How to get out of a slump?

[kpickett]

Help! How do I break out of a big slump? Every set I'm skiing worse and worse. I know what I'm doing wrong - I'm not keeping my arms in, I'm dropping my hand on my offside turn, I'm looking at the buoys, etc. I've had some good coaching this year. I was skiing well, and now I'm sucking.

 

I tried doing some freeskiing, which at least was fun. I've tried taking some time off. I think I'm falling out of love with my Prophesy. I went back to my F1, then back to the Prophesy, but it doesn't feel good. The F1 turns so nicely, but it makes me work so much harder in the pull. Got back on the Prophesy on Tuesday and took TWO out-the-fronts.

 

Any advice?

[slow]

I had the Prophecy. I skied great on it some days and really crappy the next. Just didn't know why. I bought a Strada this year and have skied much more consistant.

[Marco]

When I get into a slump, I start to overthink everything, making matters worse. To break the slump, I try to go out and "ski stupid", not focusing on specific technique minuta, but instead on more general things like rythm, tight line, etc.  Actually, I do focus on one thing, good gates.  A good start can help resolve problems that appear further downcoiurse.  High on the boat at the start is the one thought process that brought me out of my latest slump...

[kpickett]

Brent - I'm skiing at 34 on the Prophesy (but maybe back to the F1 tomorrow). I run 28 just about every time, and I was running 32 pretty regularly. Just started working on 35. Now, I'm even having trouble at 28, where I hadn't missed one for weeks before. Water has been around 90 throughout July. I'm running the slot fin on the Prophesy. I had a nasty fall just on a pullout a couple weeks ago, and I realized that my wing was just a tiny bit loose. When I run the stock fin, I get a little chatter on the ski, but the slot smoothed that out nicely.

[kpickett]

I had a great lesson with Seth Stisher, and he was working on getting me to move my hips off the wake toward 2 ball - my offside turn - to get a better transition and help keep me from dropping my arm at the ball. We also worked on getting higher on the boat and letting my ski cast out on my turn-in for the gate. I've been getting a lot higher on the boat, but I feel like I'm now pulling too long into 1 ball.

[RichardDoane]

take a week off and you'll get your strength back, you've probably been skiing a lot, I know I have

[skidawg]

What is the water temp, this time of year when it heats up scores go down wo an adjustment

[LeonL]

I always say "if you're in a slump, take a good look at your gate."  Go aout and really concentrate on getting the best gate you can and let everything else just happen.  Let us know.

[kpickett]

Skidawg - the water has been around 90, but it's a little cooler right now - mid 80s. What adjustment do you make?

[kpickett]

LeonL - Yeah. I think that's a good idea. But, I have been wondering if working on the gate is what has gotten me into the slump in the first place.

[Thomas Wayne]

"Cooler water ski adjustment would be .005 increase in DFT or you could try A wing angle increase instead (DFT is better though)."

Yeah... I don't know.  Some think the exact opposite fin adjustment is more appropriate - like Chris Rossi, for example, who writes:

"... As the water cools down, we start to lose that space before the buoyand see a drastic reduction in buoy count. Lets take a look at changeswe can make to help keep some of those buoys we tend to lose. I havelisted the suggested changes in the order that I change them.

• Move the Fin Back:
  When distance from tail (DFT) is decreased, the tail of the ski slides out less in the pre turn. This helps to keep the ski out in front of the skier more. When the water cools down, the main thing I feel is that my ski wants to suck behind me much quicker after the edge change. This causes me to get too much of the ski in the water too early, taking away width and speed before the buoy. If I am too far forward coming into the ball, then I will have to rock back at the finish of the turn or I will blow the fin out and fall. By moving the fin back, more ski will be out in front of you in the pre turn, helping to set up the best turn possible. My general rule of thumb is to decrease DFT by 0. 003 inches for every 10 degrees of water temperature loss..."

Clearly opinions vary.  Who to believe... who to believe...

TW

http://www.proskicoach.com/gear/cold_water_ski_setup/

 

[Bdecker]

I feel your pain- similiar issues- and I have the same 2 skis, same line lengths at 36.  This morning I resisted the urged to go down the rope, focused on edge changes and looking down course, and it helped significantly.   For me, I suspect it's a confidence issue after a hard OTF, then I missed a couple of missed easy passes and bam - nasty slump.  For me it is overthinking, rushing, and pulling too long in on-side turns, not equipment...  You'll get it back-  run a bunch of back to backs on a length you're comfortable with (-28), each should get easier/ ie- less effort. 

[Thomas Wayne]

"Is this Skifly?"

No, silly, this is BallofSpray.

Here's an easy way to tell the difference: look up near the top of your screen and you will probably see a little window containing a bunch of gobbledegook-like letters that begin "http://www...".  That's called a "URL", and it tells your Internet browser where to go to find specific websites.  It's also a handy reference for determining what website you are currently visiting.

Because the text following that whole "http://www...." part reads "ballofspray.com" we know that this is the BallofSpray website, and not the "Skifly" website you reference whenever someone has an opinion that differs from yours.

TW

[clemsondave]

FYI, I move my fin forward in warmer water; back for cooler water. To get out of a slump, go a couple passes back from your hardest. Run it over and over focusing on the fundamentals. Pretty much what I'm going to do today!

[Jody_Seal]

Petron helps me out of my slump!!!

[Thomas Wayne]

 

"Petron helps me out of my slump!!!"

That's funny, 'cause Bulleit always helps me get into my slump!  WWSFD*?

TW

*("WWSFD" = what would skiflyers do?)

 

[Ed_Obermeier]

We've all always had better luck moving the fin back (reducing dft) in warmer water, forward (increasing dft) in cooler.  When the water is warmer it's softer and the tail sets deeper, bringing the tip up.  To get the tip back down reduce dft.  Works for most of the folks I know/ski wtih.  FWIW.

Ed

[Bill Gladding]

Inconsistent and can't keep your arms in?  For me that means stand tall on the ski.  Sometimes a slump is literally that.  Just before you pull out for the gates push your chest up and straighten your body out.  When you make your move left soften your knees just a litte but maintain the tall body position while driving your ribs into your elbows.  Same thing when you turn in for the gates.  Stay tall and drive your ribs into your elbows.  When you are not tall on the ski there are too many weaknesses for the boat to exploit and you won't get a good swing going.  No leverage + no swing = no fun:(

[greghayes]

I find that the best way to shake a slump is to get out to a different site, behind a different boat.  http://www.ballofspray.com/vanillaforum/js/tinymce/jscripts/tiny_mce/plugins/emotions/images/smiley-laughing.gif

[h2odawg79]

Guaranteed quickest way out of a Slump: 

Maybe the Hardest thing for any avid Athelete, but the most valuable at times is; "to just take a wk. to 10 days comepletely off"... Sometimes the mind body and spirit get wore down and at the same time we think we need to "try even Harder" and "practice even longer" to get over a rut or to jump to the next level... Sometimes just getting away from the very things that we are practicing (both the good and the bad stuff) is priceless... 

Not to mention, practice does Not make perfect. Perfect practice, makes perfect! So, why continue to ingrain and perfect with practice, the very things that are tripping you up? (Physically and mentally...) -Ever watch the typical "Hack" out on the driving Range? Destroying himself Bucket after bucket after endless and Mindless Bucket, doing all the wrong things over and over and........??? 

Ever worked on a Car or something and been So frustrated and P/O'd because the Harder you tried, the More frustrated you got and you still could Not overcome the obstacle or get the threads to start? -Then take a little break and have lunch, come back and the parts just effortlessly go right together???? 

How does your Mind and Body go on "Auto=Pilot"  and Know how to pick up a Rock that it has never even seen or felt before, and throw it with unbelievable accuracy at a target it has never tried to hit before?  -Your Mind and Body are Amazing!  "If" you will allow them to be...  Just "Quit"!    Quit trying to "Over think it", Quit trying to "over do it",  Give yourself a much deserved Break and when you return your "Auto-Pilot" will be Refreshed and back on the job...

[kpickett]

Thanks, all, for the tips. I'm finally breaking out of the slump. Here's what helped the most - 1. Bill's suggestion of standing tall (echoes what Seth told me in a lesson). 2. Working on getting high on the boat and rolling in slowly for the gate (thanks, Phil). 3. Really focusing on being square behind the boat, especially not letting my left shoulder get closed on my offside pulls. 4. Initiating an actual edge change on offside, rather than just skiing to the ball and cranking a turn.

I could only work on these things one at a time, so it took a little while, but they all helped.

I also went back to the Prophesy, and I put the stock fin back on. (I had been using the slot fin.) I added a little tip and reduced the wing to 8 degrees from 9. Things seem to be working a lot better. Started running that 32 pass again and got back to work on 35. Thanks for the good stuff on this board!

[aguylikeshark]

Going stock fin is a good idea this time of year.

 

Warmer water is softer = the whole ski is set deeper and (to me) there is less resistance. During the season I put my boots back to trim the ski up a bit so I can stand on the front without sinking it. In warm water the fin is less effective so you need a bit more holding power - which means either move back or add a bit of depth/area (per Andy Mapple). Wing to suit.

 

All depends on where you started from tho.