Room for Improvement

[Skoot1123]

Ok BOS folks - what do you see going on in this photo? For perspective I believe this is 28 off at 34mph going into buoy 2. I do not have video of me skiing. (Something I am hoping to change for next season)

[Horton]

@Skoot1123 Your weight is back. It is really one the simplest problems to identify but for some skiers the hardest to fix. If you look at your hips they are behind your feet. Often the problem starts at the wakes or at the previous ball or even at your gate turn in.

 

Cool pic.

[Skoot1123]

Thanks @horton! Yes that is a hard thing to fix, especially for me!

Photo credit goes to our photographer Kelly. She did a great job, and she has never experienced water skiing in the course, much less photographing someone skiing the course.

[paco]

@Skoot1123 do you only have your weight back on the onside turn as pictured? I am a lower skill level than you and on my first year at the course. Last weekend when I skied, noticed this problem for myself. My onside turn always has a lot of back foot pressure. My offside is fairly good. @Horton, do you have any suggestions? I think for me it's a matter of when I cut right, weight on left. Cut left, weight on right. I apologize if this has been discussed a hundred times, but it hit me like a brick when I noticed it. I'm skiing this afternoon, and it will be my main focus!

[MISkier]

You don't have much (or any) counter rotation. If you are going into the turn, you should have that left shoulder pulled back a bit. Otherwise, you may finish that turn with your shoulders closed and that may magnify your "hips back" issue and/or break you at the waist.

 

I think some people don't think about counter rotation on their onside (see it as a more offside need), as they can usually crank that onside turn and make something happen for them. But, they may lose cross course angle while they recover from that. Don't know if that is happening to you, but any lateness at ball 3 may be related. I use counter rotation to help me finish with my hips forward. Perhaps, at the previous offside buoy, you needed counter rotation also and the lack of it had you working with hips back into this next buoy.

[lpskier]

Very cool photo. Kudos to the photographer.

[Chef23]

I am with @Horton that your weight is back. To counter that try thinking about having the ski underneath you all the way out to the ball and through the turn. It is a simple thought that helps me keep my feet under my shoulders. I ski my best when I do that.

 

It is an awesome picture.

[wtrskior]

the best tip that has improved my stack and moving my weight forward was to practice standing forward right from the moment you are pulled out of the water. Yuu only have 16.95 seconds in the course and 6-8 passes; good luck changing your balance point in such a short time! Meanwhile each pass is going to be about around 1 minute or longer depending on how long a run in and out you have. Practice when you pull up and when you are out the gates to when you drop.

 

get your hips over your feet and stand tall with front foot pressure, arms straight and fall away from the handle. same thing when you come to your gate glide. @Horton's tip of straightening your back leg has helped me to naturally move my hips forward. Try it on dry land - it works!

 

 

[Stevie Boy]

Standing there like you do not know what to do next, Project yourself Man, stand tall with your chest up saying to everybody "Look At Me Ski" and then Own it.

[Horton]

@miskier Counter is a subject for another thread but I respectfully disagree.

 

COM management does not usually have a one size fits all correction. Looking at the above image I suspect that the handle was pretty far off @Skoot1123’s hips at the previous wake crossing. It pretty easily becomes a vicious circle of hips back and handle out at the wakes and then at the next ball.

 

You might try this:

I like to work on stuff like this at the gates. Get as tall and front foot heavy as possible before the turn in, lead the turn in with your knees or left hip and then try to maintain a centered and connected position to the wakes. The result should be a wider approach to one ball as well as your COM father forward. Work in these one balls and then just run the rest of the pass best you can. The idea is to learn the skill at the gate and then when you know the new feeling apply it to the rest of the pass.

 

[Razorskier1]

Agree with @Horton. You can make it too complicated fast. I try to stand on the ski properly on gate pull out and turn in, then just forget about it and ski. I can't think fast enough to be thinking all the way down the course anyway!

[Stevie Boy]

I,m with @Horton as well, the pull out and gate are everything, I spent some time getting to pull out front foot heavy and with no lean and then a gradual approach to the white water as soon as you feel the boat, Go!

[RichardDoane]

Good topic for discussion @Skoot1123 because no matter what your level there is always room 4 improvement

[6balls]

Agree with the above...how about less rear knee bend? Rear knee more straight, hips come up.

 

Just a different way to think about it that I think @horton teaches. I don't necessarily think of it that way but your rear knee bend caught my eye.

 

I'm working with a ski partner who thinks typically about "bend knees and counter-rotate" because it has been his thing over the years. I told him to bend his FRONT knee (not his knees) and counter rotate because he gets rearward especially on his off side and then does a windshield wiper up out of it. It's there on his earlier passes, then costs him dearly at 38 (and earlier in the year at 35). I'm not the mack-daddy skier but one of the reasons I'm toe-loop is that my heel comes up off my ski in pre-turn to load my front foot. My heel is off the ski as well when I wait in the wash before pull out. Doesn't mean you need a toe loop but think forward over bindings in your stance.

 

Would also suggest in the pic that you gave up the handle (connection at the hips with two hands and elbows in tight) too soon. By beginning to stick your arm out and wait at this point you have created loose line. A few frames further forward my guess is you reach further, and lean in further creating more loose line.

 

Very cool photo and like that your head is up.

[ozski]

Often your boot setup can help with getting centered on your ski and that can take some testing and adaptation. Its a significant but worthwhile exercise if you want to move forward.

[Horton]

@ozski respectively disagree. 99% of the time skiers not running deep shortline should not mess with binding placement much. More to the point it is not going to help unless the factory settings are crap (unlikely)

[Skoot1123]

Great input/feedback by all - thanks. I really hope that this picture can help other skiers as well.

 

The two comments that really stand out are that my weight is back on the ski and I gave up the handle too early. Those statements are true! The question is, WHY did I do that? The answer will vary for each individual so you will want to judge for yourself how you should apply it. I came into this turn with a lot of time and enough speed for me to get out and around the buoy. My mind said "OK you got this buoy, RELAX." The result is that I sat back (hence the rear leg is bent too much and my hips are behind my feet) and I released the handle too early. The problem with this is that as you shorten the rope these habits will hurt you big time.

 

Honestly I have been struggling with my skiing the past 4-5 weeks which has become really discouraging. I know I need to change some things, but I just didn't know what since I haven't had any coaching in the last two years. No video or pictures (until this one) to speak of either (that happens with 3 kids). After I saw this picture, read the comments, and reminded myself about handle control I decided to change up a few things the next time I skied. I set the speed to 32mph and went to work on my 22's and 28's. I focused on putting "ALL" (that is what it feels like) my weight on my front foot for the setup, pullout, glide, and turn in for the gates. The result was a much smoother setup for 1 Ball. The turn was effortless and the hook up was perfect (skied back to the handle). Skiing at 32mph allows me to think about my positioning before the turns and so I consciously shift my weight onto the front foot while in the pre-turn and then carve the rest of the turn. Should I be consciously thinking/doing that or should it be a result of doing the other things right? At 34mph I don't have near the time to think about and adjust to it, so my passes are more inconsistent.

 

My next set I will continue to ski at 32mph and focus on front foot pressure with what feels like my rear heel being raised to keep my weight forward on the ski (I tried that method my last set also and that seemed to help). I will also be working on handle control and only giving the handle up at the "last second."

 

@6balls - I have been working on keeping my head up a lot this summer as that keeps me from being dumped during the turn. It has really helped.

 

Any other suggestions besides getting a coach and having someone watch my skiing (besides the kids)?

[scorban2]

@Skoot1123 Thanks for the post. From watching my videos, I'm struggling with a lot of the same issues, so this has been a good read.

 

I googled Fae Rae photography and saw they were in Peoria. Are you in that same area? I'm about half way between Peoria and the QC.

[gsm_peter]

My 2 cents.

A Wake eye for a camcorder is a great coaching tool.

[Skoot1123]

@scorban2 - yes I am in that area, south by about 20 miles.

[ozski]

@Horton - Yep I agree and my fault for using the incorrect term, I should have said progress rather than move forward. I did not mean move the boots forward but make sure you are getting the optimal range of movement out of the setup you have. It could be as simple as testing and adjusting lace or clip tensions through to grinding and cutting to get your boots working "better". I've been pretty ignorant to how important this subject is until this past winter but after digging up that boot performance thread recently and testing different setups I think its a very important part of tuning. Often overlooked or not understood.

[bassfooter]

@Skoot1123 I struggle with these same two issues, and I think both handle control and weight on the front foot are things you have to practice — neither one “just happens”. As an added bonus, I have a bad habit of grabbing the handle too soon rather than letting the ski come around.

 

One thing that helped my handle control was to imagine pinning my trailing arm to my vest (left arm into one ball) and keeping both hands on that handle all the way out to pretty much the buoy line, give or take depending on line length.

 

The second thing that helped me was to consciously get up on that front foot. This is what @Horton said could be done right at the pullout for the gates.

 

If I fail to do either one of these, it’s usually a quick trip on a flat ski right to the ball.

 

If I get it right, I get a nice, early edge change, a nice reach, and, if I stay off the handle as long as possible, the ski comes around and I hook up smoothly in a powerful, stacked position.

 

I agree with working on these things at 32 mph (i.e., slower than your normal course speed), because it really does seem to give you more time to think ahead.