When you start to try to start to slalom water ski you need to be able to ride two skis across the lake very well.  If this is your first time trying to slalom water ski you want and experienced boat driver and skier.  Also it would be helpful if you had the wide water skis, like the Obrien vortexes.  When you start to try there are two different methods one is to drop a water ski and the other is to start on one.  If you are dropping make sure you have a lot of balance and the binding lose.  When you are just trying on one you need to keep your weight back more and the boat driver needs to pull you a little faster.  Either way has its pros and cons what every way you choose it will take time to master. 

Jet skis are good for a lot of things on the lake.  One thing they are not good for is waterskiing or wakeboarding.  They work for these jobs but they are hard to keep at a constant speed and the tow point is really low.  These vehicles are good for picking up dropped water skis and for just driving around.  The worst part of towing with a jet ski is if you get the rope caught in the intake.  This creates a day full of fun and sometimes a new rope. 

There are two different types of jet skis though, stand ups and sit downs.  The sit down you can go much faster on but they do not jump are well.  The stand ups are good for jumping nothing else.  If you want a hybrid between the two some of the older two person jet skis are the answer.  They are light for jumping but they still go fast and are easier to use.  Whatever you choose just do not tow with a Jet Ski. 

 Sit Down Jet Ski

Stand Up Jet Ski

Starting waterskiing early is critical to your successes in the sport.  I think the best age to start would be about six years old.  This is so the child knows how to swim and has good enough strength and balance.  The first time the small child tries to ski there should be someone in the water.  The person in the water needs to try to balance the skis on their thighs so the com out of the water quicker.  This will improve the chances of the child getting up.  After they master what they are doing you want to try to move them to more difficult skiing.  This will make them great skiers in their lifetime. 

What is wake skating?  Wake skating is like wakeboarding without bindings.  The board is a little smaller than a wakeboard with grip tape on the top.  Grip tape is what is on skateboards it is like sand paper.  When you wake skate you use special waterproof shoes.  These are like skateboarding shoes just that can get wet.  This sport is much harder than wake boarding.  When you ride one of these you try to flip and spin the board like a skateboard.  This is very hard because they are heavy, big, and you need to offset the speed.  To offset the speed you need to flick the board way in front of you.  This is very hard to do and takes a long time to master.  When you try this try not to get frustrated.

The summer is coming and water sports are starting to start again.  Some people will get started sooner than others because they live further south.  The new year of waterskiing is very exciting for people who live in the north.  This shows that school is about to end and it is time to get the boat out again.  These are some tips on how to start to get into the grove again.  First you want to take it easy the first couple of runs.  If you barefoot you might think about get shoes for the first runs of the year.  This time is critical and will affect the rest of your summer just get back in to your form slowly.  Then when you feel comfortable again then start to try new things.  This time should come mid to late June if you start on Memorial Day.  By the end of the summer you should be a decent amount better if not look to what has happened over the summer and then try to do better the next.  The summer is a time for improvement. 

Wakeboarding is an easy sport to learn but a hard one to perfect.  The tricks that good wake boarders do are unreal.  These tricks are spins, flips, and grabs.  When you want to practice before getting on the water try to do these things on a trampoline.  If you even want to get more intense on the trampoline you can get a plastic snowboard and strap that to your feet.  The only things you cannot practice on a tramp are handle hand offs.  One way you can practice this is the disk.  I talked about the disk in an older post and how it improves balance, it also helps your handle hand offs.  This will save you lots of falls and you will land the trick faster that you are trying to do.

Over the past couple of weeks I emailed a couple water ski manufactures with some questions about their skis.  I got an email back from Jay Quam who works for Connelly Water skis.  In Jay’s response he proceeds to tell me how Connelly water skis were the best that your money could buy.  He said that each ski is made one at a time with custom made molds and forming tools.  Also Jay said that Connelly is going to be coming out with a new ski this summer that will revolutionize water skiing.  As some of you water skiers are wondering what the difference between the cheaper ski and the expensive one.  Well Jay explained that the more expensive skis are made up with mostly more expensive fiberglass and carbon graphite.  The carbon graphite creates a stiffer ski that is lighter.  The cheaper skis are made from softer flex pattern which is much less expensive.  If you have any more questions you can look on www.connellyskis.com. 

When you start trying to barefoot you should have mastered both two ski waterskiing and slalom waterskiing.  These are two fundamentals that play a huge result in your form.  I believe that you should start off the boom.  Then progress to the five foot rope off the boom.  After that the last step is the long ski line.  When you are starting you should start with the sitting down method.  This method you just sit on a wakeboard or kneeboard and stand up when the speed is right.  The next method is to drop the slalom ski.  After that is the deep water start where you just lay in the water until the boat pulls you fast enough.  The last and hardest method is the flyer.  When you do a flyer you jump off of something and then land on your butt and wait for the boat to pick up speed.  All of these methods are hard and hurt a lot when you fall.  You should be able to master the easier methods before you try the hard ones. 

Wetsuits are a great item to have at the beginning of the season and the end.  There are many different types the main difference between each is the thickness of the neoprene, the thicker the neoprene the warmer you are.  They are also good if you fall a lot they will break your fall sometimes.  If the water is really cold you want to get what they call a dry suit.  The difference between a wetsuit and a dry suit is a wetsuit lets water in the suit a dry suit does not.  Another kind if suit you can put on is a barefoot suit.  A barefoot suit is strictly made for barefooting not for warmth but protection.  This usually has no sleeves and stops at the knees and has lots of padding in it.  What every kind of suit you choose make sure you choose for the right climate and activity. 

Wetsuit

Drysuit

Barefoot Suit

Wakeboarding is an easy water sport to learn how to do if you have good balance.  The first thing you do when teaching someone is to give them a light push from behind them to figure out which foot forward they are.  Whatever foot they catch them self with that is the forward foot.  Then you need to explain to them how they needed to start balled up in the water with their knees touching there chest.  After that you need to explain to them when the boat starts to pull you go up with.  Make sure you do not lock out your legs when starting.  Then the rider should stand up all the way.  When rider is riding tell them to keep 90% of their weight on the back of the board.  Soon as your rider can stand up and ride for a couple of minutes you should teach them how to turn.  Tell them that their toes and heels are like buttons and whenever you want to turn you push those down.  After that there is just jumping and they usually progress when they fell they are ready.  This should only take someone a couple of times to try to get up.  Also do not tell them to fight the boat it is a bad mistake.