travtitle

On 3/23/2024 at 9:13 AM, Than_Bogan said:

At a high level, I agree with what everyone else has said.  But if I were standing in the boat coaching you, I would address your specific issue with a focus on your shoulders.

Your shoulders are leaned toward the boat essentially all the time.  In this configuration, you'd need impossible tricep and core strength to hold the handle down to your hip.

Instead, you want your shoulders to go as far away from the boat as possible.  In order for this to happen, your arms will have be straight (think about how any bend will just pull your shoulders closer to the boat), and your hips will have to go toward the boat (again if the hips come away that means rotating your shoulders more toward the boat).  This means that improving where your shoulders go will magically repair these other issues.

You want to have the feeling that you're hanging your entire upper body off the end of the rope.

When you watch the best slalomers, you'll see surprising variation in exactly what they do with their knee bend and exactly where the rope handle is relative to their body.  But if you look from hips to shoulders, all of them have their shoulders way away from the boat such that their upper body is basically in a straight line with the rope.  Even more interesting is how much they stay with that as they ride the handle out.  The upper body stays broadly in line with the rope even as the edge begins to change underneath, creating the so-called Reverse-C position for a moment.  THIS is what results in the handle remaining close to the hips.  In most other positions, it would require impossible strength to force the handle there.

Thank you--this is helpful. I watched the video again and what you said here rings true. I have more strength in my arms and shoulders and I am concentrating my strength there instead of my core and legs where it should be. 

I will try all of these things (the palm change included) and see where that gets me. Thank you both for the feedback. 

Yes, thank you. I promise to think of very little else before the start of the season. 

32 off / 34 mph

I've had this same problem forever, but I've been working hard to fix it for three years will little success. I've read everything, listened to the podcasts, had excellent instruction and I can't seem to whip this: 

My inside arm separates from my body at the pre-turn.

Before the season starts and I read again all the techniques and instruction posts, listen to the podcasts and watch all the videos again, I was wondering if anyone has a fresh perspective on how to focus on staying with the handle instead of having to make the perfect turn each time because I've given myself no wiggle room. 

15 hours ago, Luzz said:

We have it in Italian:
ultimo: last
penultimo: one before last

Yes, penultimate in English! It's a great word. 

I wish there was a name for "the one before the last" 😁

Are there any still pics from above looking straight down on a skier from a drone? I have seen videos from above, but they are usually following behind the skiier. I would love to see the angle of the ski and the orientation of a skier's body from that perspective. 

4 hours ago, scoke said:

squat and pull baby!

october 14:
https://ballofspray.com/forums/topic/36370-long-lineshort-line-are-they-really-that-different/page/2/#comment-822955

August 21:
https://ballofspray.com/forums/topic/50608-how-to-keep-ski-on-edge-thru-the-wakes/#comment-839551

July 27:
https://ballofspray.com/forums/topic/50487-building-consistency-gradual-speed-increase-question/#comment-837815

https://ballofspray.com/forums/topic/49146-congratulations-jhughes-first-nationals-via-a-pb-at-regionals/#comment-445815

Are you suggesting that since the issue has been addressed but people continue to struggle with it, those who persist must be stubborn? Comprehending a concept and physically executing it are distinct challenges. Once a skill is mastered, it often seems effortlessly simple and obvious. I often see people instructing water skiers with this same attitude--imagine trying to learn a difficult concept at the same time as dealing with someone in the boat ridiculing your effort. 

21 minutes ago, Horton said:

When coaching where I get lost is the following situation. 

• The skier understands what a stacked or athletic position looks like. The end goal is crystal clear.
• The skier has a decent stack into the first white water
• The skier is a broken hot mess by the second white water.  Hips back / elbows are bent / back ankle is very bent / ass is dragging 
• I am in the Panda pose

 

As someone who does this often, I'm going to take a guess as to why:  I am pulling with my upper body instead of my lower (which does look like a stacked position), but the angle I have taken across the wake is untenable and by the time I have reached the second wake, I have separated from the handle and it is pulling me out of position. There is no way to keep a good position here because I have skied away from both the handle and the boat. 

Got one! 

I want to know more about that 2700-year-old woman. That's got to be some kind of record.

Awesome!

@adamhcaldwell You should know that I am showing this video to all of my English classes today. I don't know if making it into the high school English curriculum was on your bucket list, but you can cross it off now (at least from one school in Nor Cal).

PS -- We are coming to visit this summer! Looking forward to you teaching us how to do that.

Hey @jayski, I think you should do the bragging for them. No one wants to toot their own horn.

So, yes, please let us know the winner.

Hey, I bet it would be funny to create a caption contest on BOS and then never declare a winner. What do you think?

Let's do it.