Where are you looking?

[svxwilson]

I have a tendancy to want to look at the ball and loose body positioning as I pass it.

 

I am curious to know what is your point of focus (where is your head pointed) and why? Do you have several different things you focus on at different points on the course?

[Horton]

There are a bunch of theories on this. I try to be looking at the next ball as soon as I know I'm going to round the one I'm approaching

[ForrestGump]

A 41 off skier always told me that as soon as I knew my ski would clear the buoy I was coming at to shift my vision(not move my head) to the next buoy.

[mikegile]

Agreed. Look for the next ball as soon as you know you have the current one.

Although we did have some success in the past looking at 3 ball as soon as you know you have 1 ball. It helped slow down the turn.

[jetpilotg4]

Does anyone pick a spot 10-15 feet ahead of the next bouy? Ive always had a habit of looking right at it and skiing right to it when things arent going good on a pass

[kurt]

@ the computer screen , course is pulled.........

[Lovell]

Terry Winter and Willi Ellermeier coached me to look across the bow of the boat as you finish the turn. I find this very effective b/c it forces your outside shoulder back keeping you open to the boat and your hips up.

[Horton]

@Lovell is this angle very different from looking at the next ball?

[TallSkinnyGuy]

In one of Terry Winter's instructional videos he says he looks across the bow of the boat at the next turn ball after he is confident he has made it around the ball he is at.

[jimbrake]

 

All I know is that you shouldn't look at the geese. NEVER look at the geese.

[Lovell]

@Horton I'm not sure that it is truly different than looking to the next ball, but my impression of the theory is that looking across the bow which is theoretically further down course than the next ball, is to try to keep the skier from rolling over and closing off to the boat and to keep the head level and facing down course at the finish of the turn, but what do I know.

[Horton]

@lowell seems like a pretty smart idea to me

[fizer]

I think this depends on what your weakness is in the course. I tend to drop bombs on the buoys, so anything that helps me bring the ski back under the rope before I load helps me be more flowy. Eyes are a huge part of this for me. I skied with a very highly-regarded coach many years ago and he wanted me to look at 3 ball when rounding 1 ball (I'm LFF - so heelside look straight down the course) and look at the 3-ball boat guides when rounding 2 ball (so on toeside look down course but not quite straight down the lake). This works really well for me when I am disciplined enough to do it. I would say the only thing about looking over the bow of the boat is that the angle changes with each line length where buoys are going to be in the same place every pass. Is that good or bad? I don't know.

[mikegile]

Its good to have a fixed reference point. When the rope gets shorter it can help you know you are not as far down course as it feels.

[ski6jones]

I used to spot the next buoy across coarse in front of the boat during the turn and it worked really well. Fast forward several years and I couldn't tell you where I look. This one's getting dusted off for my next ride. I think it will help my problem overturning, on my offside in particular.

[Horton]

@fizer When I look down the ball line I drop MEGA bombs and exit the ball out of control. Controlling my upper body rotation is important but I think it might be a little different for every skiing. Or like you said "depends on what your weakness is"

[fizer]

@Horton - yeah, I hear ya. I think for me, my free hand follows what I do with my eyes a bit. If I look across course I reach for the handle and "go" too soon. If I look down course I keep my shoulders square and level, and I ski my hand (thus hip) around to the handle - which makes for a longer turn (for me). Looking down the buoy line doesn't work for me at all on my toeside. I think looking at the next set of boat guides on both sides is a pretty good thing to try and I have had some success coaching others on this. The boat guides are down course, but are not as awkward as trying to look straight down the bouy line. Also, having a consistent reference point (same at each rope length and same on each side of course) is a good thing, in my opinion. There are more than a few really good skiers that whip their head across course as soon as they know that they are around a buoy though - more than one way to skin a cat!

[Ralph Lee]

@fizer It is interesting how many great skiers practice a different technique at that moment. I ski best when looking down the buoy line on my offside and out in front of the boat on my onside.

[Lovell]

In tend dip my inside shoulder and roll over on my onside(LFF) which closes me off to the boat and my hips can drop out. This is exacerbated when I look directly cross course and leads to big turns and too much angle out of the ball. When I "pick up the bow of the boat" in my field of vision as I come out of the turn it really helps prevent me from doing this.

 

I find that staying open and using the bow of the boat as reference point comes naturally on my offside where I am not inclined "drop bombs" as @horton puts it

 

Very interesting discussion...

[ski6jones]

Skied better tonight focusing on my vision than i have in quite a while. Making a note so i don't forget this come spring time.

[CaleBurdick]

has anyone analyzed pro skiers? I would bet, based on my own casual studies, that the majority are looking to the next buoy as soon as they are comfortable that they are getting around their current buoy(10 to 20 feet before). A smaller amount of pro skiers look down course at the next bouy (3 ball if going around 5 or the horizon if going around 5). Does anyone look to the boat? I also bet that all high level skiers look at something specific and consistently. I like what @fizer said about it depending on your own personal weaknesses. One must experiment, but be confident that not having a specific thing to look at during all points in the course will limit you.

[ColeGiacopuzzi]

A trick I learned a few years back was once you know you're comfortable turning the current buoy, you look at the opposite corner of the back of the boat.

[Horton]

If I'm only looking at the ball I am approaching or the next ball then I only have to change my vision 6 x per pass. If i look at the boat and then a ball I'm changing my vision twice as often.

[skidawg]

The GOAT once told me to look where you are going! Very firm believer in looking at the next ball as soon as you are certain you are around the present ball. Looking at the ball you are rounding to long can cause you to break or over turn

[Hockdog]

I don't really look at anything because my eyes are closed, I'm gritting my teeth, and I'm holding my breath......

[nzguy]

When I went for some coaching at OZ Ski resort, she had me look cross course about 10 feet before the ball once I knew I would make it around the previous ball. Ie look up course of 2 when rounding 1. When I do it I'm often way earlier than I normally am. I think for me if I look at the ball I target fixate and go there ending up narrow. The only problem I had was when I first started doing it I'd look cross course and end up turning tighter and run over the ball. Which was actually a blessing once I sorted my timing out.

The only problem I have with looking up course like that is it tends to close me off coming out of an offside turn which didnt happen so much when I looked at the back of the boat.

Anyone got any ideas on how to solve that problem?

[MickeyThompson]

I had the pleasure of skiing with Andy Mapple about a year before he passed. I asked him where he looked. He told me once he knew he would clear the buoy he looked 30' in his direction of travel. At wake, at white water, at buoy.