Get to Know Your Wilson Bros: Brooks Wilson

Mexico!

Just got back from a quick, fun trip to Mexico! It was a great tournament and we got to do lots of exploring and sight seeing. Mexico is an awesome place and the trip was a blast!

Making Moves

As skiers, we often get caught up in the intricate details that make up an entire slalom pass. The fastest anyone will get through a slalom course is, at most, 16.08 seconds. While that doesn't seem like a lot of time, think about all the movements that take place in that timeframe.  It is more time than most people realize. No two buoys will ever be the same.  There will always be something different about every turn or movement that is made. We tend to agonize and think about all the little things that happen in a pass and it can consume our thoughts. It is a waste of valuable time to over think these little moves. Instead, let's look at two big keys to work on every time you are in the course.

Being Connected

Chances are you have heard this term before but what does it mean? Put simply, being connected means that there is no separation between your hands and your body. When there is a separation between the two, it results in an inadequate pull from the boat. Getting a strong pull from the boat is necessary to get speed across the course and arrive at the next buoy. To establish this connection you have to move through the turn and have your hips move up to the handle from the start. If you turn and then try to establish this position it is too late and more than likely you are being pulled out of position by the boat. At the finish of the turn, focus on bringing your free hand to the handle simultaneously as your ski is coming back under the rope. When done correctly you will feel your hips and hands connecting at the finish of the turn. During this phase, focus on relaxing your arms as you use your core to keep your hips up to the handle. If this move is done correctly you can then adequately build speed cross-course from a connected position.

Keeping a Tight Line

Slack rope is no fun at all but how do you get a tight line? The key to keeping a tight line is to carry your direction away from the boat. If you begin to move back to the inside you carry your speed down the lake and end up with a loose line in the turn. By maintaining your connection off the second wake you allow all of your speed to be carried away from the boat resulting in a tight rope through the turn. As you exit the second wake focus on where your hands are, keep your handle and core together and feel yourself move over your front foot as you carry speed outbound. Keep holding this direction as you move toward the buoy. Concentrate on keeping both hands on the handle until the turn. By rushing your free hand off the handle you lose balance easier, keeping two hands on longer allows you to be in control. Once it's time to turn, take your free hand off the handle and rip through the turn with a tight line.

By focusing on keys like this during your set you are able to look at the crucial aspects of a good pass through the course.

Skierpalooza!

Skierpalooza took place at O.C. Waterski Club last weekend and it was awesome! We pulled ski rides all day Saturday and Sunday. A ton of new people got on Strada's and absolutely loved them. Saturday night there was an art show and fundraiser at the Villas of Grand Cypress and it was insane. Bill Doster's Art looked phenomenal and all the pieces got auctioned off to raise money for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. If you didn't make it down this year definitely do in the future, it was a blast. Check out the photos and video below.

K.C.'s a Cover Boy!

K.C. just scored the cover of the new Waterski Mag, go check your mailbox!

Misconceptions: Outbound Direction

As a skier moves off the second wake, it opens up a world of possibilities as to what line he can take into the bouy. I generally see people rush toward the buoy off the second wake, forcing them inside and down course before they can turn. This led me to write some articles talking about carrying direction away from the boat off the second wake. I want to take this time to dig a little deeper into that concept and see how that direction should be carried. As you exit the wake, maintain the connection between your hips and hands as you begin to move over your front foot. This move should be driven by your core and not your shoulders. Think about the line your handle would take if it stayed tight and moved up the boat into the turn. That's the same line that you as a skier want to take. If you try to take more direction than the boat will allow, you will experience an extreme disconnect between your lower and upper body. Forcing your feet outbound without your body results in long drawn out turns that  make becoming connected again difficult. By staying in an in-line, shoulders over hips over feet, position you allow yourself to be in control of the moves you make. Maintaining that connection is what gives you the strength to control exactly how much direction off the second wake you want. Don't come off the second wake and push your ski outbound thinking that's what gives you momentum outward. The outward momentum comes from moving everything together at the same time in the same direction. It all starts with the hips and hands connection off the second wake and works towards moving everything together over your front foot and into the turn. The key here is to ski an attainable line that puts you in the best position to carry speed through the turn. The more balanced and in control you are on your ski is what makes this possible. Making these moves fluid is key. All moves should be linked together in seamless fashion.

Skierpalooza

Radar has partnered up with the Prevent Cancer Foundation to bring you an awesome day of skiing at the end of April. If you can't make it out for the event please consider making a donation to the foundation. We all know someone who has been affected by cancer so check out http://skierpalooza.com and make a donation today!

Get to Know Your Wilson Bros: K.C. Wilson

K.C. lives and breaths slalom skiing. Watch a quick video of him training for the 2012 season.

Misconceptions: Light on the Line

This will be the first article in a three part series of misconceptions a lot of skiers have while on the water. I want to talk about being light on the line and what this concept actually means and how to incorporate it into your skiing. I have seen and heard a lot of people talk about trying to ski lighter and it translates to them just being very soft and not ever getting drive away from the boat after the turn. The idea in reality deals with carrying your speed throughout the entire pass. We feel fast on our skis due to intense acceleration. Acceleration comes from slowing too much in the turn and then trying to regain that spend instantaneously out of the turn. If speed can effectively be carried from the pullout and then carried throughout the course with minimal deceleration and acceleration then there is no need to have periods of massive acceleration which cause extreme amounts of load on the rope in a short time. The key to being light is staying connected throughout the pass, by maintaining connection off of the second wake you are able to carry your speed out and back through the finish of the turn and then begin an aggressive cut across the course. Failing to stay connected results in moving back to the inside and carrying speed down the lake with a loose rope. When the rope is loose in the turn it causes skiers to have to lose tremendous amounts of speed to regain balance. After that point the only way to regain speed is to load really hard out of the turn and accelerate quickly, thus land sliding the same process through the pass. In reality, the idea of being light on the line has everything to do with how well you control your speed in the course. Being aggressive behind the boat doesn't mean you are heavy on the line. Being heavy on the line comes from gaining all your speed instantly right off of the bouy. Instead, once your turn is complete and angle is set begin to rebuild your speed progressively all the way through the second wake. At this point you can begin to carry that speed and direction out to the next bouy. Slowing in the turn is inevitable, how you deal with that speed is what allows you to be light on the line. In the turn, move away from the boat until you move back through the turn. By doing this, you prevent yourself from being stagnant on the ski which causes imbalance and a loose line. Remember that controlled speed is your friend and by carrying that speed throughout the entire course you are in control of the actions you make. 

A Late April Fools