Help me help my son

[bojans]

My 11 year old has progressed well over the last few years to the point of running 32 -15 a few times this year but his progress seems to be leveling off. My coaching has focused on getting the hips up to give him time to actually have an edge change rather than pulling from buoy to buoy. He is getting tired of hearing this from me and I am getting tired of telling him this with no real impact.

 

I have attached a video below with him skiing 15 off 28, 30 and 32mph. Any advise on how to coach him would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Shakeski]

First off - this is awesome! Great to see some video from a Dad looking to help build his son (my dad and I ski together all the time and use video almost everytime as we are pushing each other to ski as best we can all the time).

 

I am a huge fan of keeping it simple and only focusing on one thought at a time. The next thing I would say based on this is that he is pulling too long past the second wake. I heard @MarcusBrown give some killer advice in one of his awesome podcasts that he would run the course and shadow the bouys inside at his hardest passes to build form/confidence (some thing like that - please correct me if I am wrong @MarcusBrown ) :smile: - I would have him try this with the focus be getting the feeling of edge changing right after the second wake - it will make a HUGE difference from what I am seeing and, if he has the right attitude, will be something that can help going forward when the progression breaks through again.

 

(Bracing myself from backlash for those who dont agree) :sweat_smile:

[BraceMaker]

Does he get out with anyone his own age? Looks pretty good for an 11 year old on 15' off bounce. I'd just think he needs to spend more time skiing.

[vtmecheng]

My first thought is that he is doing awesome at 11 years old. Regarding improvements, #1 is to get some professional coaching now instead of later. Doing it now will make sure he doesn't solidify bad habits. Even a few sets with a knowledgeable coach will make a huge difference. Most kids seem to do better when they hear advice from someone not their parents, my kids sure do.

[Ski_Dad]

wow ! great skiing ! this video helped me a lot this year

 

https://www.ballofspray.com/forum#/discussion/comment/327958

[bojans]

@BraceMaker - Part of our issue is there are really no other kids near by that ski, certainly not on our lake. He has ~ 100 days, ~150ish sets on the water this year. In the Midwest we cannot do too much more than that. I am hoping to make the time he does have on the water quality training time.

 

@vtmecheng - Hoping to get down to Matt Rini's in the spring for a few days.

[Chef23]

He looks really good. Running 34 mph from 32 is a big jump. It took my son most of a season to get there in tournaments including multiple scores of 5 or 5.5.

 

A few things. Before the pullout have him stand in the white water not the curl. That will make it easier to generate consistent width.

 

I would think about delaying his turn in (and correspondingly his pull out) for the gates a bit. It looks like he is a little shallow and letting up a bit. This will swing him wider and earlier into one ball and help set up the whole course better.

 

Think about having him try to run some shorter line lengths at slower speeds. Have him try 22 off at 28 and 30 mph. When he runs those have him look at 28 off. The fundamentals learned at shorter line lengths and slower speeds translate very well. I think this helps a lot if he is banging his head at 32 mph. Mix the sets in though don't stick him at the slower speeds. If he is doing two sets in a day maybe have him run the first set maybe 28/15, 30/15, 30/22 if he runs that try 28. Next set run 28/15, 30/15, 32/15 and hopefully 34.

 

I think doing that will help him at 32 and 34 mph. My son was coached by Jaret Llewellyn when he was in Boys 2 and that recommendation helped him.

[Bruce_Butterfield]

He looks really good on the basics. Two things that i think will help

 

- before he starts the pullout get 100% of his weight on the front foot and KEEP it there

- Instead of leaning back/away from the boat on the pullout (now with all weight on the front foot) just fall forward in the direction he wants to go (an old chet raley tip). These 2 things will help get wider on the gate with less brute strength. Both of these carry through to the rest of the course.

 

Its kind of hard to tell, but it looks like his back foot may be too far back as well. If so, move the rear toe plate forward until the toes of the back foot are touching, or almost touching the horseshoe of the front boot. This adjustment will help the 2 tips above.

[jimski]

Send him to @theboardingschool to ski with Travis and

@thefredwinter

[vtmecheng]

If you are in our near Florida then you have some great options for coaching. I'm not the one to make any sort of recommendations but I do agree with @Chef23 that a few changes to his pull-out and how he attacks the gates will make a big difference in how early he is at 1 ball. Exactly what he needs to do is where the coach comes in.

[bishop8950]

Scott, first off, very cool he is skiing that well at 11. Your 11yr old would kick my 11yr olds butt. I wish they could ski together. Second, I am envious of that lake! I remember you taking about building it when we were in college.

 

Let’s stay with super fundamentals. I like what Bruce said about getting over his front foot and avoid the trap of leaning back. Invest in this now.

 

I also think it’s time to get him really connected to the boat. Elbows down to the vest rather than separated. I coach it as getting your abs and elbows connected so you feel the boat pulling from much lower than your shoulders. Get into this position right after you get up and keep it all the time. Build the habit at all times on the water. This will make it much easier to get his ski moving out through the edge change.

 

Enjoy this time with Andrew!

[Chris Rossi]

@bojans your son has a great start to his skiing the course! Great overall technique. I’d say that overall he just needs to start the course on a more aggressive line. All I’d encourage him to do is to turn in more aggressively and lean harder from his turn in to the first wake. If he can get more angle on his turn in and develop more speed into the gate, he will develop a better line into buoy one and set himself up to make a tighter turn at buoy one that can then develop more speed on the way to buoy 2.

[jimski]

That’s so awesome that @Chris Rossi takes the time to watch and give his input

Way to support the sport Chris

Forget about all the other BS going on and focus on the positive

#radarnation

[bojans]

Thanks everyone. The advise has really helped. First set out he walked through 32 and looks much better at his slower speeds. I really appreciate the input and encouragement. It os hard to pull someone for 100+ sets and try to coach from the mirror when you are only a mediocre skier yourself.

 

@Chris Rossi my sone is loving his 2020 Vapor!

[DSP]

What a fun little ripper! Great job on the front binding choice Dad. Keep that din set properly to release when it should as his weight changes. Even during the year. I didn’t with my son and one bad crash changed everything in a bad way.

 

Are those rollers making his ski bounce on his off side pre turn? Get him in a tournament with kids his age. He reminds me of some kids we see at Broadside in ID Bear Hollow and SunTen in UT. They may have more fun on the dock than on the water