Kudos to Lucky Lowe -- he's an amazing coach

[o2bnMaine]

I post this to give him the credit due and to remind people he is an amazing coach.

So far in 2022, I have gone to Lucky Lowe for three coaching sessions. For one session, we spent almost 30 minutes on his boat ramp changing how I hold the handle during my lean. I finally internalized what he was trying to get me to do. It came to me in two stages. Before the boat ramp drill I saw some improvements, but after it really sunk in what I was doing wrong (and how to correct it).

In 2021, I was able to run 32-off OK and dip into 35-off (at 34mph) but both were very shaky and used a ton of energy. After dipping into 35, I usually had a sore lower back, for instance. My form was awful when trying for a new PB.

This morning, I ran 5 of 6 at 32-off without any effort. I could have run a couple more passes but the boat traffic was picking up. The final pass, I couldn't have been any earlier at 5-ball than I was.

I expected to get to where I am with Lucky's help, but I didn't really have a timetable for when it would happen. We've had a very windy March/April where I live, so hitting the slalom course has taken a back seat to windsurfing. Still, the few sets I've taken have been enough to make a huge leap forward. I think I made three significant changes as a result of his coaching.

 

I know tips people get are specific to them, so this isn't meant to be useful for anybody in particular. I thought I'd list what clicked for me if anybody is curious. Hopefully, I'm describing things correctly! ;-)

(1) Lucky had me pull out later for the gates and adjust my stance so that I didn't let up on the applying pressure to the rope so abruptly. This helped me maintain width before turning in for the gates.

(2) I've been hearing that I need to get the handle lower and near my hips, but I never figured it out from that advice. A couple of months ago, I figured out that if I pinched my life vest with my elbows, it helped me get across the wakes with more angle. Then, I adjusted a bit more by pushing the handle down even further (this is what the boat ramp drill drilled into me). This motion brought my hips up a bit more changing my skis attitude across the wake. It changed how my body moved when I bent my knees. I crossed with no bounce at all (at 28-off and shorter).

(3) Lucky has been telling me to make my 2-4 turns snappier. The one pass I didn't complete today felt more lopsided than usual. My 2-4 turns were very slow, but I made it up with tons of angle out of 1-3. I'd get early to 2-4 but was late to 1-3. The rhythm felt so off, it stuck in my head.

[lpskier]

Lucky is a very good coach. Crazy as it may sound, I put my daughter with him for three months one winter. She lived there for a month. It helped her a lot.

[6balls]

Legend

[o2bnMaine]

Demoing the Denali c85 medium today at Trophy Lakes, I got 4@35. I almost got out to 5, but it didn't seem like a wise thing to attempt. This ties my PB. But I was much more in control this attempt and my back muscles are still ok where the last time I got this far my back was sore for a week.

 

I'm a huge fan of the ski. Meg set it up for me with the binding at 29 and stock fun position. I did one 28-off followed by two 32-off passes. Then I got 2@35 followed by 4@35. My prior opportunity to ski was on the 18th so I did this pretty much with no prep. The ski felt like it was on automatic. My gates at 35-off definitive need some attention!

 

Next time in the water, I will be back in my c75 small. I'm curious to see how long I go before I want a c85.

 

My wife also demo'd the ski. This was the real reason for stopping at Trophy Lakes. She DID buy a ski. They put her on a small.