Help me shorten the line!

[jmvana1]

Please view this video of my 28 off pass at 32 MPH and help me improve. I realize there are many issues, but, what would be the most important issue for me to focus on at the start of my season this year?

 

[MISkier]

One thing that I noticed was that your hands (and handle) don't stay on your hip. They seem to be out in front of you and high as you pull through the wakes. That is standing you up somewhat and reducing your stacked position and your ability to keep the ski on edge. Keep the hands and handle on the hip with elbows jammed into the vest.

 

Others will probably have more insightful comments, but that is what I noticed.

[Wish]

Well, lets start from the start. To me that is always the most important thing to change if change is needed. You do sooo many things right once in the course I think a tweak to your start will help.

 

To me your pull out into the glide looks good. I say try for more width and to be further up on the boat. You start at the low end of the pendulum and it sticks with you all the way though. Get higher on the boat or pendulum before the glide. And when transitioning into to glide, move your whole body (shoulders included) to face down course (you vision can stay the same but cant tell from vid where your looking). If you get higher, farther up on the boat you will find this easer to do as it will free you from the pull of the line which pulls your shoulders and everything else inward (not talkin slack here but no real pull either). Think of it as a clock. The ski is pointing to the 12:00. As you come up out of your lean, position your hips and shoulders at 11:00. This will keep the ski, you and your shoulders from getting pulled in. In the video you shoulders and hips are at 1:00 the entire glide. Maintain 11:00 in a taller more balanced stance until your ready to go. Then release your hips to 1:00 and let everything just roll from there like you do. But again, your pull out looks good. So, get up farther on the boat and free yourself from the line. Hips/Shoulders to 11:00 nice and tall for the glide. Then hips to 1:00 and the rest should follow. This will solve some of what is happening in the course and will set you up to be and stay earlier and wider throughout the pass.

 

Just before the gates (and could just be this run) I see you let go of that locked stacked edging position (which you do very well) a little to early. Keep that till the center of the wake. Can even focus on this a little out of each ball. I love your pre turn and turn at 1 ball.

 

At 2 ball (off side and we all do it) your getting on the line to soon and the ski does not finish all the way evident by only half the ski in the water from hook up to centerline. There's many ways to say waiting for the ski to finish but try to keep the free hand way and let the hip come to the handle before grabbing it. Cool thing is you wont have to reach for it. It'll be right there.

 

After that it's just more of the same. But, you have AMAZING patients. There is no panic or the scrapping to "catch up". That is HUGE in my opinion! Keep that and bring it to your next loop for sure.

 

You ski very well. It will take no time at all to put 32 in the books.

 

Best of luck.

[rockdog]

Wow is that me??? Same things to work on, get those hips up and handle in and you will be stacked pretty well I think. As @wish says also, need to get a bit higher up on the boat on your glide. Looks good otherwise IMO.

[Wish]

Look at Ragina and where here shoulders, hips and handle are in the glide. To get there try thinking of 11:00 and not just facing down course. And she has to be far enough up on the boat in order to be free from any real pull to face all of that down course or in that 11:00 position tall and balanced. Then she releases her hip and off she goes.

 

Then look at how she holds that stacked, loaded edge to the centerline.

 

Then look at the off side and how she does not really reach for the handle. Her hip and free hand elbow are still relatively close together all the way around till the handle gets closer. No real reach for the handle and the ski finishes all the way. Love watching her ski and make no mistake. You do a lot of things right that look just like Ragina.

.

 

[6balls]

Going to 1,3,5 you maintain better connection of handle to hip, and your hips actually get out in front of the handle after the wash casting you outbound.

Going to 2,4,6 you lose connection earlier and break just a bit at the waist...your shoulders come forward and your hips go rearward separating you from the handle and giving up leverage at a critical point when you want that leveraged kick to outbound. Going to 2,4,6 drive those hips forward and outbound through the wake and off the wash.

[GOODESkier]

@6balls AMEN BROTHER. Exactly what I was going to say! To any extent, something most of us have to work on when the line gets short enough.

[Gloersen]

What @6balls stated but consider what is happening that leads to this. Typically a breakdown in technique several steps in advance of the obvious is at issue.

 

Coming out of your offside buoy (2/4) the stack from buoy line to spray is good. As you edge transition and cross the 2nd wake going into the onside buoy your good leveraged shoulder lean comes up a bit which is tolerable, but your connection with the handle should be maintained. While you’ve done plenty from buoy to wake and have created space, this separation from the handle causes a lack of maintained out bound direction and less line tension. As you approach the onside buoy this results in having to make a move with your upper body to get back to the handle. Thus instead of rotating the ski/lower body under the line, skiing the outside hand back to the handle, it appears there is tendency to pull the handle in with your left arm and come around with the right shoulder/arm to connect. This creates load with bent arms, butt back, and thus as has been described (more noticeable at 3/5).

 

Consider maintaining connection with the handle past the second wake by maintaining a “feel” of the right elbow along the vest (right anterior axillary line). Stay with the handle, focus on reaching at 1/3/5 in such a manner that allows you to ski back to the handle with a "straighter" left arm so at hook-up there is less pulling it in. Having a good leveraged lean from 1/3/5 (like your edge-out) to the offside will result in even a better offside and more space through the pass.

 

The initiation of your edge out is very good (stacked, leveraged, straight arms, connected). Being your heelside, that is the way you want to be positioned from 1/3/5 to the wakes.

Not being critical, your skiing looks quite good, just imho and a reflection of what I see in my own skiing that is always suspect. You’ll get many opinions here to sift.

 

It appears from the site you were getting pro coaching and that is the best way to get good advice!

 

[jmvana1]

Wow. All of these comments are just awesome. @Wish - thank you for posting the video of Regina, I want to ski like that! Thank you everyone for your input....I can't wait to get back on the water!

[ForrestGump]

Good skiing, Jeannette. One thing to think of that will help with the hips is to concentrate on squeezing your glutes together. Start doing this as soon as you get on top of the water and before pull you out and start building that muscle memory. You've got a really long setup so use that time to your advantage. It'll feel stiff at first, but in a bit of time will really help. You'll find that it will keep you from rotating the shoulders back across before the hips so you get back to the handle with better body alignment. And the more you keep those glutes engaged through the pass, the more your hips are up over your feet and center of the ski which will be most noticeable in the edge change and glide outbound.

[thager]

@jmvana1 Nice skiing ,but my .02 cents is get wider on your gate then stay there. Looked like most of your glide was on the inside edge of the ski causing you to drift in loosing the potential energy and angle a wider hookup gives you. That also should give you more carry out and make it easier to keep hips up and arms in.

[ToddL]

FWIW, the 11 o'clock concept on the glide really helped me maintain width during my glide before the gates. Also, the concept of moving from 11 to 1 o'clock seems to result in a better stack and smooth turn-in until fully in the lean at the white water before the gate. I'd say practice this first for several times. Then, add @6balls's suggestion headed to 2/4/6. Thankfully, these two elements are sequential. Thus, you fill your head with 11/1 o'clock during the pullout, and once you are in the pass, you empty that from your head and think about position on your way to 2/4/6. Honestly, I can only truly "think" about 1 thing at a time during actual skiing in the course. On the dock, I can visualize the pass and think about several things as a reminder. But while atop the water, it is 1 at a time. I do this: once up, check stance (forward, stacked, balls of the feet, front foot, chest up, etc.); then 11/1 o'clock during the lean out and glide, then only 1 thing during the buoys... (For you: Hips fwd outbound to 2/4/6. For me, during the course it is "keep the handle with head up outbound".)

[MattP]

@jmvana1 some great advice here from the ballers! Keep us updated on your progress this season!

[Wish]

Just as a side note. The gate change (11:00/1:00 thing) WILL mess with your timing a great deal. This is a concept, like @ToddL suggest, that is really easy to think about. I still hear myself say 11.....ok 1. But, my first try I missed the gates by a mile because I was now higher on the boat (the VERY top of the pendulum), I was not drifting in, and the move to the gate was so simple. But, in a few passes it was easy to retime it all because it is a way to keep it consistent. Give it plenty of time to get the timing down. And video video video to recognize and see the change. I have a sneaky feeling that once you start your pass at a much higher point in the pendulum (which in turn gets maintained all the way down the course), and incorporating the new consistent glide, a lot of the other problems will disappear. Your just to good for them not to. You will be with the boat rather then the boat getting away from you. That causes all kinds of trouble. Handle separating from the hip, reaching early as the boat is running away, hips dropping cause the pull came soon and hard.

[jmvana1]

Thanks everyone! So, based on comments received, here is my summary to read and visualize before each pass:

 

1. Squeeze gluts from start to finish.

 

2. Check stance: (forward, stacked, weight on balls of feet, soft knees, chest up)

 

3. For lean out, hips and shoulders face down course. Get wider and higher to be free of boat pull.

 

4. For glide, shoulders + hips face 11:00, then for turn into gate release hips to 1:00 and go.

 

5. Off 1,3,5 Alignment before load. Ensure right hip and free hand return to the handle at the same rate, allowing to realign before engaging the rope.

 

6. Stay consistent through whole pass.

 

7. Ski like Regina!

[Gloersen]

good analytics.

 

5.5 keep upper body leaned/leveraged and stay connected with handle through edge transition.

 

8. study others; ski like you!

 

[jmvana1]

@Gloersen thank you for your comment and the video of April. She has coached me and is truly one of the best women skiers...and on top of that she is such a good example for our sport!