Driving the Sweet Slalom Set

By Chris Eller, Current World Record Driver

Every driver has his or her own driving technique. He may use certain keys to help him stay consistent and must portray a certain air of confidence so the skier knows that he knows what he is doing. The driver must always put safety of the skier and the boat crew first and finally, must communicate with the skier to make sure all is well.

Some of the keys to driving a great slalom set are to pay attention to safety, to know your skier's ability, and to be confident in your ability to drive, but also know you can always do better. Relax! You are in control because you can make the difference between a horrible set and a great set for the skier.

First things first, make sure you have all of your skier's numbers set right in the cruise control. Pay attention to the size of your skier. If you have a lightweight, there is no need to go full boar around the turn. If you have heavyweight, get close, but not all the way, to their course speed in the turn so they aren't sinking.

When pulling a skier at their maximum speed, try to make everything else about their set relaxed and slow. Give the boat plenty of time to settle in once you engage the cruise control, but if you are on a long lake with a good setup don't run 36 mph for the entire run in for the course. There is no reason to be over aggressive with the throttle or to make quick, jerky movements with the boat. The last thing the skier should be thinking about is what the person in the driver's seat is doing.

Steve Schnitz once told me that he liked it when I drove because "the boat is quiet." When I think about this, I feel like my job is to drive without anyone being able to see or feel my movements or the boat's movements.

You have to get into a rhythm with your skier right away. I tell my wife, April, to think about letting the skier drive the boat...just do whatever is necessary to keep it in the middle of the course. Thinking about it this way lets me be like the skier and "release" them in the pre-turn and be there for them at the finish of their turn to keep the line tight. The trick is doing this at the right times. There is no set point for this and it simply comes with time in the boat and getting a feel for all levels of skiers. I have heard other drivers refer to this release as "shaking the skier off", sort of freeing them up for their turn.

Don't be afraid to ask the skier how it feels. You should not get responses like "the boat is running away from me" or "at the end of the turn it is like there isn't anything there." This means you need to adjust your timing of when you pick the skier up at the finish of the turn.

Learn something new each and every time you are in the boat and use skier feedback as a learning tool. Don't get offended if someone tells you the pull did not feel good. Find out why and show them how good it can be next time you get the chance to give them a pull.