WaterSki Magazine

Kristin
2009-04-30 15:00:00 | 314 views | 4 Comments

April Coble Eller is a busy woman. She's a pro skier, mother, wife, coach, ski school owner, motivational speaker and the new poster girl for the HO Syndicate line — and, yes, she does each of these tasks on a daily basis. The quick-talking, blonde ski vet with a Carolina twang, however, doesn't seem too frazzled by all these roles. If anything, she thrives under the pressure of her everyday life and doesn't plan to give up anytime soon.

WaterSki: Obviously, you have a lot on your plate. How do you balance all your roles?
April Coble Eller: It is tough. I'm trying to think of the best way to put it. The easiest way to diversify myself in all the different roles is just to focus on the task at hand. If I need to be a mom right now, I'm a mom. If I need to be a coach right now, I'm a coach. You can get so tied up in thinking to do everything and forgetting to do it that you get lost. If you just do what you need to do right at the moment it needs to be done, then it's fine.

WSM: The Coble ski school name is well-known. What made you start the school?
ACE: During my senior year in college, I was getting ready to take the MCAT to go to medical school when my dad bought the property where we are now in Lillington, North Carolina, and we needed money right away to help pay for it. So my dad, who was a ski coach, said to me, “Let's start teaching people how to ski and charge them,” and I said, “OK.” That first year, we didn't even make enough to pay for the marketing we did, but then we tripled in business the first several years and we kept growing from there. Now, in our 15th year, we're the largest ski school in the world. Even in 2008, with the economy the way it was, we had the biggest year ever.

WSM: What do you think makes your ski school so successful?
ACE: We bring people in and make them part of our family for the week. We eat together, ski together and do everything together like one big family. That plays a huge part because there is no separation between staff and students. That warmth, that Southern hospitality, is really what makes people come back.

WSM: You're married to Chris Eller, one of the top tournament boat drivers right now. What's that like, and how does that help you?
ACE: I joke with all the girls on the tour sometimes and say I'm going to divorce my husband so he can pull me in tournaments. I think he's the best boat driver in the world. I'm not just saying that because I get to ski behind him every day, but I'm saying that because I get to ski behind a bunch of different drivers. He drives eight to 12 hours a day some days and to have that much time behind the wheel and to be a skier himself, he understands what it's like to be at the other end of the rope. For me to be able to ski behind him every day has completely changed the way I ski. I totally trust what he's doing. Because of that, I feel like I have an edge.

WSM: When did you know you wanted to be a professional skier?
ACE: When I was 5 years old, I got whipped in a tournament by Kristi Overton [Johnson] and her trophy was bigger than mine, and I did not like that. I didn't think that's what I would do for my job, I just wanted the biggest trophy and to be the best, no matter if it paid or not. That's still my thing today. I don't get caught up in the money. I just want to be the very best at what I do. And skiing happens to be what I do.

WSM: You've won countless National Championships. What edge do you have in that tournament that you don't have in others?
ACE: Growing up, my dad, who was my coach, had me super-prepared at that time of year for this tournament. We would use all season to peak, and I would always peak right then. I think the time of year that tournament is probably helped me most. I am the fittest I'm going to be in August from training all summer long. Also, I feel mentally strong at that tournament and because I've skied so many of them, I need to put all my eggs in one basket and go as hard as I can. If I go hard and I don't win, then it wasn't my day. But sometimes, I get this “I don't want to mess up” mind-set in other tournaments, and I don't get that at Nationals for some reason. I give everything I've got. I'm learning to do that every time I compete — learning to fight for my life out there, because, for me, that makes me ski a whole lot better.

WSM: Is your goal for 2009 to simply win more tournaments?
ACE: It really is! I'm 36 years old. If I ski the World Cup this year and any pro event in the United States, I'll be the oldest competitive female athlete. I have no choice. I'm realistic — I know there is a time when your body doesn't do the things it used to be able to do. My mind has been a bigger force than any weakness in my body, and I hope that continues for a couple more years, but you never know. While I feel fit and while I have skiing at my back door and a husband who is willing and able to pull me every day and while my body is continuing to say yes, then yes, I'm going hard every time I go out.

WSM: If there was one thing that defines you, what would it be?
ACE: My family. When people think about the Coble family, they think about how strong it is. Also, my kids are such assets to my skiing, because they make me realize there is more to life than water skiing. I can come off the water after a set that may have not felt good, analyze it for a few minutes and then it's over and I have to snap into another one of my roles. I've learned to be a better athlete, mom, coach, friend and all of the roles I play — being able to say it's OK if I didn't have a good set. I have learned that skiing is something I do. Skiing is not who I am, and that makes me a happy person.