Who thinks about vision when they ski?

[rico]

There is so much to work on when we ski, and so little time to work on it. It is challenging to work on repetition. 

I am heavy and therefore, I am working on being still, over my ski before the thinking of the hundreds of other things I need to do. 

Getting the first few rides of the year, in freezing California, I tend to focus more on vision: 

- Keeping my vision up is game changer. 

- On pull out, looking down course keeps me wider and gliding longer

- From apex to finish, looking across course, keeps me over the front foot and moving towards the first wake.

I cannot look at a specific point like back of the boat or buoy... but just in a specific direction or level to horizon. 

Anyone else?

[Horton]

!00% agree on the importance of vision. I think this is a multifaceted subject - in other words are are a number of benefits to being aware of where you are looking.

When I am skiing my best I am always looking at the next ball as early as possible leaving the previous ball. This keeps my head up and assists with keeping my shoulders level.  I think this also helps me moderate my intensity.  

[Jibbo]

 

[Wish]

I seasoned race care driver, skier, and waterski industry professional basically said you need to “look where you want to be” to sum it up. Everything slows down when you do. No diff then driving your family car around the corner. If turning, your eyes  will look well past the turn and the focus is where you want the car to be. Same in a straight line or curve. 

I ski best when my eyes find the next ball out in front of the boat. Just got done skiing and was working on this. 

Long ago a tried a baseball cap and pulled it down low. Forces the head up to keep the eyes at least as high if not higher then the  horizon.
 
 

 

 

 

 

[ScarletArrow]

I agree with the importance of vision and keeping eyes up.  This is different than keeping your head still. 

Early in my ski career (in the middle of WC slalom theory) I was given advice to look at the back of the boat while crossing the wake and I'm convinced that it, along with other bad concepts, set me back years.

I could never do it consistently, and when I did it never seemed to help.

Eventually, it devolved into generally looking at "nothing" or just the wake pattern I was about to cross.

Like Horton, I'm skiing my best when I'm able to pick up the next buoy at the apex or "pre-apex" (i.e., as early as possible) of the current buoy.

It's usually the difference between a good offside turn or a bad one.

[Dano]

head up, and looking down course is a huge help for me.  I try to see all the way to the end of the lake in my glide,  In doing so you can see the whole course.  I don't like to use the term cross course.  For me if at apex I only want to take my gaze to the next buoy, If i think cross course i end up over turning and usually swimming. 

[swbca]

@Horton said Vision is multi-faceted . . 

When I returned to skiing after a long break, I found my eyes were bad enough that I did better skiing with correction.  Lucky that my distance correction is the same as 2.5 Readers, so I can use $5.00 readers from the drug store.  Glasses get covered with spray during deep water start, but the drops blow off when you get up to speed.

This last season I learned to stop focusing on the wake and focus on the next ball.  I needed to stop thinking of the wake as an obstacle. 

[Andre]

I'll look at 3 when turning 1, 4 when turning 2 with the thinking of letting the ski fnish the turn before hooking up and looking at the back of the boat until the wakes.

Asher is a good example of where i look in the turn.

 

[Horton]

@twhispertold me a year or two ago that when I am about to apex at On Side to look at the next set of boat guides. This was part of my effort to move my mass forward and across. Trying to move in the direction roughly 1:30 on a clock ( RFF ). 

When I do this my onside turns are a lot tighter. 

[MDB1056]

yep - its amazing what this simple little change will do for you . Needs to become automatic. Still working on it........

[UWSkier]

When my turns are garbage, it's usually because I'm not looking way down the lake at Apex.  I tend not to look at next buoy until I'm hooked up and headed across the course.  Maybe this is too late because I'm pretty bad at water skiing...

[chris55]

Vision is very important for me too. Looking down the lake right before the bouy, seeing the next one in front of the boat across and keping my head staight and like Horton said, it helps me to keep my shoulder square and it gives me a better surrounding awareness. On my glide I try to picture the whole slalom scene 

 

[BKistler]

I’ve been using prescription RecSpecs for years. I have a homemade neoprene headband that works great. Without them I could not see the course coming much less an apex. 

[dbaconaz]

I tend to drop my head and look at the bouy as I'm going around it. Been trying to break this habit for a LONG TIME!! I do try and get my head up as fast as I can and spot the next one.  

[ETskier]

This all relates to the thread on early sets of the new season. Turning to look at the next bouy is a great key.  I've been free skiing the last 2 weeks just working on turning my head looking across course. Turns are getting crisper and tighter. I seriously start in the course next week. I've been a proponent of early season free skiing for a long time. Get your strength, timing,  stack,  and rhythm  going a bit before getting into the course. 

[MDB1056]

@ETskier +1 for free skiing to get grounded again at the start of the season.  

[DW]

Very important ingredient for any high level activity.  The farther ahead one can look, the slower things appear to be happening.

On the other hand, it was amazing watching the blind snow skiers at the Paralympics.  Imagine someone giving you verbal queues to turn, pull etc.

Edited February 25, 2023 by DW

[ETskier]

Your right. Trying to make it automatic without having to think. 

[Horton]

@Gloersen What?

[richfoster]

Whenever I looked at the back of the boat, I always seemed to ski with less angle, so I gave up on that. Looking for the next buoy at apex works and I do a fair job of it through 35,but at 38 I seem to go into full dip$h!t mode. When I’m able to ski again I want to try the advise that  @twhisper gave @Horton

[ETskier]

Skiing the last couple of days, I worked on looking at the next bouys to initiate the turn, something I'm always working on. However, at Gloersen's suggestion, I also tried to notoce the bigger picture. I thought it helped to slow things down nicely.