under the handle will happen at about the center-line of the boat's path. If the skier aims the ski right at the next buoy on the other side, then this point is much later and past the second wake. The ah ha moment is that if the skier is still forcing the ski to stay on a leaning edge with full lean effort past the center-line, then the skier is over-loading the line which is very bad. The maximum leaning force should be right between white water to the first wake. After the first wake, the effort "relaxes", but this doesn't always mean the edge change has occurred at this point. The edge change (when the ski's inside edge becomes engaged into the water) happens somewhere from the second wake to just after. Go back to Seth's video and pause then step (play-pause fast) until you think Seth is at his max lean out of the buoy. It is right about at the white water or just a bit past, but definitely before the first wake. He is so stacked at this point, he get's near perfect efficiency out of this effort which results in sufficient speed and efficient early path outbound early to the next buoy... Damn. I need to work on that some more...

[Than_Bogan]

In my opinion, @ToddL is telling a skier at this level exactly what they need to hear. Of course, there are always different approaches and different ways to explain the same approach. An intentionally early edge change has been discussed here many times and its safe to say there isn't universal agreement about what that means and whether its a good thing to focus on. @OB and I were in the camp that telling a longer line skier to force an early edge change will hold them back. Doesn't mean we're right.

[jayski]

Funny Seth shows how it should be done and can be done properly and yet people still buck it...

[crashman]

Guys thanks for all the thought and effort you put in helping guys like us. It would be easy for you to run your short lines and keep your content in the advanced section. You've helped my skiing this year- my challenge pass is now my easy pass. No reason for me to jump to a board "intended" for low end skiers. Seriously thanks.

[SkiJay]

@ctsmith ... and you'll likely "progress" through multiple layers of confusion as time passes. If it ever gets too overwhelming, heed the wise words of master coach, Chet Raley, who tells little kids simply to, "get really wide then turn, get really wide then turn, get really wide ..."

[gregy]

@ctsmith Pull through the wake or early edge change, neither will work if your not in a proper body position. I think getting a better body position should be your number one thing and I know you've had problems with it but keep working on it.

[ral]

I said it once a long time ago on the same video: anyone being able to run 15 off like Seth in that video is not a 15 off skier but rather a deep shortline one.

[ctsmith]

@gregy said:

 

@ctsmith Pull through the wake or early edge change, neither will work if your not in a proper body position. I think getting a better body position should be your number one thing and I know you've had problems with it but keep working on it.

 

True that! When I'm fortunate enough to ski with Albritton he ask forgiveness for sounding like a broken record but he pounds me with stacked position after each pass.

[skiep]

Clint, come on down tomorrow. I have a plan to get you stacked over that ski. I has to do with duct tape and a 2x4.LOL Keith

[ctsmith]

You better go with a 4x6 and high speed duct tape. I'll snap the 2x4 like a twig.LOL

[skiep]

Come on down.

[ctsmith]

If its cloudy I'll be there. If the sun is shining (doubtful), we'll have family time at the big lake. Either way is a win/win!

[Joeprunc]

@ctsmith I really like this thread, as I am in the same boat as you....but improving (on my good days), I joined a club this year, and have learned a lot!! Here are some of the things that I have found help keep me stacked (especially on my offside!).

 

1. DO NOT LOOK AT THE NEXT BALL!! I can see in your videos, you just want to make it to the next ball no matter what it takes. Focus on form not # balls and speeds. When I was looking at the next ball, then my shoulders would follow and tug my left shoulder forward (I'm LFF). For me I was not strong enough to keep form with my left shoulder leading the way. But to make sure I got to the next ball I would break at the waist worse than you, I'd make it to the ball, and make up for the lost time on my onside turn/pull. A fellow skier told me to yell out loud what the back of the boat said on my offside pull, this helped open my shoulders immediately, which it turn helped keep me in a stacked position. I didn't even look for the buoy until I came off the second wake. I went way way way wide several times, and blew the pass, but it helped me focus on form and not buoys.

 

To also keep a stacked position pretend there is a $100 bill between your butt cheeks, and you want to keep it there. This helps keep your chest up, and hips forward.

 

2. As I am getting more and more comfortable with my offside turn and pull, I am learning that a bad pull starts with a rushed or bad turn. I tend to rush getting back to the handle. I am now trying to focus on waiting for the tip of the ski to cross the rope line before coming back, and bringing the handle directly to the hips. This helps me complete my offside turn, and maintain that stacked position.

 

3. I know a lot of people tell you to leave your bindings at what the factory sets them up as, but a fellow 35' off skier on the club recommended me to push my bindings forward until I had a hard time turning the ski....for me this worked. Before I was getting a lot of "fidgety ski chatter" coming out of my turns (because I was using the tail to turn). I feel like I am now much more over the top of my ski, and using more of the ski's edge to turn, and have completely eliminated my "chattery turns". My ski was not setup by the factory, so for all I know is my ski may now be at the factory settings.

 

I do not plan on increasing the speed of our boat until I have 6 perfect passes at 30 mph. When I first started receiving advice, the course was still very overwhelming. I could only remember what to do on the pull thru the gates and one ball. After one ball all hell would break loose and I would get overwhelmed and all the advice I got went out the window. I am not feeling comfortable enough to focus on the tips thru the whole course.

 

Again I am only a skier at your level, so my advice may not be how to proceed to shortlines, but it really hit home with my skiing.

[ral]

@jayski, you really think that a person learning 15off @ 30 MPH can ski like Seth on that video?