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We Love College Waterski Interviews


jgills88
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Hi all, "We Love College Waterski" is now a weekly podcast on Youtube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, and many more!

 

This week I talked to the Indiana University Waterski and Wakeboard Club. We talked about their team, wakeboarding, their first trip to Midwest Collegiate Regionals a few years ago, and much more!

 

Check it out if you want more of a perspective on college waterski!

 

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

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@jgills88 this is great. I had a similar college experience back in the big 80s. A lot of kids are intimidated by the elite level of skiing at the big schools and therefore don’t consider the possibility. Lots of recreational skiers out there would love the experience but may not understand they have the opportunity. Keep spreading the word!
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@Clydesdale thanks for the encouragement! That intimidation is exactly why I wanted to do this! And it's a big reason why I wanted to talk to IU so early, they're a fun group of people who like to be on the water. Yes they like to compete and do well, but nobody on their team is an "elite" skier to the point that they might seem unreachable
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Most of our skiers at Iowa had maybe skied behind the family I/O on the river on weekends. I can only think of two with slalom course experience on arrival. I had skied one here and there but was a weekend recreational hack and one other guy came in running 36/22 (The "Fat Cat"). We had a few jumpers who had been part of show ski teams who were used to throwing gainers but now distance jumped--it was great cuz we didn't have a jump and they had experience--the rest of us learned to jump by putting on jumpers at a tourney. I had a pair of tricks and a slalom trick that my older brother John used to use--I had no idea what to do with them but knew we needed them.

 

Our '82 MC Prostar was donated with 2000 hours by a local attorney who had a serious house-boat on the river and upgraded. It needed help and we did our best...got her running great. Then it was tourney time for our young team! (literally just a handful of dudes trying to talk some girls into skiing with us).

 

5 guys did 3 events. We had 3 show team jumpers...130 ft, 80 ft, and 50 ft). We ran two guys (me and G$) who could ride over or a little more. 4 of us could run a pass in the buoys, in short order I was thru 28 off and the others could run multiple passes. We all tricked, and could do side/side, back, back, 360/360. Even without a significant women's team we did ok at collegiate tourneys and had a blast hanging with other teams.

 

We added some women, "Fat Cat" showed up, and we had a riot. We added a Moomba Boomerang.

 

The team treaded water for a while after we graduated, then had a big surge when one of the best 3-eventers in MN decided Iowa was for her academically. My nephew Mitch was a slalom stud and added trick/jump and showed up as well--he brokered a deal for a newish Prostar 197. A few show ski jumpers and a cadre of womens skiers arrived and off they went to Nationals with @Razorskier1 being basically a promo-guy for them.

 

It's been a dip since, but at the end of the day--collegiate skiing is where virtually all of my close friendships lie, and there have been a pile of vacations together since. You don't need experience, and many teams that are "club sports" are fragile.

 

As I look at it today...the teams need a community sponsor who helps organize and keep things going as kids come/go/graduate--ideally someone who could coach as well. Get something together that newcomers can use--recruiting, tournaments, practice, gear, maintenance, leadership structure.

 

If I moved back to Iowa City for some reason...one of my goals would be to stabilize and coach the ski team...make it renewable and grow it.

 

 

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@6balls the start of your team sounds super similar to mine! The guys who brought back Akron's team started up 3 years ago from scratch. One had skied for Ohio University (green Ohio for those unfamiliar), the other two were wakeboarders who he met and convinced to go to tournaments. Now we're at the stage with a full men's team that could have a shot at nationals (not amazing scores, but definitely par or better than some teams in the D2 tournament), and a very small women's team made up of people we know and are willing to get in the water!

 

I whole heartedly agree with you that having local "sponsorship" really makes or breaks a team's potential. In the Great Lakes at least, you can see the difference it makes. Ohio State, Cincinnati, and Miami all have had long term, local coaches who can help guide their teams and keep continuity that comes from building an actual program, rather than a group of friends who graduate and leave a team empty.

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@jgills88 the other struggle is a "site". We ran a river course..all kinds of issues. Our own site on a quarry, a boat...a huge difference. Another reason for a sponsor because what quarry wants to give access to a group of transient college kids? They need to deal with an adult to have a chance.
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Good Morning and Merry Christmas Eve Ballers! I have another episode of the "We Love Waterski Podcast" released this morning. This week I talked to the Texas A&M Aggies about what it's like to ski in the "Dirty South", how they have built their team, and what it means to be an Aggie!

 

 

I've also done something a bit different this week and made a pair of highlights for the episode if you want a taste of WLCW:

 

 

In addition to the video version of the podcast, you can also listen to it on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, and many more platforms!

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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This week I talk to my old team the University of Cincinnati! I brought in Brayden Patton, Drew Bigler, and Conner Hoagland to cover their team, the strong connection that they have to their alumni, the volunteer work that they do, and then we finish out the podcast talking about one of the Midwest Region's oldest traditions

 

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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This week on “We Love College Waterski” I interviewed THE Ohio State University’s most recent recruiting class. They talked about what the first year is like on a ski team, goal setting, and some of their favorite memories from their freshman year!

 

Find them on Instagram: @OSUWaterski

Here are a few highlights from the episode!

 

 

You can also listen to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, and more platforms!

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

 

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For this week’s episode of We Love College Waterski I talked to KJ Miller from Cal Poly! We talked about her waterski experience, Olympic aspirations, and all of the effort that went into hosting the 2019 NCWSA Nationals!

 

You can find her team on Instagram: @CPWaterski

 

Episode Highlights are now hosted on Instagram at the podcast’s new account: @WeLoveCollegeWaterski

https://www.instagram.com/p/CJ_-GMaFjbH/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

You can also listen to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google, and more platforms!

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

 

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This week’s episode of "We Love College Waterski" features three teams Ohio University, University of Dayton, and my school the University of Akron. These three teams do everything together, both at tournaments, and in the off-season.

 

If you want to hear more about the social side of collegiate skiing, you can find the full episode on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts

 

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CKTudZvhKz1/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

Episode Highlights are available on the podcast's instagram account @WeLoveCollegeWaterski

 

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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This week on We Love College Waterski, I talked to the founder of Oklahoma State's Waterski Team. We talked all about the process that goes into starting a team, the help he received from skiers across the country, and what it was like to compete as a young team!

 

This one has been my favorite interview by far, so there were enough highlights to warrant two videos. You can find both sets of highlights at the podcast's instagram page @WeLoveCollegeWaterski

 

Highlight #1 https://www.instagram.com/tv/CKlzW1bhA1Y/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

Highlight #2https://www.instagram.com/tv/CKkUkushYYB/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

You can find the full podcast on youtube (linked above),

 

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/57l56OQznJpzlM8Dc1wc4d,

 

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

Google Podcasts: https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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This week on "We Love College Waterski" I talked to Collin Spradlin from Connelly Watersports! We discussed skis, college programs, and possible future events for waterski as a sport!

 

You can find podcast highlights on Instagram: @WeLoveCollegeWaterski: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CK33e8chCux/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

You can also listen to the audio version of the podcast on Spotify, Apple, and Google Podcasts

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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This week on "We Love College Waterski" I talked to Dorien Llewellyn, who at the time of recording was the NUMBER 1 Overall Skier in the world! We talked about potential growth, com-peting, College skiing vs professional, waterski tips, first jumps, sponsors in skiing (Redbull and Akquire), and much more!. There is a lot covered in this interview, so please check out the time stamps if you do not have the time to watch the full hour interview:

 

You can find Dorien on Instagram @Dorienllewellyn

 

Interview Highlights: https://www.instagram.com/tv/CLa_VU-B-St/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

You can find the video version on Youtube, and the audio version on Spotify, Apple, and Google Podcasts:

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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Time Stamps:

 

Introduction (0:00​) -- 1:53​

Starting Skiing: (1:56​) – 4:35​

Hockey, Lacrosse, and Other Sports: (4:36​) – 7:09​

Potential Growth of Waterskiing: (7:10​) – 8:20​

What is Dorien’s Favorite Event?: (9:12​) – 12:00​

Gap Year: (12:00​) – 12:54​

When We Com-Pete We Strive Together: (12:55​) – 14:00​

Collegiate vs Pro Skiing: (14:10​) – 15:35​

What Does It Take To Be a Pro in All Three Events?: (16:13​) – 19:39​

Trick: (19:40​) – 23:50​

First Jumps: (23:53​) – 27:40​

Skiing for a National Team: (28:45​) – 30:59​

Ski Tips: 31:00​ – 38:00​

Which Event Can Most Help the Other Two?: (31:00​) – 33:15​

What Event Should You Start a New Skier On?: (33:16​) – 34:24​

Advice for Three-Event Skiers: (34:25​) – 36:18​

Trick Tips: (36:19​) – 37:56​

Team Atmosphere Rollins vs Lafayette: (38:00​) – 41:20​

College Recruitment: (41:25​) – 42:53​

Joining College Waterski: (43:00​) – 44:10​

Redbull: (44:18​) – 45:19​

Akquire: (45:20​) – 46:00​

Redbull pt2: (46:01​) – 47:50​

Non-Ski Sponsorship: (47:51​) – 50:00​

Waterskiing, a Hidden Gem: (50:01​) – 51:25​

Favorite Part of Skiing Collegiately: (51:26​) – 52:57​

Favorite On The Water Memory: (52:58​) – 56:00​

Why College Ski is Important: (56:27​) – 57:27​

Outro: (58:10​) –59:10

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This week on We Love College Waterski, I sat down with three members of the Western Michigan Waterski Team! We talked all about how their team runs, their favorite events, and some of their more unique traditions!

 

You can find their team on instagram @WMU_Ski

 

Podcast highlights can be found on the WLCW instagram page: @WeLoveCollegeWaterski

 

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CLuCK2khu8x/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

 

The audio version of this podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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This week on We Love College Waterski, I sat down with two members of Michigan State's Waterski Team! We talked all about their fundraisers, traditions, hosting tournaments, and much more!

 

You can find them on instagram: @MSUWaterski

 

You can also find podcast highlights on instagram: @WeLoveCollegeWaterski

https://www.instagram.com/p/CL_-yqXHjvI/

 

 

The audio version of this podcast is available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

 

 

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This week on We Love College Waterski, I sat down with Kamille Hocking from Western Washington Waterski! We talked all about her team, traveling for tournaments, and the plans that she had for hosting 2021 Collegiate Nationals! (unfortunately the tournament has since been cancelled).

 

You can find her team on instagram: @WesternWaterski

 

Highlights are available on instagram if you want to check those out! https://www.instagram.com/p/CMSFVEdhQnX/

 

You can also find the audio version of the interview on Spotify, Apple, and Google Podcasts:

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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This week on We Love College Waterski, I gathered skiers from across the country to participate in a collegiate waterski round table. The Midwest representative was from Grand Valley State University, Auburn represented the SAC, Oklahoma State returned to represent the South Central Region.

We talked about what makes teams succeed, fundraising, practice tips, and much more!

 

You can find these teams on instagram:

 

@gv.waterski.wakeboard

 

@auburnwaterski

 

@cowboy_waterski

 

Episode Highlights are also available on instagram: @WeLoveCollegeWaterski

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CMlCPCwhavR/

 

The audio version of the podcast is available on Spotify, Apple, and Google Podcasts

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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This week on We Love College Waterski, I sat down with four members of Iowa State's Waterski Team! We discussed their traditions, how they practice, and what it's like to ski in the Great Plains Conference!

 

You can find them on Instagram @Iowa_State_Waterski

 

Podcast highlights are available on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNIQuZmhjty/

 

You can find the audio version of this podcast on Spotify, Apple, and Google Podcasts:

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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For this week on We Love College Waterski, I sat down with Zoe Engle from the University of Michigan to talk all about her team. we briefly discussed MCWSA Winter Conference, then had a long conversation about how they've built their team to have 50 active members! We also talked about developing leadership teams within waterski teams.

 

This is a long episode, but it is well worth watching the full thing and taking notes to improve your teams!

 

Podcast Highlights are available on instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CNaK8XdB3dd/

 

You can find the audio versions of the podcast on: Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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This week on We Love College Waterski we have a special episode! Guest Host Zoe Engle (from the University of Michigan) put together a panel of some of the amazing women who lead waterski teams across the country! They talk all about their experiences joining waterski teams, their inspirations, how they've perceived waterski culture, and much much more!

 

This is honestly my favorite episode to date, it's an hour long, but it is absolutely packed with great content, take some time, sit down, and listen to this great panel!

 

There were so many great things from this panel that I split the highlights into two videos!

 

Ski Role Models

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNrAcUKB-jm/

 

Full Panel Highlights

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CNsAidmB3Y7/

 

You can find the audio versions of the podcast on: Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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After a short break, I am back to publishing interviews! For this episode, I sat down with Paula Jaramillo from UCLA. We discussed what it is like to be an international skier in the NCWSA, how college tournaments compare to the ones in Colombia, and what it was like to win the NCWSA D2 Overall Title!

 

You can find UCLA's team on instagram: @UCLAWaterski

 

You can find highlights on instagram: @WeLoveCollegeWaterski

 

https://www.instagram.com/tv/CPJStpsAV5N/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

 

You can find the audio versions of the podcast on: Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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Season 2 of my interview series is here! For the first episode, I interviewed Fallon and Vince from the University of Texas! We talked all about their team, traditions, accomplishments, growing the sport, and more!

 

You can find their team on instagram: @UT_Water_Ski

 

Podcast Highlights are available on Instagram! @WeLoveCollegeWaterski

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CSwZpxCA0tL/

 

You can find the audio versions of the podcast on: Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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This week, my guests were not collegiate waterskiers, or waterskiers at all. They are Drew Saplin and Andrew Rosas from "The Most" Podcast. I took this opportunity to answer "the most" questions about the sport, and other topics that came up! I tried my best to answer their questions, and I had a few guesses at waterski history (there are a few wrong answers, but the podcast is still fun anyway).

 

Even if you know a lot about competitive waterskiing, this episode is still fun to hear a couple of comedians riff about a sport that they are just learning exists!

 

Be sure to check out their podcast as it releases on podcast services soon!

https://roosterteeth.com/series/the-most

 

Highlights are available on Instagram:

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CTFv2ghAx9X/

 

 

 

 

You can find the audio versions of the podcast on: Spotify, Apple and Google Podcasts

 

 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/we-love-college-waterski/id1544822419

 

https://www.google.com/podcasts?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9hbmNob3IuZm0vcy80NDM0YjBiOC9wb2RjYXN0L3Jzcw==

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https://www.instagram.com/tv/CbTY8NBALhU/?utm_medium=copy_link

 

This week, I've handed the reigns of We Love College Waterski over to several collegiate teams as they document their Spring break trips! One of those teams, the University of Cincinnati organized a tournament at Lapointe Ski Park and skied with a bunch of the people down there!

 

UC's captain, Maya Blaxall, took the opportunity to interview Jeromy Schall of the Waterski Broadcasting Company! Check it out! It's a very short two minute interview!

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I have another interview for anyone who's interested! For this conversation I talked to Jarad Meyer from Lake Lovers Club and Twin Lakes Cornfest! We talked all about his efforts to promote skiing, bringing the wider community together, and of course his waterski showcase coming up in August!

 

You can find a series of highlights on Instagram @WeLoveCollegeWaterski

 

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