MarcusBrown

Corey Vaughn is a talented individual, in many ways. Here, at 180 frames per second, you can see why he's such a phenomenal water skier. He's one of the best at getting stacked out of the turn, and quickly moving his body ahead of his feet as the rope is coming tight. THAT is why he gets such quick acceleration into the wakes, and why he has time to gain width and height on the boat, before the next buoy approaches. ALSO, Corey is one of the best at not getting compressed through the transition zone. This idea of staying extended through the transition seems to be gaining quite a bit of buzz lately, and Corey is one of the best guys to watch and learn from.

Corey Vaughn is a talented individual, in many ways. Here, at 180 frames per second (that's super slowmo) you can see why he's such a phenomenal water skier. He's one of the best at getting stacked out of the turn, and quickly moving his body ahead of his feet as the rope is coming tight. THAT is why he gets such quick acceleration into the wakes, and why he has time to gain width and height on the boat, before the next buoy approaches. ALSO, Corey is one of the best at not getting compressed through the transition zone. This idea of staying extended/tall through the transition seems to be gaining quite a bit of buzz lately. At the FlowPoint Method, we believe the transition might just be one of the most overlooked and important section of the slalom course....and Corey is one of the best guys to watch and learn from.

@chris55 yes, exactly right! We're tryin' to do something that has never been done in water skiing!

@tjm thanks! We all know there are many factors that contribute to our success on the water: technique, equipment, fitness, nutrition, mindset, etc...Our goal was to create a program that brings all of that together in one place, for those of you who are committed to becoming better skiers. @chris55 just keep in mind, this video example above, is just part of a full discussion on how to maximize Outbound Swing (one of the fundamentals on the FPM water ski pyramid). But this concept of handle low, is not something most skiers need to be working on. Its best applied at shorter rope lengths, when the skier is swinging further up beside the boat, and needs an additional tool to manage the skis desire to continue swinging away from the handle. More importantly, as you noted, focusing on keeping the arms close to your body through the transition is a key fundamental in creating outbound swing and good rhythm. Just remember, if you are having trouble extending your reaching arm too early in the turn, it could be that your arms are already getting pealed away from your body too soon through the transition moving outbound. And if that is happening, one thing that helps me personally, is to make sure I'm fully stacked in my athletic stance on my lean into the wake. If you can accelerate in the correct position, and feel your arms tight to your body into the wakes, its much easier to control the position of your body relative to your arms moving outbound.

Ski Width does not equal True Width, before the buoy. There are quite a few misconceptions in water skiing. The sport has suffered from a lack of true understanding, when it comes to how skiing works. One of the greatest misunderstandings is the idea that projecting your ski and/or feet outbound, will get you width before the buoy. Actually, this idea couldn't be farther from the truth. The number 1 determining factor when it comes to a skier gaining width (and space) before a buoy, is directly related to their ability to maintain rope tension through the transition and into the turn. The more rope tension the skier has, swinging out to the buoy, the more energy and "whip" they will receive from the boat. Now, I know this idea of "whip" sounds scary, but its actually what all good skiers do. The more energy you can harness from the boat, moving outbound from centerline, the higher you will swing around the boat....and the sooner you will get to that 'high' point beside the boat. So, anytime the ski shoots or projects too quickly outbound through the transition, that ski HAS TO land on the inside edge. When it does that, it immediately starts pushing the skier back inward, toward the boat, and effectively reduces the line tension...which stops the skier from receiving Outbound Swing energy from the boat. The goal should always be to use the boat, not fight it. Knowing how best to navigate the transition to reach maximum width before the buoy is the first step to implementing the right moves in your own skiing. Ultimately, mastery related to this concept will help you become the best skier you can be.

@chris55 CP is one of the best in the game! @Dockoelboto Thats great insight! And you aren't alone....often times, one of the biggest barriers to improvement for any skier, is overcoming the real fear of going out the front, when attempting to find a more balanced position on the ski. However, I think you truly felt that the more you trust the position of athletic stance, the more you end up actually decreasing the likelihood of going out the front. When a skier's weight is back, the ski is almost always more tip-up, tail-down. Generally speaking, the more tip-up the ski is, the more drag it creates. The more drag a ski has, the more likely a skier is to go OTF. Simplified concept, but you see (and I think you felt) how the flatter the ski is, the less drag it has....which gives you that more effortless acceleration into the wakes. Thanks for sharing!

@SlalomSteve Haha! The first rule of Dread Maintenance is, there are no rules.

@Dockoelboto @Skoot1123 thanks guys! When building out the technical approach (theory and concepts) for FPM, it became apparent that the simplest & cleanest approach would be to develop a Water Sky Pyramid, based on a prioritization of key fundamentals responsible for sustainable progress. Athletic Stance is the base of that pyramid, and, as I mentioned in the vid, something that any skier of any ability level can return to throughout the season to keep in check. Problems can almost always be traced back in time to a more fundamental deficiency. Often, Athletic Stance is the culprit....the acceleration, the transition, the pre-turn...all require some form of Athletic Stance. In the FPM content, we'll cover this basic fundamental from every angle possible, along with the other 8 fundamentals in the pyramid. @Skoot1123 sounds like a great mother's day gift to me!! ;)

Here's a peek at some of the content you'll have access to, as a FlowPoint Method member. If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.

Sorry about that guys....should be better now.

Hey guys, some of you knew we were working on something behind the scenes, but we haven't said much about it yet. @JennyLaBaw and I have been pretty busy putting this program together, and we are happy to finally launch it to you all. We've already got over 100 videos, articles and pdf's dealing with every topic you can think of relating to becoming a better skier: Technical aspects of Water Skiing, Fitness, Nutrition, Mindset, daily programming for off-water workouts, as well as on water skiing ski sets, drylands drills, and huge discounts....and a lot more content in the pipeline. Take a look at this video that explains a bit more about the program, and let us know if you have any questions we can help you out with! We truly hope this platform becomes something that changes the game for a lot of competitive skiers, by giving them all the tools they need, in one place, to help them create lasting results on the water! For more info, check out https://www.flowpointmethod.com/the-program

Wow guys!...thanks for all the positive feedback! Was fun to sit down with both Wade and Bob....I feel fortunate to get to do what I do, and be able to share it with you all out there. Many of you have been contributing to the sport for the past many decades, and its in large part due to your continued enthusiasm, interest, and support, that we still have a somewhat vibrant "sport" today. Gotta keep the stoke alive anyway you can, especially during these tough times!!

@Not_The_Pug if you can grab video of a couple passes, feel free to send it to me, and I can take a look. What are your numbers at the moment? Love to help out. Just sent you a direct message with my phone number. MB

@AdamCord that's good stuff. Agree for sure, especially with the chicken/egg reality. Makes for an incredibly difficult puzzle to solve.... Which is where this forum really shines, in my opinion, by giving people a reputable place to learn from a variety of experts on how to tweak, test and optimize their ski setups, body position/technique, objectives (on and off the water), etc... Internal optimization (technique, ski setup, health/fitness, overall objectives, etc..) should be an ever-evolving iterative process... I just feel that external optimization (ZO revisions/settings, octane, rope elasticities, pylon heights, etc...) are often too easy to become distracted by, and if people aren't careful, they are much more enticing than the "Internal" factors, and they can easily slip down the rabbit hole. Also, if/when COVID-19 has come and gone, you and @adamhcaldwell should make a trip out here to The Ridge for some lake time with @twhisper and I.

@6balls there is definitely a need to optimize the ski for shorter line dynamics, if that is the goal. Skis that feel perfect at your first couple passes are usually not fully optimized for shortline geometry. Again, I think it should go back to a basic understanding of what the actual end goal is for shortline performance....a ski that allows you to effectively Stivot (steer/pivot the ski into a yaw or slip orientation into apex) without requiring an abundance of foot pressure input to make that happen, becomes a key factor in being able to maintain the optimal path into and out of apex, at shortline. @AdamCord Great points! I apologize for the confusion on my original comment: I was assuming body position was already a given....."If you are not at least semi-proficient at smearing your ski on command (controlled skid without falling off the back of the ski)" i.e., if you "hammer a turn" as you pointed out, but lose position (fall off the back of the ski), then obviously 35 (and 38) are probably out of the question. To take it a step further, you are correct: if you do not first follow the rules of physics, and put your body in a stance and position to properly accept the forces through your feet and shoulders, then the rest is mute. That should be a fundamental assumption, as acceleration (development of speed, which results in angle cross course) is fully dependent on body position and force alignment/generation. Assuming the above, the better a skier can Stivot (control and command the ski into various degrees of yaw/slip) the more consistent they will be at achieving and staying on an optimal path without excess slack, especially as the line gets shorter and the shape of the turn at apex is necessarily a tighter and tighter radius. And yes, details do matter: quality control of all the initial starting parameters is key (ZO setting, good driving, ski/binding setup, etc...). AND, some of these parameters can be highly individualistic, so by all means, experiment and tweak until you fall into the settings you like (and until you find a driver that drives good enough that you don't notice them as a factor). BUT, once you find those initial starting parameters, lock them in, and try not to obsess about them. The additional improvements that can be gained by tweaking beyond that point, pale in comparison to the gains that can be made by focusing on fundamentals: technique/body mechanics, ski setup, mental and physical game.

For me, after a 25 year evolution of learning to apply fundamental physics principles to water skiing, that journey has led me to where I am now - trying to explain the complex nature of slalom skiing, in the simplest terms possible. I DO believe a precise understanding of what the hell is actually happening (in 3D space, using proper kinematic terms and analysis') is a necessary prerequisite for the coach (and skiing aficionado), to then be able to dictate/articulate that to the skier. However, to relate the real-world "complexities of what is happening" in a way that gets a skier to address a fundamental deficiency on the water....I am of the opinion that the simplest and cleanest of explanations, are the holy grail...in terms of evoking consistently positive change in a skiers performance over time. That is what "we", as coaches (and skiers), should be striving for....especially when we are trying to identify a single factor that separates the men from the boys. So for me, pitch/roll/yaw in 3D space, can be simplified (for the purposes of what separates those that can consistently complete 38 off from those that cannot) into 2 types of turns: Carving turn = a term describing a situation where the ski tracks an arc through the water, in which the tail of the ski closely follows the path of the shovel of the ski....i.e. the ski is "pointing" the direction it is traveling. Its a simplified term, because a water ski never truly tracks, due to the fundamental nature (density) of water. Smear turn (or Stivot) = a turn where the ski is actually steered or pivoted into a direction such that the ski is now "slipping" - i.e. the ski is not pointing the direction the ski/skier is traveling. Also, I DO think there is an awful lot of conflated or misinformation floating around out there about things that have less than a 0.2% ROI when properly optimized. I'm willing to bet there are literally a handful of skiers in the world (if that) who, in a double blind study, could tell the difference between ZO settings or octane level in the fuel. The majority of the ROI for a skier wanting to improve, rests in 3 things: Improvement of technique or body mechanics, ski setup optimization and mental approach. **with the factor of overall fitness and health being a fundamental prerequisite or "ante" to even be able to play the game at all.

@Zman its hard to sit down and make enough time as of late, to answer these questions thoroughly. I'd just say that there are a couple key things that allow a skier to proficiently smear: 1. Understanding the ideal path they should be on, and why appropriate yaw (non-tracking of the ski) at the right time, is ideal. 2. Ski setup. To @wawaskr 's point, some skis (and ski setups) are more free to yaw or smear than others. @wawaskr the Alpha has proved to be a bit more "free" in that regard, relative to the Syndicate Pro. But the Omega is definitely a ski to test as well, if that's what you are looking for. @adamhcaldwell I've found that 38 seems to be the breaking point for carve vs smear, or tracking vs yawing, into and out of apex. This is, of course, dependent on the height of the skier, but the general reality is that 90% of skiers probably cannot run 38 off without some form of a controlled smear just prior to and through apex.... Even when a pass starts with perfect timing and there is nothing to salvage, the physics and geometry of the slalom skier moving through a slalom course make it next to impossible to complete all 6 using only a carved turn. Now, factor in the human element at the start of the course, and you realize that almost no one will get consistently perfect starts, every single pass....which gets to your point: without the skill of smearing, a skier will almost never be able to consistently run 38, perfect start or not.

One Fundamental thing separates the men from the boys: If you are not at least semi-proficient at smearing your ski on command (controlled skid without falling off the back of the ski), you have little chance of ever consistently running 38 off. You can carve your way thru 35....at 38, that no longer works. The rest of the stuff is just details.

@ALPJr I'm sure you, and others, are already aware of the HO Demo program, but just incase you hadn't heard about it yet, here's a link with more info: https://hosports.com/demo I don't think it would be wrong for me to say its the best Demo program in the industry, and honestly its the best way to sample all the high end skis (and hardshell boot) HO Builds, to see what works best (and maybe better than your current ski) for you.

Here's another FPTV episode for you all...this time, its Mr. WaterSki Podcast himself, @Luzz Hope you all get something out of this one! Matteo Luzzeri is professional water skier (Team Syndicate), tournament organizer (San Gervasio ProAm, Italy) and pretty much has his PhD in Sports Psychology...he's also got his own podcast: The Water Ski Podcast - http://www.thewaterskipodcast.com/ This past September, MB sat down with Matteo in the Motorhome for this little chat.

Thanks for all the positive words and feedback guys! I’m taking notes... Hoping to be able to grab some interview time with some of those people in the coming months!!

Thanks all, for the words of encouragement! It really does help people like @Luzz and I to hear that you guys are enjoying this stuff....cuz it takes a time commitment and sometimes you wonder if its all worth it or not. So here's another one: Chris Parrish, from the Syndicate Team testing session last fall. Hope you guys enjoy. Let me know who/what you'd like to see/hear more of on the FlowPointTV interview series.

@lhoover @kc @LOTW I hear you. I do. And I'll make an effort to curtail my natural instincts in that department. But I do need to apologize, in advance, for the coming weeks of podcasts....as they have already been recorded, and I cannot go back and undo the words that were said. I would like to note real quick, that if kids hear me say a few curse words every so often, I think that's quite a bit better than hammering back alcohol in front of them by the lakeside every weekend. Also, if a kid decides to watch/listen to an hour long interview about the sport of water skiing, then they are a special kind of kid....and in that case, I hope they can wade through some of my shortcomings, to find and learn things that get them fired up about this life on the water.

@Bulldog @MuskokaKy Thanks guys. Trying to create stuff that is entertaining, interesting and hopefully a bit informative. I know @Luzz is trying to do the same. Fun to see content creation diversifying with Matteo's podcasts, Horton/Trent show, Rini and the Ultimate Skier series, Vince and Tony with the webcasts, all the collegiate teams producing content, etc... In the absence of water skiing on mainstream TV (which is where I first saw Wade Cox, and became a key reason I wanted to water ski) I think this new form of content creation is one of our best hopes of growing the sport. And I do think growing the sport is a good thing. Over the weekend, I had the good fortune of doing a live premiere, with HO Skis, of the latest Collegiate Waterskiing FlowPoint episode, in front of 250+ water skiers that were all under the age of 25. It was pretty sweet! And it gave me hope that there is a future generation of enthusiastic skiers, ready to fill in when we all begin to fade out... Although I will say, the fact that @Horton dad was still jumping at age 98, I don't think he or BOS is going to fade anytime soon.