After slalom skiing now for over 30 years and coaching for 25 years, I have seen big changes and improvements in equipment on the market that has no doubt brought improvement to the performance of skiers at all levels of slalom skiing. I have also seen new techniques and ideas change skier performance at all levels for the better and for the worse!
I truly believe there is a process of learning each skier must go though when learning to slalom ski, missing out and not going through the proper steps will cause problems down the road in your performance and your progression will be stunted.
I have had the privilege to have watched and work with thousands of skiers in and out of the slalom course in my time as a coach and have met many skiers who have been working on various techniques and styles without really understanding what it is they are trying to do on the water, or even what benefit the movement or technique they are trying to perform will do for their skiing.
It would not be right for me to say that New School Slalom or West Coast Slalom is not for you, but you must really take a good look at what you are trying to do on your ski and ask yourself some questions. Since you have been working with these positions and movements and techniques, has your performance and control really improved? Having a better understanding of what you are reading in the press, or what you have been told is the next best thing to working with the local ski hero. This is what the pros are doing now, so it must be right and this is what I am doing on my ski and so this is what you should also be doing on yours. A better understanding of what it is the pro's are actually doing from a physics standpoint and what is actually happening from a physics standpoint with your own skiing at your current level of slalom will help immensely.
The majoring of pro skiers that are really ripping in the course, with new school slalom have all been skiing for many years and along the path of their progression they have adapted ideas and movements from other sports. These movements and positions of course, do work amazing well when done correctly at the right level, but this is only really possible when certain elements of physics are also working well.
Like with most things in life, there are recipes that work and there are recipes that don't. Do you understand your recipe?
Early on in your slalom skiing, when trying to create speed in a chosen direction, standing on your ski properly is paramount to ensure good balance, this is what will allow you to go where you want to go on your ski, it is this that should be your primary focus. Not having your body mass following the direction of your ski is where the problems lie.
Understanding that the pro's who are skiing faster speeds and picking up the pull from the boat from a much higher position on the boat and pendulum swing, allows them to move their Body Mass across course and stay following their ski with an open stance. Skiers on real short line lengths can have back arm line pressure to deal with and the open stance they have adopted allows them to manage this so as to not leverage them out of the direction they intend to move.
Skiers at a lower level, on longer line lengths and slower speeds should not have these issues and should not be concerning themselves with this in their focus or intentions. A skier at low boat speeds or long line lengths will not achieve cross-course speed and direction without trying to follow their ski with body. A less experienced and trained skier should also be aiming to keep it simple as possible when in the course, as things will appear to be happening pretty quickly and its easy to get confused or loose track of where you are and what movement you should be making. Remember, pro skiers are out on the water training every day and the majority of recreational slalom skiers make it out on to the water two or three times a week. Making it complicated with many things to remember including technical movements will cause you problems and hold you back from improving and enjoying the ride.
For the majority of open water and course skiers out there, following your ski is a far simpler task, far easier to remember and easier to understand the dynamics and physics in place.
The most important and common problems I see the majority of recreational skiers doing and even some high level skiers for that matter (and they are not even aware of it), is their uneven stance on their ski!
Take a moment to stand on land in your relaxed default slalom skiing stance and you will notice depending what foot forward you are, you are most likely standing with the whole side of body twisted forward toward the tip of your ski with the leg and foot you have in front. Just because you have chosen to put chosen foot forward, doesn’t mean you should stand with that whole side of your body forward toward to tip of the ski. The best way to find the middle of your ski (The Sweet Spot) where your balance is best and you can be your most efficient on your ski in all elements of slalom, is to find the centre of your ski. For most skiers out there, this would mean rotating the front side of your body around toward the front tip of your ski and not allowing yourself to stand with your body in a lazy stance with it facing off toward your weak turning side of your ski.
If you also take another moment to look at the direction of your body in your stance on your ski when crossing over the wakes on your offside lean, you are most likely and rightly so facing the front side of your body in the same direction across course and matching where you ski is going over toward your onside turn. Now if you take a moment to look at where you body is facing when crossing the wakes in your onside lean heading over to your weakest turn you are most likely not lined up or matching the direction of your ski tip. The reason you face across the course, lined up with your ski tip on the offside lean, is because this is the only way you can stay balanced well enough to generate speed, keep the ski on edge and arrive early enough ahead of the buoy on the onside. This stance also set you up for you onside turn with outbound direction with Mass that allows you to turn best on your onside. With this mind-set, it then does not make sense to be leaning on our onside lean with our body facing off to the side and not following our ski outbound of the buoy when heading over to our Offside turn.
You should notice when standing on land and you rotate your body around forward to follow the tip of your ski in the onside leaning direction (this will most likely involve drawing your favored side around and away from the tip of your ski and bring your weak side forward so that if you took a tape measure from the tip of your ski and measured to both your hip bones they should measure the same distance). This centred position and stance on your ski will now centre your weight right in the middle of your ski and place you on the (Sweet Spot) where you can now be more efficient. The fact that your Mass is now following the center of your ski and riding the Sweet Spot, you will gain speed and direction for much less effort and intensity against the boat, which in turn will allow you to take the path in the course need to run earlier and easier passes. As the intensity comes down and the onside lean and the efficiency rises, you will also notice your control, balance, and confidence increase on your offside turn allowing you to follow your ski and ride through the offside turn staying balanced. A better, balanced offside turn with your Mass following your ski will now create more speed across the wakes on your offside lean.
I am sure that you were noticing the difference in speed that you were carrying across course Onside compared to Offside, this stance will start to balance your speed out more in both directions. It makes good sense that if we are trying to ski equal widths, equal angles and equal speeds in both direction, why would we not ride our ski and follow it in the same stance and direction on both the On and Offside leans.
Most of us who have been skiing for many years, or those of us who are a little more matured in life tend to stand a little more static on our ski, compared to the younger, more agile, trained athletes of today. We do want our Mass to follow our ski up the pendulum toward the outbound side of the turn buoy, (countered) standing on your ski with a centered stance will allow you to follow your ski with your Mass without having to make large and accurate movements in your stance and balance to achieve a countered position and stance at apex of turn. As your ski changes direction from Apex to cross the course, your body movements now match your ski making this Method must less complicated and consistent for the masses.
Take the challenge in following your ski across the course and watch your performance increase more quickly!
