Inliner
06-18-2004, 06:12 AM
Being one of the primary boat drivers has serious disadvantages at times. Over the last month or so, myself and a friend have got a little frustrated over our lack of serious ski time resulting from our success as boat drivers. After a particularly bad weekend, I decided that it was time for me to start being selfish.
My selfish time began Sunday. I put a friend behind the wheel of the boat and made him pull me for several sets consisting of numerous butter laps around our home lake early in the morning while I practiced technique. I concentrated on doing wake slalom while maintaining proper body position and trying to hold my edge properly through the wake at slower speeds. One of our disabled skiers watched as my buddy and I did this and after we finished and it was his turn, he asked to do the same thing in his sit ski. Amazingly, he had an on day as well.
Tuesday I was driving my wife and a friend of hers with her coach in the boat while they worked on tricks. During a lull, I put her coach behind the wheel and went at it again. It was the same thing as Sunday. Numerous laps and sets just doing wake slalom with emphasis on technique and edging.
Today it all came to a head. My fellow boat driver who started this routine and I were on the lake Thursday ripping sets again. I pulled him barefooting until his legs gave out and he in turn did likewise for me. In my final set, I literally ripped the lake apart. I was nailing offside turns the same as I was onside turns and pulling edges all the way through the wake like they were nothing. The disabled skier who I was working with Sunday was with us again Thursday and he sat and watched while this occured. His statement to me when we got back in was "WOW, you guys were throwing up unbelievable walls of water"!
Everyone in our group had an on day Thursday. My wife (a disabled skier) held her 180 for 3 seconds (skiing backwards) for the first time. We have been teaching our other disabled skier how to wake slalom. He had trouble crossing my wakes (he is an MS skier) from the get-go. Last night he nailed a personal best average of 4.5 crossings in 20 seconds. We burned out my fellow boat driver to the point where he actually said "I've had enough". My best ski buddy began learning to barefoot for the first time. I could go on and on. But the best way to put it is it was on ON day. Have you had one of those lately? They just don't come often enough!
My selfish time began Sunday. I put a friend behind the wheel of the boat and made him pull me for several sets consisting of numerous butter laps around our home lake early in the morning while I practiced technique. I concentrated on doing wake slalom while maintaining proper body position and trying to hold my edge properly through the wake at slower speeds. One of our disabled skiers watched as my buddy and I did this and after we finished and it was his turn, he asked to do the same thing in his sit ski. Amazingly, he had an on day as well.
Tuesday I was driving my wife and a friend of hers with her coach in the boat while they worked on tricks. During a lull, I put her coach behind the wheel and went at it again. It was the same thing as Sunday. Numerous laps and sets just doing wake slalom with emphasis on technique and edging.
Today it all came to a head. My fellow boat driver who started this routine and I were on the lake Thursday ripping sets again. I pulled him barefooting until his legs gave out and he in turn did likewise for me. In my final set, I literally ripped the lake apart. I was nailing offside turns the same as I was onside turns and pulling edges all the way through the wake like they were nothing. The disabled skier who I was working with Sunday was with us again Thursday and he sat and watched while this occured. His statement to me when we got back in was "WOW, you guys were throwing up unbelievable walls of water"!
Everyone in our group had an on day Thursday. My wife (a disabled skier) held her 180 for 3 seconds (skiing backwards) for the first time. We have been teaching our other disabled skier how to wake slalom. He had trouble crossing my wakes (he is an MS skier) from the get-go. Last night he nailed a personal best average of 4.5 crossings in 20 seconds. We burned out my fellow boat driver to the point where he actually said "I've had enough". My best ski buddy began learning to barefoot for the first time. I could go on and on. But the best way to put it is it was on ON day. Have you had one of those lately? They just don't come often enough!