Recommended ski coaching

[dhofert]

Hey guys,

I was thinking I might want to take a vacation next spring and get a week of training. What places do you recommend and why? I don't want to go broke so I'm looking for probably not more that $1000 not including travel.

[ScottScott]

Orlando area, lots of choices. I go to Jodi Fisher regularly and highly recommend him. Seems like anytime I go out there, there are new people hanging out for several days.....from all over the world.

[BlueSki]

Stisher in Charleston, SC. You will learn, improve, and have fun doing so.

skiseth.com

[jayski]

@drew ross, incredible site and you can have Jmac coach you also in Winter Garden

[Chef23]

Jack Travers is a great place as well. I went there with my son a few years ago and got great instruction and had a good time. My son jumps and tricks so Travers was good for that. There are lots of good options in the FL area depending on what you are looking for.

[ALPJr]

LaPoint's in Orlando looks real good to me. Lots of options in Orlando. There's Cobles's in NC and Trophy in SC. Farther north is Daggett Lake in NY. West Coast there's the Great and others.

[dhofert]

Honestly I don't know what I really want. This weekend will be my first time in a course at the radar demo. I guess I would like to get the basics down and a little bit more as well as have a good time of course.

[MattP]

@dhofert I recommend Jodi Fisher in Orlando as well. Though you can't really go wrong with many of the schools in FL.

[The_MS]

Chet Raley

[oldmanskier]

Chet Raley and his employee Noah are very good coaches.

[ozski]

Austin Abel, google Abel Ski School, amazing site and a great coach.

[dbski]

The cool thing about skiing with Seth not only is the site and Seth great, but Charleston is a great place for a vacation!

 

[schafer]

@dhofert Another vote for The Boarding School. But I'd bet you will have a great time with @brooks this weekend at the RadarNation day!

[gsm_peter]

Europe is nice. Strong USD... great value.

 

Waterskiitaly.com. Italy

Sessena Madrid

Gravon Paris area

Roque Brune. France Nice area

And many more

[Jrbeeks]

All great options. My personal choice would be Matt Rini

[Chef23]

Think about if you want an all inclusive experience where you stay on the site and get fed or if you want to stay in a hotel and drive to the site. Places like Travers, Bennets and Coble's have lodging on site and generally feed you. There may be others that fall in to that category but those three pop to the top of my mind.

 

Other places you would show up in the morning and ski then go back to your hotel. Also lots of good options that have been highlighted here.

[AbR_Ski_Student]

I'll throw in another vote for The Boarding School in Orlando. I really can't say enough good things about the staff, coaching, equipment, and setup you have access to there. Plus, if you're looking for an all-inclusive trip they will pick you up from the airport, house you, and feed you all on site. 10/10, would recommend!

[dhofert]

For sure thinking about the all inclusive.

[bkreis]

@dhofert also consider time of year. spring can be cold in north florida. Miami ski club has great coaching, hotels very near by..south beach 20 min away..etc..yes I love Miami!!

[Razorskier1]

Jodi Fisher is great for a very wide range of skills, from course big inner through short line.

[lpskier]

We would love to have you at LaPoint Ski Park. Kris and Jen are great coaches and if you like you can demo a Mapple T3. We are two miles from Performance and you can be skiing within an hour of wheels down at MCO (Orlando Airport).

[chris55]

I would recomend the Swiss ski resort too near Orlando. You can rent a house watching the lake, play golf to relax, great coaching with Clint or anyone and probably meet super skier. i hour drive from the airport.

[T_C]

If you are on the west coast Train With Terry Winter is a good option. On line coaching and follow up in person at Liquid Zone in person...priceless!!!

[T_C]

If you are on the west coast Train With Terry Winter is a good option. On line coaching and follow up in person at Liquid Zone in person.

[T_C]

If you are on the west coast Train With Terry Winter is a good option. On line coaching and follow up in person at Liquid Zone in person.

[T_C]

If you are on the west coast Train With Terry Winter is a good option. On line coaching and follow up in person at Liquid Zone in person.

[Garn]

Matt Rini in Orlando. The best.

[Jrbeeks]

@tc agree as well. was fortunate enough to get some sets in with Terry in my earlier years and the guy is incredible

[skihard]

You haven't really said where you want to go on vacation?

Lots of hype for Florida on here but there's lots of other places to go ski too!

[Ilivetoski]

I don't think you ever said what events you ski, as that can make a large difference. 3 event I would say Jacks if you're only slalom skiers I would say somewhere like Seth or Matt

[dhofert]

@skihard I was thinking somewhere that is warmer than Michigan in April. The only thing I really want to do while there is ski anyways. I kind of figured it would mostly be centralized around Florida. @Ilivetoski I only do slalom.

[theboardingschool]

I've heard that The Boarding School is incredible! Two courses, one East/West, one North/South, the most protected lakes in Florida, great house onsite, a new ProStar, full line or Radar to demo, and Freddie Winter coaching. I'd say it's hard to pass up, but that's just me.

 

[lpskier]

While I recommend Orlando, as it is the ski capital of the world, my wife loves Charleston (Seth Stisher or Trophy Lakes) and Santa Rosa Beach (Cory Pickos). If your wife has to be on a beach, both ski sites are very close to the salt water, although Cory will win the "best beach" competition hands down. If it's food and nightlife, Charleston is tough to beat. Both are colder than Orlando in April, but both are more than skiable in April.

[dhofert]

Alright, I did some research and have narrowed it down to three places that have transportation to and from the airport, lodging and food. I would like some help picking where to go. If anyone has been to any of these, or even better been to more than one, please weigh in. I am looking to go mid to late March.

 

Here are my final 3

 

-Boarding School

-Bennets

-Travers

 

Pros and cons of each?

Why do you recommend one over another?

Favorite thing about them?

Why should I pick one over the others?

 

This is a good chunk of change for me as well as a week off work so I want to be sure of my choice and make it an educated one.

 

As for my skill level and what I hope to learn, 15off open water skier, wish I had access to a course. Would like to learn all the fundamentals and hopefully be able to get a ball or two at -22.

 

[BraceMaker]

Of those I've only done Bennetts - Pros - lots of good skiing time - cons - lots of good skiing time. The real con is probably location depending on what sort of night life you would want to have. You'd burn most of your budget booking a week of lessons. The other con - 4 sets/day for 5 days in March after a winters layover took skin off the tops of my feet and palms of the hands - Even march in the south can get you wicked sun burn.

 

However - the most fun I've had on a waterski vacation my wife and I drove a road trip - booked lessons at three different ski sites, checked out the nearest big city for a day or two and then headed to the next - no more than 3-4 hours of driving in any one single visit.

 

You can find skiing outside of quite a few cool cities and by late March even some of the more central sites are open and I personally found it to be nice to have a day off. However your stuff will stink up the car after the first few days.

 

 

[Than_Bogan]

Is @brooks still coaching? He's fantastic.

[MattP]

@Than_Bogan You know @brooks traded in his MC keys at TBS for the barn keys at Radar.

[skispray]

@dhofert what kind of coaching are you looking for? Jack Travers is one of the best coaches I've skied with and you have the opportunity to ski with him if you go there. You can also ski with Jon and Natalia who are both excellent or with their staff, all of whom are accomplished skiers. At Bennett's you'd be skiing with staff most likely, and the staff at Bennetts and Travers are probably comparable. The difference is that if you want to spend a little more you can get really world class coaching at Travers.

 

Both Bennett's and Travers are kind of in the middle of nowhere but you won't have time for much else other than skiing anyways. If you're going in March you may want to call and see how busy each place is expected to be. I know a lot of European and Asian students come over in the spring so it could be crowded.

 

I haven't been to the boarding school.

[sunvalleylaw]

I just had a great day with Terry Winter, and if you were going to be on the west coast, I would really suggest coaching with him at Liquid Zone. So, another vote for Terry. I don't know anything about the other places you have on your list so can't help there.

[Davidemason]

Lucky Lowe is the way to go.

[WaterSkier12]

Boarding School!

[MuskokaKy]

@jayski, was just looking to contact @drew ross to set something up....where do you stay when you go to his site? Anything you recommend close by?

[jayski]

@MuskokaKy I have a residence in Florida also...but the Orange County National golf course is 2 min away that has accommodations, and there is quite a few hotels in the Disney area of Lake Buena Vista area or up on Hwy 50 towards Clermont both are about 15min away. Also south on Hwy 192 lots of options, little longer drive but not much...VRBO options also pretty much everywhere

[MuskokaKy]

Thanks @jayski ! i think the golf course is going to be my starting point.

[thager]

@MuskokaKy Second on @drew Ross. Always worked well for me. @Drew in the morning at a great site for great coaching followed by the remainder of the day with the House of Mouse. Many, many hotel options and golf in the area. Might even get a chance to golf with Drew.

[MuskokaKy]

Thansk @thager. looking forwarding to setting this up. @Drew is a Canadian legend so looking forward to getting some ride time with a canuck pro. site looks great and have only heard great things. thanks for the comments

[Garn]

Matt Rini in Orlando. The best.

[Niles Taylor]

If you wait until it's a little warmer in the midwest you could check out liquid edge in Farmer City, IL. I ski with a few guys that make 2 trips a summer there and they always come back skiing better than when they left. They're actually down there as we speak and one of them ripped a 32 off at 30 mph pass. If you're just going for the skiing would be pretty economical from Michigan. Just my thought.

[lpskier]

All three are great choices. As a slalom skier, since it is narrowed down to those three, and assuming you are stilll planning a March trip, I vote for Travers.

 

First, Orlando is warmer than Baton Rouge in March.

 

Second, there is likely going to be more action at Travers than at the Boarding School. If you are staying on site and skiing multiple sets, you need some between set entertainment. Jack's will likely be busier and it is easier there to watch other people ski than at the BS. And Jack coaches some very good jumpers and generally speaking it's more fun to watch people jump than slalom. (Bennetts is a great jump site too, but there is no jump at the BS.)

 

Third, you will likely meet a number of good junior skiers at Jack's. They are the future of the sport. It's kind of cool to see someone win a big tournament and say you first met him/her when he/she was 13.

 

All three sites have great lakes, boats, conditions, coaches and drivers. The athlete housing is all comparable. If you are counting on the operator to pick you up at the airport I assume that means no rental car and no way to leave the ski site. That's probably a bad call at all three sites as you are out in the boondocks at all three, but BS probably has the shortest walk to a convenience store and the nearby drag strip next may provide some off site entertainment.

 

Bennetts has the same type clientele as Jack's, but it is colder in March. BS always has great conditions and Freddie and Manon are top notch. If you can ride in the boat when they ski, that alone is worth the price of admission. You won't make a bad choice however you decide.

[skispray]

@dhofert if it's a possibility I would also recommend renting a car. You should look into it carefully because you might be able to find a rental car that's no more expensive than what those places would charge to pick you up and drop you off at the airport.