How To Coach 25mph Skier Through Course?

[o2bnMaine]

My wife is currently in a rut. Her skiing isn't progressing as fast as she would like, and I'm not a good enough coach to pick the issue she should be working on first. I'm curious what opinions people have on this!

 

I'll leave this post pretty open-ended as I don't want to muddy the results. I even got behind the boat and skied at 26mph/15-off to see what it feels like. But, alas, I still can't decide what she should be working on first!

 

(there are other recent vids of her up on my channel as well)

 

Thanks. :smiley:

[Bruce_Butterfield]

Her basic body position and stack look pretty good. She needs to learn width and angle - she is barely getting wide enough to get around buoys and then turning downcourse. The boat speed looks a little fast for her ability too.

 

It looks like she is focused too much on buoys. I would slow the boat down 2-4mph, have her freeski and try to get even with the boat on each side, then repeat. That means getting as much angle and speed as she possibly can, get wide, let the rope get tight and turn in again. Once she's comfortable generating speed, try the course again at the slower speeds.

[skimtb]

I’m not a coach but I like your spotter / dash rider.

[o2bnMaine]

Thanks for the input.

 

Bruce: She has been working up on speed lately. She can run the course pretty reliably at 25.3mph. When we bumped it to 25.5 she started to regress on the turns and I thought getting some outside input may help. She is having more difficulty lately getting 1-3-5 to turn quickly, which pushes her down course with less angle.

 

I should ask for more angle out of the turns first. Then she'll figure out how to handle a faster approach for the next buoy. This is where I get stuck as a coach. To get more angle, you have to get a steeper exit from the prior turn, blah blah blah. But I think I can work with focusing energy on more angle rather than getting a clean exit.

 

I've been trying to get her to hold her lean through the 2nd wake. In this video she's doing better so it isn't as noticeable, but I've been noticing she bounces out of the lean as she flies over the 2nd wake forcing her edge change way too early for ~25mph.

 

skimtb: Yes, unless it is brutally hot out, she will be in the boat with us. She understands when the boat is about to accelerate based on what the skier says and understands how to lean into the pin-hole turns. Apparently, this morning, when my shin hit 4 ball extremely violently she stood up in the boat. :smile:

[Chef23]

I agree that she is skiing too the buoys and that is making her late. I would start with her gate having her get higher on the boat and turning in later giving her more angle and making her early. The other thing I would do is try to get her to pretend there is a buoy 20 feet earlier than the turn ball and try to get out to that then start the turn early enough so that she has completed it by the time she gets to the buoy. Right now she is skiing right to the next buoy and starting her turn right there. She needs to get there earlier and turn sooner.

 

Her fundamentals look solid though if she can wrap her brain around that she will pick up buoys quickly.

[brettmainer]

I agree with both @Bruce_Butterfield and @Chef23. She needs to establish and maintain a wider rhythm to her skiing.

[Jmoski]

I would suggest having trying to get wider on the boat on her gate pull out (outside the 2-4-6 buoy line) and resist getting sucked back in before it’s time to turn in for the gate. In the video you can she her drift in a good 5-6 feet before she initiated the turn in for the gate, which is giving up the length of runway she has to build speed into ball 1. Also, worry less about making the gate as timing the swing in and building speed are more important right now, the timing to make the gate can be adjusted later.

[jimski]

She looks great IMO

Do both of yourself a favour and go spend a weekend at a ski school with a good coach

[o2bnMaine]

@Jmoski thanks. I asked her at dinner how she gauges where to pull out and how far to go. She says she pulls out to line up with 2-4-6. But the discussion got her thinking that that she should be pulling out later. She has a tendency to float back in before her turn-in. We'll see what happens tomorrow morning!

 

@jimski yes, I love ski schools. When I lived up in NC, I would go to Coble Ski School two or three times each week. Now, we try to go sparingly as the cost adds up quickly. If I could, I would probably go to Lucky Lowe's every week. But my contract at work ended and "retirement" isn't cheap! We need to be our own coaches until I can land another project. So, any advice is much appreciated! I'm not complaining though. This is the first time in our 9-year marriage where I have been home for more than two weeks. Skiing almost every morning has been great. Between windsurfing, slalom and barefoot waterskiing I'm getting in great shape!

 

 

[Bruce_Butterfield]

I have never liked the 2/4/6 buoy line as a gauge for pullout. Unless you are at 35 off or shorter, that will make you way too narrow. Its much better to think about position/width/height on the boat. The goal should be to get even with the motor box. If she can get that width to start, that solves a host of other issues and lets her get a start.

[escmanaze]

It looks to me like she probably hangs out with a bunch of really advanced skiers who are done pulling and leaning away from the boat really early. At 25 mph, that just doesn't fly. Well, unless you are a really good skier and you are just messing around at 25 mph, then it can fly, but if 25 mph is still your best pass, then there is no way you are loading up enough before the wakes that you can afford to not also still be pulling at least a little bit after the wakes - maybe even a lot bit.

 

But I'm no expert coach, so be careful listening to me.

[vtmecheng]

Why not try some video coaching with a pro? I know just enough to know that I'm not good enough to comment.

[MattP]

@o2bnMaine

Off of what @Bruce_Butterfield said At 15' off she should be about 12-15' wide of 2/4/6 when she turns in. This will allow for a much larger margin of error as she gets down the course.

 

You live in the Orlando area?

[o2bnMaine]

Time for an update.

 

This morning ski was awesome. My wife pulled out for the gate much later than usual. She didn't float back to centerline. He turn in was more pronounced and resulted in a much wider, earlier 1-ball. Through the entire course, she remained much earlier and her energy through the course was more intense. She kept the necessary angle and managed to get better turns.

 

I think she ran 3 or 4 of the 7 passes. The best part, though, was when she mentioned she actually felt what it feels like to cast out. I didn't film this set, though, sorry. She didn't want any distraction.

 

Thanks for the suggestions! I'll post a new video when I get some good footage.

 

Bill

[chris55]

Is she running 7 passes without stoping ? Maybe it could help to stop and talk about what she felt and then go for another pass focusing on ....angle or holding the lean a bit longer etc....

Just an idea.....

[o2bnMaine]

She doesn't like to use up energy dropping and having to get up again. It is rare she'll drop in the middle of a set. She says it takes more energy to get up than to spin.

[Lars]

Off topic, what camera setup are you using? that seems pretty cool.

 

 

[o2bnMaine]

Rylo made a 360-degree camera. That was their first product. The software was cutting edge when it was released... very good stabilization and leveling. But a company bought them for the software side and are ignoring the hardware... or updating the camera's software even. So, sort of a dead product.

 

I'd suggest getting GoPro's 360-degree camera at this point.

[o2bnMaine]

So, I went out and skied at my wife's line length and about the same speed to see how the timing works out...and to understand the forces she is putting on her body. Wow, 15-off at 26mph is brutal! I had never skied the course at this rope length or speed before. I was a pretty accomplished free skier, so when I saw my first course, I jumped in at 22-off and 32mph at my starting point.

 

Without further ado, here's my video. The first pass is VERY rough. I was digging in way too much on the turns mainly because I had no clue how much I needed to turn the ski! I don't think I calmed down enough on my turns until the 2nd half of the 2nd pass. Then things started to get easier. Anyway, I thought you all would get a laugh out of watching my butcher 15-off.

 

[Bruce_Butterfield]

Bill you are suffering from the same issue as your wife - you are not even getting 45 degrees up on the boat on your gate pullout. The only reason you can make the pass is you can turn harder and lean harder than your wife. Try again getting even with the pylon on the gate and you will be amazed at how much easier it is.

[JAS]

She is 20 feet past ball one when finishing turn 1. The geometry this creates makes pass much harder for any skier, any speed, any line length. Have her ski the faster speed with a no gate start and practice staying on time. A good chance she will amazed how easy ball two is because she will be so early. Do this until finishing turns at the balls for entire pass. Now add gate and dial that in. She will have confidence running pass and able to put all focus on good start.

[o2bnMaine]

@Bruce_Butterfield Yeah, I had no idea of the proper timing as this literally was my first time running 15-off. When I did it myself, that's when I started to realize that she was pulling out way too early. Now, she's pulling out as the pre-gates pass the transom and has a much better 1-ball.

[o2bnMaine]

Another update:

 

My wife just got 5 complete passes out of 7 this morning. This is two days after hurting her back and saying "I will just take it easy for a few days until my back feels better." Now that she has more angle at the gate, she able to cast out a bit. Yesterday she did get complete sets, but today was totally different. She had a lot more energy exiting the turn and crossing the wake. I think I saw the first off-side turn where she put the ski in the water and powered through.

 

She's talking about a couple more days at 25.5 before bumping it up to 26.

[MDB1056]

@o2bnMaine - agree with @skimtb - LOVE the dog spotter on the dash! I'll probably get an Off Topic for this but had to comment.

[o2bnMaine]

@MDB1056 I clearly highlighted her in the video. ;-)

[o2bnMaine]

Final update for this thread. She's improved for sure!

 

Here's a video from this morning. I particularly like the last set, I think!

 

[Ali]

My thoughts

She has some great basiscs. She can advance fast with those.

 

Let her drop at least every 2nd pass. Slalom skiing is explosive you need to rest. Getting up is easy compared to spinning and back to back passes. Also you have time to discuss what felt good and bad what to work on for the next pass. Get her to try it!!

 

Things to work on

 

Still narrow on the gate and drops onto the back of the ski. This changed my wife's gates watching this video.

Now, I know say to her "Regina" and she imagines the glide position on the gates.

 

Hold that lean and direction through the 2 wake.

 

Good luck!!

 

Cheers

Ali

[o2bnMaine]

"Let her drop at least every 2nd pass." I don't "let" my wife to do anything. She does what she pleases. ;-)

 

She opts to spin each pass knowing that we don't have opportunities to do coaching mid-set. She hates to get pulled up over and over. Usually she does 6-8 passes each time we hit the course.

 

Thanks for the observations. She will keep working on those things. I just had her watch the Terry Winter video (21-34mph progression). I'll show her this one too.

 

She remarked that she's now experienced casting out a few times and loved how the ski came around much quicker/smoother. I suspect as that becomes more her new normal she will get better angle and get wider.

 

Coaching a spouse can be interesting. I take a very hands-off approach. I'm willing to offer suggestions/observations, but I rarely try to push her forward. As long as she is enjoying the skiing I'm happy.

 

Now that we are videoing more sets, she's getting more interested in coaching, so we'll see what that turns in to!

[jimski]

Your a wise man @o2bnMaine

[Chef23]

She still needs to be higher on the boat for her gates. Also she is letting up at times on her offside pull coming into the wakes. If she gets higher on the boat and works hard through the wakes she will be much earlier.

 

I believe in speeding the boat up a bit each time beginning skiers make a pass. I think when they drop back in speed it makes it easier.

[chris55]

@o2bnMaine you are right about your wife not willing to drop. At first she must enjoy and have fun, and she is improving.....good job !!!!!!