Would you continue skiing if you knew you set your last PB?

[oneski]

I, like I'm sure most Ballers here, am extremely competitive. It's that drive and determination to get one more buoy that fuels me for an entire ski season. It's that elation you get when you set a PB. It's the butterfly's you get in the pit of your stomach when you're next off the dock in a tournament.

 

So, my question is would you keep on skiing and maintain that same passion for the sport if you knew you would never PB again?

 

I suffered a pretty severe cervical disc herniation 9 months ago, which among other things ruined my ski season last year. I've healed (without surgery) about as much as I'm going to heal. I won't know for sure until I get back on the water, but judging by my strength in the gym I feel as though I won't be as strong on the water as I was before the injury. While I'm in no way giving up or throwing in the towel (I was at the gym at 6:00 am this morning for a grueling workout), I suspect I've set my last PB.

I'll continue strength and conditioning workouts and am just itching to get back out on the water, but I'm wondering if I'll maintain the same passion for skiing if I realize I'll never get that extra buoy.

I'd appreciate hearing thoughts from fellow Ballers.

[ozski]

As I'm getting older my scores are getting better, ski's are better and boats are better. One thing you can always work on is technique if you have the self discipline. With better technique comes better scores so I don't think you can make that call unless you have perfect form everywhere but it also depends on what your PB is...

[skihacker]

i hadn't had a pb in probably 3 or 4 years, during those years i ran 35 probably once or twice each season, this past year out of the blue i ran 35 most every set, my new pb is 4 at 38, it was fun every set.....period.

[oneski]

Ozski, very good point. Yes, I agree that technique and equipment improvements can have a huge impact on performance. Interestingly enough, I was skiing better at age 50 than I was at 35. Much of it credited to improvements in my form as well as new ski design and smoother wakes off the boat. My last PB was 2.5@38' and was set two years ago. (I didn't ski any tournaments last year due to my injury). While I'm not ruling out getting back to that level, what worries me is the impact of taking a slack line hit will have on my neck. I'm not worried about it so much at 28' or 32', but for me to run 35' or get into 38' it usually involves some degree of scrapping....and that's what worries me. While improving technique is the best way to improve your score, if you want that one extra buoy you have to fight for it.

[Jody_Seal]

Screw the PB ideology!! Get back on the water and play to your ability. My last PB was nearly 15 years ago. Buoy's are over ratted anyway, Deep water Starts and big Spray !

Good luck on your rehab!

[Horton]

@oneski I hear you. I totally understand your predicament. What about a PowerVest? They are not cheap but it could get you back on the water. Might make the whole worry go away.

 

I am temped to write a few thousand words about my personal motivation in regards high scores and ego but I am afraid that diatribe would get me committed to a mental institution.

[oneski]

Horton, I'm not familiar with the Power vest and how it could help me, but I'm happy to look into in.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

It depends on why you are in this sport to begin with. Yes, we are all trying to improve, but I can't think of a single skier I know who would pack it in if they had truly peaked.

 

I know several skiers in their 70's and 80's who still have passion for the sport and their PB's are decades behind them.

 

My last PB was over 10 years ago and my best performances in the last few years are down a full pass from my PB. Lots of reasons (and excuses) for the drop in performance, but I still enjoy almost every aspect of this sport.

[Horton]

@jcamp PowerVest?

[nzwaterski]

Change the goal post. Forget about yourold pb make your PB the score that you ski now and keep striving to ski better. As long as your enjoying being on the water make a new challenge

[RichardDoane]

@oneski - if you work on skiing smoother, with better form and handle control, you will learn to run those shorter line lengths without the "hits", and adding balance training and increased flexibility to your workout routine will keep you skiing into Mens A

[eleeski]

The year's PB is a sufficient goal.

 

I don't know if I will ever run a 34 pass again. But I'm having fun improving physically and have moved from 30 to 32 mph! It's still fun.

 

I've managed to deal with the lost tricks that go away with age to still stay competitive. And it's fun when you get lucky (I won MM but wouldn't have won my age division).

 

Consider the Goode Powervest. It cost me a couple buoys but kept me in the game with a screwed up back. I'm still using it.

 

It was never about PBs or trophies. It's about sun and water and bikinis and IPAs and friends. Enjoy the ride - wherever it takes you.

 

Eric

[dchristman]

Absolutely YES! I cannot imagine life without skiing. Living is the goal and skiing is the way. Let Harry and Artis Price lead you into the divisions yet to be created. Let your goal be to compete in the divisions beyond those that they may see.

[h2onhk]

For me its about the whole experience. Walking down onto the dock on a hazy Saturday morning with a cup of coffee in hand as the warm sun just breaks over the horizon. A little bit of dew on the smooth gel coat deck. Glass waters on the river as far as you can see. Firing up the V8 and listening to it purr as you idle down to pick up your crew at the other docks. Dipping that ski in the water and slamming your foot in the binding. Gloves on, vest on, squeezing the handle a few times to loosen the forearms, then taking a deep breath before that nod to the driver and a step off the platform. Seconds later your in the zone, gliding on what feels like air, ready to tear it up.

 

....can you tell i'm ready for winter to be over?

 

PB's are great and its always awesome to get that 1 extra ball, but I look at the whole picture....even if I run my best set or my worst set I still love everything about the sport.

[jcamp]

@oneski http://store.goode.com/powervest/

[Andre]

@h2o.nhk

You just describe exactly every ski morning of my summers ! (Except for the coffee part...)

Being on the water with my 2 regular partners and laughing having a good time !!!

 

Just had a hernia surgery last friday.Couples of hours in a hospital will make you realize that some peoples have way bigger problems then PBs.

Don't know if i'll be back to my usual 3-4 bouys at 35 this summer but i know i will have fun trying to!

It will still be a blast to lower the boat and join my ski buddies!

 

 

Edit: Great thread! Time for everyone to post!

[Than_Bogan]

The combination of my age (44), stage (I've been at this a long time so long past the steep part of the learning curve), and a change of focus (from personal performance to technology) makes it awfully likely that my PB is in the rearview mirror.

 

But skiing is damn fun and the future is hard to predict. So I'm gonna have a blast and -- who knows? -- maybe some crazy combination of circumstances will find me out the gate at -39 someday. If not, I sure had fun trying!

[lcarnes]

Ski just for the joy of it.

[ALPJr]

I think it's based on the individual. One of my ski buds in his early 50's is quite happy to run 15 and 22off perfectly 5 or 6 passes in a set. A slight hickup and he's shaking his head. He's not interested in skiing a shorter rope. Another ski bud still works like hell in his 70's to improve. Picked up almost two full passes to midway through 35off last summer after switching to a new HO Superlite TX. 8 to 10 passes and two sets a day is normal for him. Myself, at 55 I'm very happy to progress through 4 loops from my starting pass. For me that's a great day.

[Texas6]

@Than_Bogan - Your points are valid, but I do not believe 44 is too old to make strive for a PB into 39. And I think your recent desire to better understand the technology is one of the things that will help you get there. And its ok to want to run more buoys, but I think we all have to remind ourselves what it is that brought us to the water in the first place as the buoy count starts to decline. For me, I didn't commit to life on the water solely because I wanted to run more buoys. It was just a very simple and genuine love for the lake, and everything that comes with that. I'm 42 now, and I know I'll never make a living skiing, or break any world records....and I still want more buoys...but if I break my neck or my hip on the water, I went down swinging with a smile on my face, wondering immediately how long it will take me to get back out there...

[MISkier]

I will continue skiing after the PBs stop. I still get a ton of enjoyment out of totally smoking a a 28 off pass and enjoying the speed of it all.

 

At 50, I decided to ski IM in some tournaments last season to post some 36 mph scores for the very first time. That was all new and exciting to me. I like to mix it up and try new things to test myself and they often do not involve setting a PB. Example: going off the dock cold on the hardest pass that you can run and running it. I think that type of experimentation and satisfaction will continue. As I get older, I can always try things that would be considered an achievement "for my age", even if they are not truly my lifetime PB.

 

Assuming I can still find the time and access to run the slalom course, it would have to be some extreme physical limitation to make me stop - not just a slow degradation in performance.

[drewski32]

Take it as a wakeup call but not as a hindrance. Of course I have no idea what it's like to have that degree of injury but it seems like very good motivation to perfect your technique. Stop scrapping, stop hanging onto stupid s**t. Ski smoother and more efficiently than ever before and you will continue to improve. You can either take that attitude and approach and succeed or you can make excuses.

[A_B]

If setting a PB is truly your passion, and NOT the fact that being out in a boat with your buds, having a good time, and are hooked on getting up on a single planning device and go at crazy speeds over the water, and oh yea, throw a big wall of spray, see chicks in bikinis, then by all means toss all your stuff on SIA.

 

I am 60 pounds over my PB days, hurt like hell when I grab a handle, miss way too many deepwater starts or let off of leans to my offside because I can't hold onto the freaking handle, but you know what, I love it!!!! Golf and skiing forever is my motto.

[Jody_Seal]

However!! That being said about slalom .. I do perceive and have the ability to PB on the slippery Ski!

[JackQ]

I haven't made a tournament PB in 15 years, prior to back surgery. But I have come within a buoy last year, and set a practice PB.

 

I would like to set another PB but at 62 year old, it is not likely. I ski because I enjoy it and it continues to be a challenge. I have set other goals, I.E.: running 6 35's in row in practice sets, not missing 35 in a tournament, etc.

[TustinTom]

What @A_B said !

[bkreis]

at 47, I'm skiing better than I ever have..def working on better technique, making my gear work for me as necessary, and couldn't imagine not hanging with my ski buds!!! regardless of performance

[oneski]

A_B: Excellent points. Yes, there is something to be said for going crazy fast speeds on the water, checking out the bikini's and putting up a big wall of spray. (Hmmm, that sounds kinda catchy and could be the beginning of a good Country song?!)..... And yes, it should be more about life on the water and not necessarily chasing buoys. I just hate it that a year ago (at a not so young age of 51) I felt bulletproof and was skiing at the top of my game. And now I have aches and pains in places that I didn't even know I had places, and have come to the realization that I am actually human and may have limits.

 

The great thing about this sport is that it's a never ending learning curve.....We're striving for perfection when we know it can't be obtained. Just as I learned how to ski for the first time 40 years ago, then learned to ski the course, then every line length up to 38', I'll readjust my sights, and come spring I'll once again have a sh*t ass grin on my face as I strap on the bindings, get in the water and strive for perfection.

[A_B]

At some point in life, we learn that everyday is a blessing. If I knew at 28 what I knew at 48, etc... I could have been a contender..

Red buoys be damned..

[Murrski]

@oneski - my experience has been that having a serious injury that had potential to discontinue my ability to continue skiing or severely limit my abilities while skiing -- well I had a different outlook when I was fortunate enough to return to the water. I had a massive smile and sense of sheer joy just to be back doing what we love to do regardless of performance. Even as my health continued to improve and so did my skiing - I felt that that setback was the fuel I needed to appreciate all things associated with our unique sport and just live it one set or one boat ride or one chat with your buddy on the dock at a time. For me, I got lucky - I've been able to climb back to where I was and actually surpass pre-injury PBs... I can tell you that I'm ultra competitive within my own performances but it just isn't the driving factor for me anymore... I think this mindset is actually making it easier for me to achieve new PBs when I was sure my PB prior to the injury would be my last. Good luck on your recovery... when you are in the moment on the water - take it in & enjoy it!

[nicolas_bermudez]

been doing so for the last 5 years..

[lakeaustinskier]

Those people who think skiing is about strength and muscle should watch a Girls 3 skier. There are several top level Girls 3 in my area and watching them ski is always a joy. In my opinion solid technique/form is the best way to extend longevity (or at least I try).

[GAJ0004]

I will always ski as long as my body will let me. If I get to the point where I can't ski at the level I am satisfied I will retire from competition, but will still continue to ski for the exercise. If I can't get to 35off consistently then I will sit out of tournaments until I do.

[Horton]

this is actually a interesting conversation. I suspect that some the higher level you ski the greater chance is that you have sort of lost the original love. In my early 20s I was a Open Rated Jumper. I was at that level where I would never go pro or even enter a pro tour event but still jumping far enough to be pretty happy about it. After two knee injuries and faced with a training situation that did not matched my level of commitment, I just walked away. To this day it was the right thing to do. It would never be fun going 3/4 effort. If I had never broken through to that next level of jumping I might have not quit. I still miss it but am sure I quit at the right time.

[eleeski]

I quit pushing it decades ago when I never achieved what I was seeking. Started skiing for pleasure and building for the fun of it. Funny thing happened, I got better. Unable to get there in my youth, I made Open in my 50s.

 

You never know exactly where life is taking you. Enjoy the ride you are on.

 

Eric

[bojans]

I am in a similar situation. I am currently 1 week out from my 3rd back surgery and really wondering what the doc will say about me ever skiing again. I accepted long ago I may never have another PB (my last PB was probably 15 years and more pounds than I wish to admit ago) but I do it because I love skiing. I love the lifestyle, I love teaching my kids and seeing them progress. I live on a private ski lake and even if the doctor says I shouldn't ski anymore I won't leave the lake, my involvement will just change. Assuming I can continue to ski I will be much more focused on technique than bouy count (at least that's what I say now).

 

Life is short, enjoy the ride.

[Stathis Ventouris]

As we grow older we have to ski smarter, put more emphasis on technique the evolution of the skis, boats, boots makes it easier. Look at Nate Smith he is not super strong but he is more efficient than anybody else. Get pleasure from the whole "ritual" associated with a ski set and by improving your success rate not only at your hardest pass but also on the one before.

[6balls]

@murrski well said.

 

Given 2 spine surgeries in 2 years for me and the fact I'm not getting any younger I'm a realist. My PB is an "out there" score for me...really about the best I could ever do. This doesn't mean that if my body allows I won't push it 'cuz I'm wired that way. If my body won't cooperate this time to get back to my best, however, I understand. In reality I ski for so many other reasons:

 

I ski at the swamp to see the buoys on the water, to hear the boat, to feel the sun, to hang with my ski partner, to ski, to drive, and to relax in the little bit of privacy that is ours away from the pressures of life. Won't give it up til I simply can't do it.

[Texas6]

I don't want to thread-jack here, but with the volume of respondents on this thread who have had back surgery - I suppose it begs the question...What exactly happened to you guys who have suffered this injury - Was it years of build up, and then a single scrappy pass pushed it over the edge, was it a single bad crash? Very curious how this happened in an attempt to avoid it if at all possible (and I already realize focusing on skiing right will help) - but looking for more detail here

[6balls]

@texas6 heredity here, was a matter of time. My Mother and many of my 9 sibings have the same...degenerative neck and low back. I'm sure slalom and competitive power lifting sped it along for me, but I have inactive siblings who are post surgery as well.

[adkh2oskier]

If I had a serious injury and came back it would be at the same intensity even if I had no chance of a new PB. I thought I'd hit my pb at 50 yrs old but matched it at 57, going to try and match or better it every time out. Might not ever happen but sure is fun trying.

[oneski]

Texas6: In my particular case I suffered a cervical herniated disc which was probably caused by a combination of hereditary traits and years of stress/strain on the neck. (Probably one to many slack line hits). I think the key to avoiding injury is 1) conditioning; 2) training and using proper technique; and 3) good genes.

[bojans]

@Texas6 my injuries have been the culmination of not being very careful. When I was 19 I had a snowmobile accident that caused a minor L4-L5 herniation. 10 years later as the herniation got worse and conservative treatments stopped working I had to have my first microdiscectomy, likely a result of slalom, being a bad jumper, life in general and carrying around some extra weight while doing it all. After the first surgery I changed nothing of my behavior. 9 years later I had a spontaneous herniation of L3-L4 during ski season, that one was really bad and required another micro. They removed so much material the doctor really gave me a wake up call and I stopped jumping, began using a drop ski for deep water starts anytime my back felt anything less the 100% and started spending a lot of time in the gym. My most recent one (surgery last week, ~10 years since the first) was a reherniation of L4-L5 requiring another micro with no known event to cause it. Call it bad luck, youthful exuberance, maybe some genetics or just a ticking time bomb it all comes out the same. I am just glad to not be in pain but concerned for what the future holds.

[oneski]

So I started this thread over 2 1/2 years ago. As you can read from my initial post I thought a rather severe injury to my neck might have prevented me from skiing at a competitive level. Over the last two ski seasons I re-learned how to ski. I worked on strength and conditioning in the gym in the off-season and on improving my technique on the water to reduce the strain on my neck and back. I half joking tell my friends that I learned the key to avoiding taking slack line hits was learning how to throw the handle.

 

The focus on technique, strength, and conditioning paid off after 3 years. I set a PB of 3@38’ yesterday at a tournament. It’s also the third out of the last four tournaments that I have run 35’.

It’s really an exhilarating feeling to not only just ski well, but to overcome a big ass obstacle standing in my way. I suspect a lot of fellow Ballers know this exact feeling. I think it’s in our DNA to keep getting up after a fall.

 

While I’m satisfied today, tomorrow I’ll be chasing one more ball.

[vtmecheng]

My dad is 71 years old and has never tried a course. When I was a kid he used to make huge spray and loved showing off, holding the handle with his foot was a favorite. Now he simply gets up, still on one ski, and free skis in the morning. You know, he may be happier about it now than before. Just that he can deep water start makes him happy. I think it's all about managing expectations. Be happy that you get the wind in your hair and feel the spray. If you can still get a clean pass after a back injury, take that as a win.

[Ed_Johnson]

You'll have to take this handle from my Cold Dead Hands !!!!

 

 

[Chef23]

@oneski your story encourages me. I haven’t skied much in the last 3 years due to some back issues and a serious illness. I am starting to ease back into it and targeting next year. My PB is about a pass behind yours but I am optimistic for next year.

 

Congratulations on the PB.

[DangerBoy]

Who cares anything about buoys? I've never skied a course in my entire life and I assure you my passion for, the joy I feel water-skiing and my competitive spirit is just as high and intense as any of you course skiers. The competition though, is with myself.

 

I learned to waterski in the 1970s when my parents bought a cabin on a beautiful lake in British Columbia, Canada. I was just 13. We didn't have a boat that first year so I would have to bum skis off other people in the bay. I quickly fell in love with skiing and became absolutely shameless about bumming a ski off anyone I saw who had their boat out pulling water skiers. Whenever I saw a chance to ski I took it and never let anything stop me from trying to find a tow.

 

Fast forward to now. I'm 57 and almost all of the people I grew up with at the lake quit skiing at some point believing they were too old to do it. But I don't believe that. Not for a minute. And neither does my ski buddy, Kent, who's 6 years older than me. When we're out at the lake during the summer, we're on the dock every single day at 7:00 am to get the glass ahead of everyone else and we ski until our arms and legs become noodles. If it's not calm where we are, we travel one way or the other down the lake to find it and we always find it. We are relentless in the pursuit of our passion.

 

Is anyone else up to see us ski and know how well we did? No. Are there any accolades or medals for us? No. So why do we do it? Because we love it and it brings us joy. It also keeps us from giving into age and decrepitude. It keeps us young.

 

The interesting thing is that I got a new ski a number of years back and I've been improving in ability ever since. I can't measure that improvement in terms of balls made at what speed because we're just out there free skiing but I know I'm digging deeper, getting lower and rippin' better turns than I ever have. Kent just got a new ski this summer and I saw him take the best runs I've seen him take in the more than 30 years we've skied together. That's pretty cool when you're 62.

 

Sometimes Kent and I are joined for skiing by the twenty-something year old children of the kids we grew up with along the lake who've caught the water-skiing bug. They marvel at Kent and I and respect us because of both our passion and ability and because we shatter their perceptions of what 50 and 60 year old people can do. We're also better skiers than they are but then again, we've had a few more decades to practice. ;-)

 

Whether I'm actually skiing my at my best or just think I am doesn't matter one bit. It's all about the joy I feel doing what I do. And that's what it's all about; the joy you feel rippin' turns, throwin' up some spray and shredding up a nice stretch of glass calm water. How many buoys you can make at whatever speed is irrelevant. In the end, it's all about the joy you feel rippin' the turns. I'll never quit skiing and my greatest hope in life is that I'll die from cardiac arrest right at the end of my second run on a beautiful morning of skiing on glass calm water. If that happens, I want my friends to haul my carcass out of the water, set me me up in a chair on the dock with a Bailey's and coffee and keep on skiing until the ripple blows in from the west and it gets too rough to ski. They can then deal with my expired hulk after the morning of skiing is done and the calm water is gone.

 

I know you've got some injuries and pain to deal with but never give up and never give in. Water-skiing doesn't have to be about competition, buoys and personal bests. It can just be about the joy you feel and the fun you have doing it. For me, and I suspect for you as well, there's joy to be had for a whole lifetime from just getting out there, feeling the power of your turns and shredding up some calm water. So get out there, feel the joy of doing what you love and the pride of overcoming adversity and keep on skiing to the best of your ability until your last dying breath. Go the distance.

 

Here's me showing what an old guy can do:

 

Here's Kent showing what an even older (61 in this pic) guy can do:

 

We're just self-taught, never had any lessons and are by no means anywhere close to the best skiers in the world in terms of our ability or technique but I assure you that no one feels more joy and passion than we do when we're skiing.

 

 

 

[ALPJr]

@DangerBoy Great story

[teammalibu]

After a couple major surgeries I havnt got back to my lifetime PB also not getting any younger! Close but not there yet! So I work on trying to improve technique and I am skiing well! I think at my age now I will be satisfied with skiing hard and try to PB for my current age! Never quit!