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WATERSKI MagazineAfter a few weeks of working on the fundamentals of body position, the mini-course and the narrow course (Steps 1-3, April Instruction), you have the skills and confidence needed to run the full course. To do that, you have to bump your intensity level up a notch. And you must live by these words: I will not give up in the course.
The secret to the next phase is to follow this plan step by step. It is designed to build upon one success at a time and give you more and more confidence as you improve. By skipping steps, you miss out on valuable practice of good habits. As Jack Nicklaus says, “Practice does not make perfect, perfect practice makes perfect.”
Step 4: Running the Full Slalom Course
This is where it gets really fun. You're going to learn the course – backward. No, not facing backward. I mean skiing around buoy No. 6 after shadowing buoys 5, 4, 3 and 2. Diagram A illustrates this concept.
Start wide of No. 1, just like you did when running the narrow course. Now instead of shadowing No. 6, go around it by holding your lean from No. 5 to No. 6. Lean until you get on the outside of No. 6. This ball will be more difficult for the right-foot-forward skier, but don't worry. Just keep leaning until you get outside of No. 6, then ski through the exit gates.
Once you get around No. 1 and No. 6, try Diagram B. This plan will take you around No. 1, shadowing Nos. 2, 3 and 4 then skiing around Nos. 5 and 6. The No. 5 ball will be the challenge for the left-foot-forward skier, so make sure you get a strong lean out of No. 4.
To ski Nos. 1, 2, 5 and 6, follow Diagram C. This is a critical step. You are now putting together two series of leans and turns. The key is to get a good start on the back side of No. 1 and hold your lean to No. 2. Follow this with a smooth shadowing of buoys 3 and 4 to set you up for a No. 5 that is similar to how you went around No. 1.
Now add either No. 3 or No. 4 (Diagram D) to the pattern. You will be running the entire course with the exception of one buoy. Once you can complete this step, running the entire course (Diagram E) – all six buoys – will be a breeze. Remember to get a good first buoy and maintain your lean across both wakes.
Running the full course, the mini-course or the shadow course is the same, really. The only thing that changes is your intensity level. The fundamentals are unchanged:
1) Body position is critical. Keep your arms straight, knees and ankles flexed, hips up to the handle, and head and vision parallel with the horizon.
2) Hold your angle and direction through both wakes and especially at the second wake.
3) Establish a rhythm in your turn and lean.
4) Never give up on a pass.
Step 5: The Half-Course
An alternative to learning the course “backward” is learning half the course. This method is helpful for those who have one extremely strong side and one weak side. The half-course will really help your symmetry and rhythm. If you have a great deal of trouble on one side of the course, try running all of the balls on one side of the course and shadow the other side (Diagram F). Once you can make the three balls on one side, add in one ball at a time on the other side beginning at the end of the course and working back.
Ben Favret's comprehensive book on the intricacies of the sport, The Complete Guide to Water Skiing, hits bookstores this month. He is sponsored by Revo, Gekko, Wet Tech, Bennett's Ski School and Shop, and O'Brien.
