Athleticism runs a long way in my family and I feel as though my unusually high level of athleticism has really helped me get into the ski course.
Up until my sophomore year in high school I played soccer and football at the same time with running track in the spring and swimming in the winter. After that I just did the football, swim and track. Ended up just running hurdles at DII level instead of playing football, thought it was gonna be safer.
Back to how I think it relates to water skiing. I have been skiing since I was 5 ish, but not serious until this last year. I found that even though I am still learning proper body position to run cleaner 36mph passes. Good athleticism has provided me a way to find my own unique style when skiing.
The athleticism helps keep skiing fun and keeps me out of some serious crashes, but the skill I have slowly developed for this great sport over the past year should be attributed to muscle memory and applied athleticism. Lastly, all these sports, especially college track, has helped so much for the mental side of skiing.
Thanks!