Ski School for a day...? / Pro Ski Coach Water Ski Forum

dwallar · #1 Thu, Jul 8, 2010 6:01 PM

Hi Everyone,

If you've read my post "Crunching Forward while crossing the wake" you know the background.

Well, I've been trying some drills and have no trouble doing the pullout drill that Seth does in his video. But as soon as I try and hold that position while crossing the wake I still crunch forward and have had several tumbles over the front on my offside. I almost always get spray in the face on my offside too....my onside is somewhat stronger and better.

Anyway, I am getting a bit frustrated (and scared that I'm going to break something ...I'm 53) so I've decided to do a one day ski school. Apparently I'll get some dry land training and then about 6 sets of 4-6 passes for the day with an Instructor to myself for the whole day.

I was wondering what you guys think of this and whether you had a tips on how to maximize my day. I have a concern about being able to get out of the bed the next day. Will I handle 6 sets in a day? I am pretty fit but at my age I ache for days after 2-3 passes on my bay at the cottage.

I only get to ski about 10-15 times a summer so I am wondering if I'll ever break my old habits (been skiing since I was 9) and whether this is money well spent.

All comments welcome.

Oxmach · #2 Thu, Jul 8, 2010 6:11 PM

Wow, 6 sets.... personally I've never heard of that. Alot of places will go with 3 and some people find that by the 3rd they are too tired to properly position themselves.

I would definitely go for coaching, and maybe 3 of the sets are dry land(?) Best advice to ensure you get your monies worth would be to check out the coach by the set or packages of other sites.

Based on your comment of being sore after a usual day, I don't think a full 6 is in the cards, but only you know your fitness level

Killer · #3 Thu, Jul 8, 2010 6:35 PM

Where are u dong ski school? 6 sets/day is too much. Im 30 and try not to ski more than 6-8 sets/week in 3-4 days so my body can heal

Wheres the cottage?

miski · #4 Thu, Jul 8, 2010 6:50 PM

6 sets is crazy - especially to be in learning mode - 3 is max IMO for my middle age recovery time and not-so-consistent novice skiing.

Ski school is great - but you would likely be able to make good advances on basics w/ video coaching. When I first started skiing again a few years ago, I made pretty big gains w/ a couple sets of video coaching. Then when I made the trip to FL for in-person coaching, there was more for me to work on.

dwallar · #5 Thu, Jul 8, 2010 6:57 PM

Hey Killer....check your PM.

Don

dwallar · #6 Thu, Jul 8, 2010 7:16 PM

Actually, I was wrong...it's only 4 sets in a day...so I assume 2 in the morning and 2 in the afternoon...I think I could handle that....but I know I'll still be sore...oh well, no pain, no gain, right?

CoreyHumburg · #7 Thu, Jul 8, 2010 7:38 PM

You need to listen to your body throughout that day. If each set is 6 passes MAX, maybe you can be productive into the fourth set. However, as a coach and overly passionate skier, I am skeptical that anyone can continue to progress they way they would like to on their 4th set of the day. The far better option would be to ski 4 sets over two days - two (highly productive and focused) sets per day. Breaking forward at the waist on the offside cut is a very common problem and one I would be happy to converse with you a little bit about if you would like. Chances are you are riding from the buoy into the wakes with too much pressure on your back foot and all of your alignment over that back leg and then upon hitting the wake you are getting thrown forward. This is not one of those easy fixes but it is fixable. It will take time and commitment, as well as some good input from a good coach. I hope you have a great day at ski school!

dwallar · #8 Thu, Jul 8, 2010 7:50 PM

Thanks Corey.

Actually, I think I am crunching forward in the turn because I am anticipating (scared of) the pull from the boat after the relative "glide" of the turn. I crunch from turn to turn. The thing I need to do is get my hips forward, handle lower, and chest out. When I look at pictures of you good guys I notice that you are leaning away from the handle REALLY far. Like your butt is not far from the water in the pro pictures. I think I'm afraid to do that thinking that I'll acclerate so fast and hit a dangerous speed. But I KNOW that going through the wakes on edge is actually much safer than going through like I do...flat. But knowing and doing seem to be my problem.

GSM-Peter · #9 Thu, Jul 8, 2010 8:19 PM

Hi

I am just a beginner and I have also had silmilar fear for the wake.
My way to keep my position over the wake was, I guess rather stupied - but it worked...

After the turn I just secure the right position and then I close my eyes for a second just focus on keeping the hip forward and handle low, legs bent, standing on the middle of the ski.
Ater a few runs I now seldom have that problem.

I am in similar situation as you, 52, been skiing since 8 a few runs per seson and resonably trained.
However I tend to agree with the experts. Not too many runs per day.

I took a half day course in June (3 longer runs) and yes it took a few days to recover.
We just focused on free running keeping position and rythm.
It was well worth the money. I will for sure do that a few more times.

Keep on having fun and why not come and ski in Sweden?
There are many features here:
- Cold water
- Often windy with waves:o
- Bright summer evnings:)
- Rather many clubs around, you are almost always welcome every where:cool:
- Low cost per run but expensice gas:|
- Great coaches (my coach Ulf is a really experinced coach)

Brgds

Peter

snow1122 · #10 Thu, Jul 8, 2010 9:15 PM

( But I KNOW that going through the wakes on edge is actually much safer than going through like I do...flat. But knowing and doing seem to be my problem. )

For me, like you I was afraid of crossing the wakes. As I crossed the wakes my ski bounced everywhere making me have OTF falls, pretty hard ones. I had to understand that by not being on edge I was creating my own problems. So, finally one day I got the picture, first and fore most I had to trust myself, next was to cross the wakes without looking down, keeping my knees soft and looking across course with my chin somewhat up. After few sets mission accomplished.
One more thing keeping the handle down as you cross the wakes will help bring your hips up.

My 2cents.Keep on skiing...........and smile..........

Snow

NoVaSkier · #11 Mon, Oct 4, 2010 5:48 PM

Re: Corey Humburg (above) - I can tell you Corey knows what he's talking about ---well-ranked in the nation and has a solid teaching method and great personality to work with. I'm working with him now after being off my ski for 15 years, and he's helping me make great progress. We set an objective at the beginning of the lesson and then accomplish it. I have a long way to go to make it through a course w/15@28, but I'm confident he'll have me there by early Spring (winter coming here in VA).

For you newer skiers (or plateaued skiers) --- if you haven't had lessons from a pro --- find one and make it happen! It'll save you years of agony and prevent "ingrained" poor technique. And.... do what I've had to do ... shut up and stifle the comments about "what I used to be able to do ....." ---- and just listen and ski! It's really hard to do, but it works and you'll feel better about the experience after each lesson.

Last edited by NoVaSkier (Tue, Oct 5, 2010 6:19 PM)

dleenhouts · #12 Mon, Oct 4, 2010 8:29 PM

I took a weekend vacation to South Carolina to ski at Trophy Lakes last spring, I did 3 sets of 8-10 passes for 2 straight days, and by the 3rd day it was all I could do to pick my suitcase up - and I'm 27. Yes, I did come out of it more knowledgeable, but I think it's more about quality than quantity. Think of it like a college course - you're much better off concentrating on one aspect one day, another aspect the next, etc., than trying to cram it all in the night before the final exam. Pick out one thing you want to work on with your form, be it keeping your hips up, handle at the hips, counterrotation, whatever, and keep that one thing in your head for each pass. Once it becomes habit, move on to something else. I think it makes more sense to gradually improve your form over time rather than to try to "shock" yourself into perfect form in one (very, very tiring) day.

WadeWilliams · #13 Mon, Oct 4, 2010 9:54 PM

I'd definitely recommend doing more than one day, and doing no more than 3 sets a day. If you want to be sustainable for several days stick with 2 sets a day, 3 sets a day sparingly when you are feeling solid in your first 2 sets. Your goal going to ski school is to learn as much as you can from the folks who are available to you. Trying to cram it all into one day is going to burn both you and the coach out. Also you probably get the chance to ski a lot since you're considering investing in some coaching... when you ski a lot you ingrain habits that are impossible to break in one day of all-out skiing. If one day is all you can manage that's one thing, but if you can do it on a 3 day weekend you'll come a way wiser.

NoVaSkier · #14 Thu, Oct 7, 2010 1:49 PM

Hey Snow1122 -- I share some of your thoughts --- Corey finally convinced me (and I actually applied it) that keeping my body in the right position across the course will keep me from going OTF across the wake. .....and, Shock of shocks --- it actually works. Eyes/chin up and down-course, body in better position --- yeah, I need more lean, but it'll come as I get more comfortable with more speed across the course. Felt much better when I applied it. Getting bent at the waist at the wake is death. (Still a rookie here.)

Last edited by NoVaSkier (Thu, Oct 7, 2010 1:51 PM)

snow1122 · #15 Thu, Oct 7, 2010 4:37 PM

Hello NoVaSkier,

Yeah!! I knew it would work for you, it sure did for me. I was stuck there as well, not trusting my wake crossings and oh boy like you taking huge OFT's, not fun. Keep the strong body position and don't look down, chin/eyes up. Once you get it there is no looking back you'll just keep on improving.
Also keep in mind to keep the handle low as you cross the wakes, that you help bring your hips up.
Finish your turn.... ski to the handle, don't rush here, then hands low... chin/eyes up and go...... then repeat.

Best of luck.

Snow