Slump Busters
The dreaded slump, it’s something we never want to get in but time and time again we find ourselves in the middle of July struggling during a time we should be excelling. A slump normally starts slow, a few sets in a row not going to plan and all of the sudden the wheels fall off and it feels like you have lost everything. It is easy to lose your cool but stay calm and realize that though it may feel like the world is ending the sun will surely rise again.
When you feel yourself skiing below what you expect take a step back and look at your skiing from 30,000 feet. It is extremely easy to get tunnel vision when it comes to our own skiing. We get so focused on running one more bouy that by the middle of the season it is easy to forget about body position and think only about that next little red ball. Spend a few sets at your opening passes and really focus on the following items that play pivotal roles in our skiing.
Speed
Carrying constant speed throughout the entire pass is crucial to success. Feeling fast on our skis comes from intense acceleration. This acceleration comes from slowing too much at the bouy and then trying to load the rope instantaneously at the finish of the turn. Instead, once your turn is complete and angle is set begin to rebuild your speed progressively all the way through the second wake. At this point you can begin to carry that speed and direction out to the next bouy. Slowing in the turn is inevitable, how you deal with that speed is what allows you to be light on the line.
Balance
Standing balanced on your ski allows you to move together as one unit. If unbalanced, you are fighting yourself constantly. a balanced position is found when you are in a shoulders over hips over feet position. If all those things are in line and moving together you are being as efficient as possible on your ski. If any one of these elements is ahead of or behind the other, you are fighting yourself and not in control of the direction you are taking. Being fluid in the course is possible when you have seamless movements that flow together and allow you to stay in the level, shoulders over hips over feet position.
The most important thing is to remain calm, skiing is fun and don’t lose perspective of the situation. Always be sure to check your equipment and make sure nothing has moved and confirm your ski buddy isn’t playing a bad prank on you. Video is another good tool in this scenario. Take some video of your skiing and compare it to a time when you were skiing your best. It can be hard to feel what you are doing wrong but seeing it in comparison to your best skiing can help simplify things. Keep working thorough the rough patches in skiing and you will back to running PB’s in no time.