Any tips for a new Skier

[mushamushskier]

Just looking for any tips for a new skier, I have only have skied for the summer on the weekends so not much experience. Just free skiing 15 off and normally around 28mph. I have a basic idea of how my posture should be (hips forward and arms at my side). I find one of my biggest problems is that my ski bounces a lot when I cross the wake and even when I do manage to keep the ski on edge going over the wake I still find their is a lot of bounce. Any suggestions to fix that and any other tips would be greatly appreciated!

[Bill22]

What boat do you have?

[mushamushskier]

@Bill22 not a real ski boat, just a 70hp 14ft lake boat with a pylon in it

[Monkstr6100]

Play with the trim on the boat without a skier behind it. Different speeds and trim levels will make a better/flatter wake. Really commit to your wake crossings. Ski THROUGH the wakes, not over them. What ski are you riding? A wide trainer/beginner ski will never slice though the wakes. I grew up skiing behind fishing boats of my dads. First was a row boat with a maybe 9hp on it, then a 25hp 14', then upgraded to a BIG 40hp 16'! I learned ALOT of BAD techniques back then and it took along time to un learn all that bad form, but I didn't have people, or a forum like this, to teach me different. Watch you tube videos and ski a lot. And stay OFF the tail of the ski, no matter how much it seems like a good idea, you paid for a WHOLE ski, so use the whole thing! Good luck.

[ToddL]

If part of the problem is tail riding, try this... Think about your lean in terms of away from where the boat is headed. Thus, when you are out at the finish of the turn, you should not start by leaning away from the pylon. Rather, you are leaning away from sliding down course. This helps you think about leaning away and not leaning back. The only time you are leaning away from the pylon is when you are perfectly behind the boat, at the center-line. The goal is not to "fight" the boat's pull, but rather to "exploit" the boat's energy.

 

There is always a little bump from the wakes. The key is use your ankles and some knee to absorb it, not your hips/waist. Think hips stay "stacked" up, forward, under your shoulders, with proud chest. This is the chassis. Your ankles are your shock absorbers.

[Bill22]

I'm not really one to give skiing advice. I will point out that skiing behind runabouts or bowriders with I/O does make it harder to learn how to slice through the wake. You can have A TON of fun with those boats but progress with proper form can be slower. Keep at it, have fun and good luck!

[Andre]

Go to a good ski school so you learn proper technique right away.

Just like golf, it's very hard to break bad habits once they're grooved into your skiing style.

[Orlando76]

One tip I'll give, it really turned my skiing around in a positive direction..... Start skiing the course right away if that is what interest you. You probably will only make 1 ball but in my experience it really taught me what it meant to "edge", and it made it way easier to edge without trying. And no matter how hard you try to visual and re-act a course while free skiing, it's impossible.

[skihard]

Where do you live? Search out some coaching or a site that is offering coaching clinics. You won't ever regret it if you can find a good coach.