SprayMakers Podcast listener inspired episodes

[Chris Rossi]

We just wanted to take a minute and thank all of our listeners for such a successful second season of SprayMakers. We hope you all have enjoyed it as much as we have enjoyed sharing. To conclude season 2, we would like to open up our final few episodes to discussing listener generated questions. Please share your questions below and we will pick our favorites and share our answers on the podcast.

[UWSkier]

How about something less about the technical and more about the the sport in general for the final episode(s)? Such as:

 

"what has been the most important innovation in the last 30 years of slalom skiing and how did it change the game generally, and for you and TFIN specifically?"

 

"What is your craziest tournament memory and why?"

 

"Can you pinpoint a time you can say was your absolute best moment on the water?"

 

etc

[ski6jones]

Discussion of nutrition & fitness approaches for off season and in season training.

[jhughes]

@Chris Rossi the podcast series was AMAZING this year. I've been contemplating just picking parts of it out and writing about them, each one has highlights that are huge lightbulbs for people potentially. Too busy as of yet to do this.

 

No additional questions, just wanted to give kudos here.

 

Actually, edit: How much innovation is really left in slalom ski design? How about bindings?

[Cnewbert]

@Chris Rossi first season of Spraymakers was great and you and Trent hit it out of the park with season 2. My wife and I haul our boat to our favorite lake two hours round trip 5 days a week, and we listen to Spraymakers on the way down each and every single day. It doesn't matter how many times we've heard a particular episode, we always get something new out of it with each repeat listening. Thank you guys for your invaluable contribution to this sport!

[lpskier]

The difference between 35 and 38, and what you have to do/do differently to consistently run 38.

 

Okay, maybe that’s a little narrow, but it would help me!

[Andre]

How to get rid of 30 years of bad habits and actually be able to change the way i ski at 57 years old ?

(Ran my first 32 off in 2007,haven't run 35 yet. Average 125 sets in a 150 days season.Ran 32 off more then 100 times this year.No 35...Sad!)

[jgills88]

Thanks for the great podcast! I have super limited water time, and listening has really helped me ski better when I get the chance!

 

My biggest question would be if you guys have ways to "secretly" coach people? I had a ton of brand new skiers on my collegiate team this past year, and I struggled with ways to try and get them to improve without full on coaching sets. They were new enough to the sport that I 100% focused on keeping them happy with as little pressure as possible, and I was worried that giving them a thousand tips would overwhelm them.

[Nicourrutia]

Thanks @Chris Rossi great podcast!!

Being new to the course the for me at my 45 what is hará is how to progress in the Sport with limited water time.

How to choose the right Ski?

Dry land tricks to get better (besides hearing spraymakers!!!)

[03RLXi]

It’s the time of year skiers ponder their equipment and if to change. Some comments on when change might be helpful would be a good topic.

At what speed or line length to change from basic model ski to a carbon version?

Or from say a wider senate or Omni to a narrow ski?

Why if skier has the budget is the pro build version always recommended vs lower cost softer version (is stiffer still better on rolley or windy public lake?)

[Jared]

Thanks for the podcast. I think I looked about 4 or 5 years ago and didn't find much for waterskiers.

 

Stumbled over SprayMakers in mid July this year, and binged the whole back catalogue a little too fast to take everything in. I'm going to revisit a few of the episodes in the spring for sure. But for now I can't really remember what you haven't covered about skiing, therefore my questions aren't really about skiing (for now).

 

Anything you can share from your offseason plans? I know both of you have said you like to get your heads out of the sport for a month or two.

 

Have you guys considered running your podcast through an ad service? I don't think I have heard ads attached your episodes, compared to some of the podcasts I listen to you certainly deserve to get paid for what you are putting out there. Not sure how others feel, but your giving up a lot of time almost exclusively for our benefit, and I really don't mind when people what to get paid for it. I've never really understood the complaining about ads.

 

 

Not a question, but a bit of positive feedback.

 

My skiing came a long way this year. I had skied 0@32 years ago (the 3 or 4 times I had ran 28, I was narrow on ball 1 at '32), and I've mostly meandered at 22off for the past decade. This year I ran '28 most weekends, and 1@35 a couple of times. Aside from better preparing myself mentally for the season and knowing I wanted to put the time in to get past 22 consistently, your advice to stop trying to get my hands low and instead try to get my body higher up above the handle seemed to be a real turning point for me, almost instantly I was gliding better into my turns and coming out of them more smoothly, I think the small change in position has me generating speed in a shorter distance and maintaining the speed better afterwards.

[MDB1056]

Please DO keep the talks technical. That's the real gold. as so many other discussions are not, and we're all looking for those specific steps to help us improve. Hands down your podcasts are the best source for clear , easy to understand, executable steps that anyone can use to improve. Well done gentlemen.

 

Would love to hear one ( another) specifically on steps in the turn of when and how much to use knees and feet. How much should I push with the back foot vs front in the turn? When am I on the balls of my feet vs flat? Where in the turn am I shifting weight forward vs back? When to soften the knees vs standing tall? How to keep from releasing the handle early and also to keep from reconnecting too early before the ski finishes the turn? All of this to tie into your term of “dropping into the turn”.

[ALPJr]

Great job gent’s! I’ll piggyback on @lpskier question… thoughts on the difference between -28 and -32 for those who consistently run -28, even manage well at the mid loop -30, and struggle to get past 3 - 4 at -32?

Thanks!

[Killer]

Great idea

 

How does a skier get more or better Access to time on the water? How many passes/sets are needed in any given, week/month/year to make improvements.

 

I believe access is the biggest barrier to entry in this sport, so how to we make it easier for people to get out and ski the slalom course.

 

 

 

[KRoundy]

Two thoughts - first, do either of you have an opinion about handle guards? Have you tried them? Pros - Cons?

Second - I would love to hear you talk about ski design. Where is ski design at today, how do you think about changes to the ski, and where do you think we might go in the future? Obviously that last part might be trade secrets, but I am interested. Could other or newer materials come into play?

[Cnewbert]

@Chris Rossi I only started water skiing 5 years ago, but I have 25 years of equestrian sports behind me. A great many horse clinicians have done very well by making and selling DVD packages of instructional video for various equestrian disciplines. 6-12 DVDs per set is not untypical. You and Trent do better than anyone in the business articulating the often complex 3-dimensional movements a skier must perform through various stages of a pass. But painting word pictures can be ambiguous at times and subject to a listener’s interpretation, and, as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words… probably more when describing physical motion. I can only imagine how great an instructional DVD series produced by you guys with Radar would be. You could incorporate video footage of good examples, bad examples, high end skiing to more basic levels, slo-mo, actual speed, forward, reverse, stop action, overhead drone views, telestrator technology, zooming in and out, different line lengths and boat speeds… and on and on. And for skiers who pay $75 a set for 15 minutes of coaching, I’m sure you’d find a ready and eager market for a fairly priced, comprehensive instructional DVD package.

[Chris Rossi]

Thanks to all of you who have taken the time to submit your questions and thanks for all the positive compliments about the podcast. Please keep them coming. Trent and I will monitor this discussion over the next few weeks and pick our favorites.

[MDB1056]

Feet and knees . What they should be doing where for successful skiing.

[Dano]

How about doing an episode that highlights how slalom has evolved over the past 20 years. Both in ski design and how the top skiers are adjusting their styles. If a skier understands how todays skis are being designed and intended to perform, it may help them to better understand how they should be attempting to utilize the ski. Maybe give is a little insight to what design elements do what. Like a deep tunnel vs a shallow tunnel. Shorter wider skis like a Denali vs a more conventional shape like a gtr. Or explain why different skis sit higher or lower in the water and how that effects how a skier would choose to ski it, ex: ski a different path, stop and go turns, or carry more speed thru the turns etc....

[Deep11]

How about @Chris Rossi commenting on the perspective of a coach I know you’ve spent time with (Dimitri Kourounis in Porto Heli , Greece), that “you don’t turn the ski with any active input but instead let the ski find the right time to turn and then follow it as quickly as you can?”

[JAS]

Would be interested in discussion on timing. Early/late gate, drifting back after good pull out, late turn at balls. All seem to lead to compounding problems and compensations. How to correct

[Skoot1123]

@Chris Rossi and @TFIN - once again another great year of Podcasts!! I’d echo what folks are saying above, all of them are great idea content. I would like to hear what you have to say about the Optimal Work Zone (ie: where do you want to build max speed) from two perspectives: Perfect Pass vs Zero Off and lighter vs heavier skiers. Maybe another aspect of light vs heavy would be female vs male skiers.

 

Thanks for asking for our input!

[2Valve]

I've really learned a lot this season with your information.

 

I don't have any questions, as I enjoy your abilities to break down the simplest techniques for us novices.

 

[ToddL]

How often do you revisit or explore the other ZO settings beyond your preferred one? Do you have different ones for different situations? If so, what and why? Do you ever recommend something other than B2 to a novice skier. If so, why and in what circumstances?

[DavidN]

When you change skis - What’s the proper approach to set up a new ski.

What’s first?

How to determine when changes are needed? How many rides until you make a change? How to determine what changes are needed - Binding position vs fin numbers vs wing angle? Symptom tuning/set up for harder vs easy passes/how to know when it’s right/ …

[ALPJr]

@DavidN look back. Pretty sure that they covered this in one of the early episodes this season.

[DavidN]

Oops

Yeah, totally missed that one.

*edit*

Just listened to it - another fantastic one!

[jhughes]

More on mine: Year after year what do ski designers think, ultimately, ski buyers want? It seems like most skiers want a ski that just skis the course for them. More buoys with the same or less effort. Ultimately will skis just ski the course for people? No falls, automatic turns? Is this where skis go? I'm so curious as to where skis will go and what limitations ultimately just pure physics has on this.

[503Kento]

With regard to video coaching, what is the optimal time to submit another video?

 

I submit a video and the coach tells me to fix something and I work on it but I can still see the issue in my skiing. Do I wait until I have the most recent tip mostly mastered before sending another video or submit one every so often even if I continue demonstrating the same issue already addressed?

 

Thanks guys, love the podcast! Super helpful!

[HMan66]

First of all, the podcast is top notch! For those of us that struggle with the fundamentals, maybe a more detailed plan of how to break those old bad habits and ingrain the right ones. How would you take a skier from arms out and squatty, to staying on edge to the 2nd wake to leveraged/wide/early? Layout the stepping stones to better skiing.

[jhughes]

For a lot of skiers, the path to skiing better is about leaving assumptions, ego, and skepticism at the dock and being open-minded to real feedback.

 

That's more important than any "tips or tricks". How do you break through that barrier with people who just will not accept the truth?

[Skoot1123]

Maybe to expand on @HMan66 - breaking through the mental blocking of a “fear” of going through the wakes with speed.

[Chris Rossi]

Thanks again for all the comments. We look forward to talking about your questions and comments. Please keep them coming!

[nautique1228]

How come I can listen to your episodes and figure it all out in my head. But when I go out to ski I can’t make my body do it! Great podcast really enjoy it.

[Jared]

I did come up with a question for Chris, I think on the worlds Youtube feed, I heard Tony say that Thomas Degasperi is on an asymmetrical ski, maybe it was someone else? I get why someone would want the skis to corner differently on each side, but as a product designer do you have an opinion about what that will do to feel or rhythm, is there a future for selling left or right foot specific skis that preform differently offside vs onside? What would you be looking for that's different on each side?

[lpskier]

@"Chris Rossi” The five biggest take-a-ways from “How The Racers Ski.”

[MDB1056]

Timing your turns. Turning early is really not. You need to initiate your turns early enough to ideally backside the ball. So many of us arrive early but feel we have to wait because we're not close enough to the ball yet, but then go flat and are late and the pass is lost. This is especially common in the longer lines 15, 22. When you start turning what feels early but in reality is just correct, those become easy passes. Work this into your recurring line of "everything center line out should be one big turn"

[Zman]

Do either of you have a thought key (or two) as you come off the 2nd wake until you release your free hand and apex?

Anything that helps you stay with the handle for good swing?

[Slalom.Steve]

@Chris Rossi

I know I'm late to the party here, but the new poll about listening to podcasts got me thinking, and figured I'd post this here:

 

Spraymakers has SUCH good information and it's a truly amazing resource for skiers. But there is a lot of banter, and sometimes disorganization in terms of the overall flow of information and in terms of your's and Trent's individual comments (and a whole lot of "you know," "I mean," and "like" lol). So sometimes it's hard to follow or extract the most relevant conclusions, or it's at least likely that the same amount of valuable information could be presented (and listened to) in less time.

 

I know that often the "podcast vibe" is just friendly conversations that gets recorded, but I'm not a big fan of that style. I'd prefer segments that are more prepared and concise. In my mind, what we hear as a finished Spraymakers episode could actually be the private brainstorming conversation that then gets crafted into a more organized version to be recorded and published. It doesn't have to be 100% scripted or anything, but I think it'd help to have a planned outline/roadmap, with the most essential points that each of you would present already thought out and defined, then converse within that structure.

 

The end result could a shorter, easier-to-consume episode that is even more impactful than before. Granted, this would all take more work and time, which you may or not be able to do. But if you can, I think it could be a super rad "next level" iteration of Spraymakers. You could even go back and redo previous topics but with this structure (which also means you don't have to keep coming up with new topics lol) - like a "Version 2.0" of previous episodes, finely tuned B)

 

I hope none of this comes across as too critical or anything. I love what you do and deeply appreciate the time you spend to do it, whether it continues as-is or not. Thank you!