Waterski video coaching: The next
step? 2010 by Ulf Unbehaun
What is your waterski story?:
Every waterskier has his
own story of how he came to the sport and how he evolved. But most of the
recreational skiers share a similar story. They get addicted quickly and learn
skiing from their family and ski-buddies. Nobody thinks of going to a ski
school at this level. Over the years they get better but sooner or later the
progress stops. No matter how hard they try and how much they ski, they don't
get better. That is the point at which many think of going to a professional
waterski coach or school. Then, for the first time in their lives they get a
professional opinion and training. And this pays off. More often than not, it
is the correction of the fundamental slalom body position that changes the way
they ski.
The same thing happened to me and since my first visit to the
Swiss ski school in Florida I have travelled the world and seen many clubs and
coaches. My skiing got gradually better until I reached 14 meters/22 off. But
this seemed to be it. Although I ski a lot, there has been little progress for
the last three years and 13 metres are far out of reach.
In winter 2009 I had a lot of time to
think and came to the conclusion that I had to change my coaching strategy. I
was so used to skiing the way I do that I couldn't change any more. As soon as
I pull out for the slalom course gates it's like a computer programme being
switched on. And 17 seconds later I realize that I skied the way I always do
and didn't change anything unlike I intended to . I definitely needed more
coaching to get rid of bad style and technique.
The new video
coaching approach:
I then heard about Seth Stisher's video coaching
offer and was fascinated. With the new video-cameras, the internet and youtube
it is possible to get professional advice wherever you ski on the planet. So I
decided to give it a try and got in touch with pro skier and coach Seth
Stisher. Later I sent my first waterski video to Seth by email:
From:
Ulf Unbehaun
To:
Seth Stisher
Subject:
Video analysis of my
waterski-Slalom set
Hello Seth,
here
is my waterski video. I skied the course at 55kmh/33mph with a line length of
16m/22 off on a 66inch A1 ski from HO. Personally, I believe that my
biggest problem is that my ski shoots in front of me after the wake on my
approach to 1,3,5. From there, I am skiing on the back of my ski instead of
getting forward and stand perpendicular and balanced before I initiate the turn
in. So I am rather falling backwards into the turn instead of carving with the
full edge. What I am trying to do at the moment is to get my body mass forward
after the edge change but this isn't really working. I look forward to hear your opinion :)
Best regards,
Ulf
From:
Seth Stisher
To:
Ulf Unbehaun
Subject:
Re: Video analysis of my
waterski-Slalom set
Ulf,
I took a
look at your videos and I think I have some good thoughts for you, however I
want to put together a video that exceeds what I am currently doing which will
take some time this weekend, so can you hold off until Monday nd let me shoot
some video and do some editing.
Seth Stisher
I like the way he has answered my
question. It is almost like having a coach in the boat. But what is even more
important is that he has picked the most important problem I should concentrate
on first. In all these years of travelling the world waterskiing I have learned
that many coaches are enthusiastic about giving you advice but often they don't
pinpoint the actual problem you should work on first. Especially if you are
skiing on your own, working on the right problem could save you months or even
years of practice.
I spent the rest of the season practicing the "hip
movement" and I think it has helped. I am still having a hard time doing it on
the slalom course but I feel that it pays off when free skiing. Here is a video
from August and I think you can see the difference to the previous
video.
Continuous video
coaching.
I do believe that video coaching
can make a big difference to coaching in itself and to the way you learn
skiing. It is obviously better to have a coach in the boat but if I had to
choose, I would prefer to be video coached throughout the season rather than
having a one time ski week in a school. However one of the down sides of video
coaching is having to overcome your self pride. After having sent my first
video I was reluctant to send the next one because I hadn'T progressed as fast
as I had wanted to and was too embarrassed to send another video.
Seth and I mulled over this problem and he came
up with the solution of offering a video coaching series. A waterskier who
signs up will receive a package deal for the whole season. This makes it more
like having your own personal waterski trainer you can consult the whole time.
Who should sign
up?
This depends on where you ski and who
you ski with. If you only ski with your ski buddies and they do not know much
more than you it definitely makes sense right away. As far as your skiing level
is concerned, I think it doesn't really matter. I would say that you should
master the monostart and be comfortable skiing on one ski. The earlier you
start getting coached, the easier it will be for you and your coach to correct
the errors and get you to the next level.
"Seth's personal
waterski video training Series"
Sign up for Seth's new
personal training programme to massively improve your skiing in 2011.
Throughout the waterski season, you will stay in touch with Seth through
videos, emails and telephone calls. As your private ski coach, Seth will
constantly analyse your passes and answer questions to improve your skiing.
This ongoing analysis will ensure that you stick to a charted plan and that
Seth remains a part of helping you constantly improve your skiing.
*
Up to 3 videos with indepth
analysis! Seth will take a look at your videos of a full slalom set and give
you an edited version of the video complete with audio voice over, freeze frame
analysis, and dry land coaching.
*
Up to 5 videos with email
analysis! Seth will take a look at your videos of a full slalom set and coach
you via email.
*
Email coaching Seth will
exchange emails with you to acknowledge the points you are becoming more
proficient in and to discuss the points you need to continue working
on.
*
Pricing Package deal for the
season 2011: US$ 350
*
Availability Only 10 spaces
available.
Seth Stisher H2Osmosis Sports, LLC: Training Center in
Charleston: 843.793.4470 www.h2oztrainingcenter.com
Sign
up or follow us on Facebook:
Seth is offering 10 spaces in 2011. If
you are interested, get in touch with Seth or me. If you are interested in the
idea of video coaching, we invite you to stay in touch with us via Facebook. I
will be the first "series" customer and we will publish all of our email
conversations and the videos here on waterski.com. Follow Waterski.com on
Facebook and we will keep you updated::
