slalom ski
Interview with “John Horton”
So, on a recent trip out to Southern California, I was able to put together a brief interview with John Horton…at least this guy told me he was John Horton…seemed a bit young, but sounds a lot like him, so I guess it must be him. I was entertained by his authenticity. If you don’t know John…maybe you shouldn’t watch. Enjoy regardless.
–Seth Stisher
Blog is Alive and Well
So, it’s been a while since I have updated the water ski tips blog. I apologize for that. I credit this partly to being crazy busy (thankfully) and part of it to being a little disorganized with my internet-based efforts. Problem solved now! Stay tuned for updates here on this site that include, but will not be limited to:
- waterski tips
- H2Oz News
- anecdotal water ski thoughts
- driving tips
- tips on coaching others
- and anything you let us know you’re interested in.
So to get us rolling, here is a video of Brooks Wilson who I have been training with in preparation for the Global Invitational. He is a solid skier and much younger than me (meaning that his potential is yet to be fully realized even though he already rips). Enjoy! Hope your season is going well!!!!
Making Changes
Jim McLaughlin from Houston, Texas sent me this quick tip/thought and I felt like it epitomized some of what we all feel when it comes to truly training. I know that I have caught myself in this rutas often as not. Thanks for the thought Jim.
——————————————————–
MAKING CHANGES
So, why can’t most people make the desired changes in their games to improve? According to Vic Braden, it’s because the pain of making a specific change is greater than the pain of losing to the same people over and over again that they perceive as better players than they are. And, the deepest psychological reason for not making the change seems to be that students are afraid of being even “lousier” than their current playing level and that they would lose any self esteem they previously possessed.
The obvious realistic solution would be to tell the players who are going through changes to think of their 8 weeks of change as their time to be a member of a “mistake center.” Research indicates that when people have fun making changes in their games, that they’ll be more easily able to develop the right motor program in less time.
———————————————————
Finally got videos here!
Just wanted to make sure the videos with the training drills were on the Waterski Tips Blog…so here they are:
Slalom drills videos
Once a year or so I like to update the videos for some of our favorite slalom ski drills, etc. Click the link below to take a look at the updated videos with some notes as well on drill perfection. Hope you enjoy.
Momentum
Whether you are just learning to ski back and forth acros the wakes or you are running shortline slalom, momentum can be a powerful tool. The idea of carrying your speed and potential energy with you through the course helps to make you ski more effectively and more efficiently. In other words, once you start skiing back and forth or pull out for the gates if you are a course skier, you should never find yourself pausing in a static position.
Here are a few tips to keep things moving:
1-Initiate a transition out to the turning edge as you pass through the ”bottom of the swing” or in our case, the wakes. This means you need to carry your energy from the prevous turn all the way OUT to the turning edge of the ski.
2-Reach slowly. If you punch the handle out toward the pylon too quickly, you will often end up “paused” riding a flat trajectory down course waiting for the point where you need to turn.
3-Maintain your composure in the turns. There is no need to crank the turn so hard that you stop the ski…this causes you to give away energy to the boat in the very next phase.
Short and sweet, but super important. Email me if you have questions and I will clarify. Better yet, come ski with us at the H2Oz Training Center or host a clinic at your site.
Hope you’re having a great September.
“Dropping the hips” versus COM in desired direction of Travel…Dispelling the myths!
So it’s no surprise that at this point in the evolution of slalom skiing one of the biggest things I coach is for people to learn to move efficiently…with little to no waste or energy or direction. I speak a lot about moving in a positive direction versus a negative direction. This means you not only need to move across course, but with the boat as well. Without getting into the heavy details, the idea is that your center of mass should fall in the desired direction of travel rather than away from the boat or to the tail of the ski.
This is where I feel like I get misquoted as do many coaches and skiers…inevitably 9 out of 10 skiers say, “…yeah I understand about dropping the hips and everything…” or something to that effect. The funny thing is I purposely avoid the word “DROP” when referring to the hips at all costs.
Here are some different definitions for the word. The first four are exactly what you shouldn’t do and the fifth one is similar to what creates efficient positive movement, but again the definition suggests that the word would normally be followed by “down”. Nevertheless, I believe the word really tends to carry a connotation of a negative movement and should be avoided in describing our ideal movement through the turn and across the course.
drop [drop] noun, verb, dropped or dropt, drop⋅ping.
| 1. to fall vertically; have an abrupt descent. |
| 2. | to fall or move to a position that is lower, farther back, inferior, etc.: to drop back in line; to drop to the rear. |
| 3. | to squat or crouch, as a dog at the sight of game. |
| 4. | to cause or allow to sink to a lower position. |
| 5. | to move gently, as with the tide or a light wind (usually fol. by down). |
