Coaches Corner

Footnote 1. Speed will never replace proper form.

Creating a Positive Learning Environment

The major reason that thousands of skiers, from around the world, travel to Florida each winter to attend ski school is perfect skiing conditions. Getting into a boat with a professional driver, warm weather, calm water, and a boat crew focused on learning will make anyone ski like a pro. The problem is that most barefooters spend a week in perfect ski conditions learning more than they ever thought possible, and then return home for an entire summer of cold weather, rough water, and poor boat driving, and forget everything they learned. The key to successful skill development is to create a positive learning environment at home in order to continue improving between ski school visits. There are four main elements that can seriously affect how well a skier performs while training – both positively and negatively: Boat driving, boat crew, weather, and water conditions.

1. Boat Driving

Quality boat driving is specifically critical for barefooting, as many spouses of angry footers can attest to. A slight variance in the boats speed or path can seriously affect a footer’s performance. Find, or train, a boat driver that you can trust in order to allow you to concentrate solely on skiing rather than speed, shore, and other boats – you will be amazed at how quickly your skiing will improve.

2. Boat Crew

Leave the kids and Tom King wanna-bees at home when you are planning a training session. Worrying about what is going on in the boat will take away from your ability to focus on the job at hand. Save a little showing off for after training and then everyone will be happy. Most footers try to entertain, babysit, and train at the same time – rarely does this end well.

3. Weather

For most of the year, much of the US, Canada, and Europe are cold. When the air and water temperatures begin to drop it is time to change your training practices. Begin each set with a light jog, and then stay warm in the boat before you ski. Tight muscles make for stiff body parts, which eventually produces hard falls. When it gets really cold, do not hesitate to use shoe skis – they make falls softer, and keep your feet a little warmer.

4. Water Conditions

Bad water is the number one cause of injuries for barefooters. Rough water by itself will not hurt you; however the inability to recognize when water conditions have deteriorated enough to make training impossible will get you hurt. When it gets rough, either head for the dock, or break out the shoe skis and ski inside the wake. This will help build strength and endurance in your skiing.

Obviously, it is ideal to have great boat driving, a positive and focused boat crew, warm weather and calm water every time you hit the water, but rarely do all four elements ever occur at the same time. The goal is to have three out of four positive elements present every time you plan on training. If that is not possible, forget about training and just have fun on the water.