Coaches out there...SL and GS technique critique requested

[bbbradley]

I know I have some racing skills but still plenty of room to improve. I'd love to get additional feedback from the coaches (both legit and coach commando ) on these two videos.

Link 1 -
This is from day 2 of SL training (day 3 on snow for me this year and day 2 on these skis). I tend to come up between turns versus coming forward.

Link 2 -
Day 2 of GS training, the brushes were set by one of the coaches (~20pt FIS skier( and the center brush is his line. I don't ski the same line as he does, and when I see them vs my line I course correct...to my detriment. I am also struggling to get comfortable with 188/30m skis. I am getting better, but still feel I am always a half step behind.

The hill is pretty flat, but it is what it is.

 

[Swede]

Not skiing the same line as a 20 pt skier ... that is EC territory I'll let others comment on suggestions, just want to say that fundamentally it looks good. Congrats. Don't know you're age, but you lack in power and dynamics. So keep on free skiing, but extend the gym time and build up some more body strength! Allows you to handle some more power into each turn -- withstand more angles/forces, ski straighter and bend thos r30:s. Olympic lifts, weighted squats and chin ups for you sir. And ... if he gives advice ... listen carefully to what the 20 pt skier has to say!

 

[JTurner]

Pretty flat hill, that makes the 30M GS skis harder work.

There’s a lot to like in the SL video and I think you nailed it with your comment… almost standing totally upright in transitions. That’ll make it hard to get good early edge angles in steeper terrain or tighter sets. Practice retraction transitions and keep doing a good job of rolling your feet up on edge.

in the GS there are a few things that jump out. The 30M skis aren’t really doing your bidding yet. First, you’re leaving too much weight on your inside ski in phase 1 and 2 of the turns. This is very common with skis that don’t want to turn in. You don’t trust the outside ski to hook up and come back under you, so your inside leg becomes an “inrigger”. Then the inside ski hooks up or rotates to make the turn, causing you to lose even more pressure on the outside ski and you get a lot of divergence where your skis aren’t pointing the same direction. Pause the first few turns right at the gate and you can see the divergence and how you’re really balancing over the inside ski. Commit to the front of the outside ski at the top of each turn and get it arcing.

Be careful also not to crowd the gates in GS. Trying to cut off too much line makes it hard to bring technically great skiing into the course or have enough direction as you pass the gate. You need to brush them more from the side when you have a good turn 2/3 complete.

And if you can help it, don’t tuck a practice course while you’re working on your technique, it’s too hard to make good turns. You can see in several turns how tucking causes you to hang out in very static positions, especially as you’re crossing the rise line, and kind of just ride the skis toward the apex instead of driving them with power and energy, like Swede said.

Worth what you paid for it, but hope it’s helpful. Have fun.

 

[bbbradley]

.....

Worth what you paid for it, but hope it’s helpful. Have fun.

Thanks, I solicited advice and what you said is spot on. I got my money's worth from you.

The SL retraction transition is something I'm working on free skiing, but it hasn't become automatic yet. I realized it part way down my race run the other day and made a note to change technique mid-run, but alas no video of that to verify. The up/down is slow vs the aggressive forward motion.

As for the GS, you nailed it, I simply don't trust the skis to do anything other than go straight. I know they will come around, I can't always believe it though. The flat hill makes it harder to really lay them out there. Again, in free skiing I am improving on that (Day 1 on 30m skis last year was comical), but in the course, old habits and survival instincts kick in. I was actually running a wider line than the coaches line then making a crappy, speed scrubbing correction to get on his line when I saw the brushes. It is very obvious on the 1st gate of the clip (yellow gate, left foot turn).

Helpful advice, I am relearning this racing thing, though, given the change in equipment and technique from olden times, it is like I've never raced before and almost need to treat this like a whole new endeavor.

@Swede To your question, I am 48 and getting back into racing after a multi-decade hiatus. The strength is something I want to work on, I still feel like I have it, though I just don't trust it.

 

[AtleB]

Do you have to be on those R30 GS skis or could you opt for one of the Master skis with a tighter sidecut?

 

[bbbradley]

Do you have to be on those R30 GS skis or could you opt for one of the Master skis with a tighter sidecut?

30m FIS is all I own...I have a friend that is going to loan me his old 27m this weekend (still 65mm underfoot I believe) for a test drive. Run 1 on 30m, run 2 in 27m, then analyze.

 

[JTurner]

I know they will come around

Well they won’t just come around unless you get your weight committed to the outside ski above the fall line and get enough pressure forward to bend the ski. You can’t park and ride them, you have to drive them. So it’s not just faith, it’s proper technique and faith.

Cheater GS skis have been discussed on here a lot over the years. But the one thing that can definitely be said for skis with more side cut is they are much more eager to turn in when you roll them on edge. That’s what makes them so user friendly. A 30M ski might take some working up to, especially if all your courses are relatively flat.

 

[ThomasD]

Not remotely sure I'm qualified to comment, but is your "coming up too much" more a function of not getting "down" enough coming through each gate? Maybe commit to getting forward sooner? Although the camera lost you for a moment it seemed to me your form was better very early on.

 

[JTurner]

Oh. And don’t expect or try to be skiing the same line as a legit 20pt FIS GS skier. But also don’t feel bad about that.

 

[slow-line-fast]

GS: stand forward on the outside ski. Helps in SL too. I am also working on this. Courage!

 

[bbbradley]

Oh. And don’t expect or try to be skiing the same line as a legit 20pt FIS GS skier. But also don’t feel bad about that.

I nailed his line...during inspection while in a wedge.

 

[Noodler]

Alignment.

 

[slowrider]

Move more to increase edge angles. Solid technique.

 

[HardDaysNight]

@JTurner has nailed the essential points. To really commit to the new outside ski one needs to move off the old outside ski much earlier than feels comfortable. Work on it free-skiing and then expect that it will take much more time to bring it into the gates. Enjoy the process; it’s fun and you’re well on the way.

 

[bbbradley]

Alignment.

Can you expand on that a bit?

 

[Skitechniek]

Line wise you are skiing way too direct, a rounder line would help. You stop turning too early below the gate, keep on turning for longer, that way you will have less time for the transition anyway, which will force you into flexion and earlier angles.

Technique wise I would work on reducing the amount of femur rotation (what we call inside knee drive) to get in a better stacked position. To achieve this I would also work on your basic alpine position and get you more centered. What happens a lot with good skiers is that they are too far forward on the outside ski and too far back on the inside ski. I think it would help you to move your weight more towards the heel on the outside ski and more towards the toes on the inside ski. That's the feeling, but in reality it should be dead center. Not being on the front of your foot on the outside means stop leaning into the cuff, getting more on the front of the inside means pulling it back.

Edit: just to be clear, not leaning into the cuff is not the same as not having cuff pressure. Having cuff pressure is fine, just don't lean into the cuff.

 

[bbbradley]

Technique wise I would work on reducing the amount of femur rotation (what we call inside knee drive) to get in a better stacked position.

The coaches last week stressed the opposite unless I am confusing your comments? "Drive the inside knee" to match the shins and skis was a big focus for me (and some others in my group). Am I misreading your comments or are these two conflicting coaching theories?

I think it would help you to move your weight more towards the heel on the outside ski and more towards the toes on the inside ski. That's the feeling, but in reality it should be dead center. Not being on the front of your foot on the outside means stop leaning into the cuff, getting more on the front of the inside means pulling it back.

This makes sense, at least as I sit here at my computer and something I will focus on when on the hill Saturday AM before my next GS race.

 

[Skitechniek]

The coaches last week stressed the opposite unless I am confusing your comments? "Drive the inside knee" to match the shins and skis was a big focus for me (and some others in my group). Am I misreading your comments or are these two conflicting coaching theories?


This makes sense, at least as I sit here at my computer and something I will focus on when on the hill Saturday AM before my next GS race.

Ah I get your confusion. I meant femur rotation/inside knee drive on the outside knee. It is called inside knee drive because visually the knee goes inside. If you draw a straight line from the outside of your pelvis on the outside ski side to your outside foot, your knee naturally will be inside that line, but we want to minimize how much that knee is inside of that line. The more you rotate the femurs to the inside, the more that knee will be inside of that line. But like I said, inside knee drive happens with the outside knee.

So to clarify again, the knee of the outside ski should not be tipped (or rotated is a more accurate word now, but it feels like tipping) inwards that much, because your skeletal structure now is misaligned with the forces going through it, which is a recipe for really nasty injuries.

 

[Swede]

@bbbradley I would advice you to separate technique and tactics, when you are in a training course; focus on tactic development, what line, where to turn, distance to gates. You certainly need to think about technique too, but not focus. How to balance on your ski, creating angles, body separation etc. is best practiced outside the course. The idea is to master the technique outside the course and than bring it into the course ( and watch it fall a part )

 

[Swede]

@Swede To your question, I am 48 and getting back into racing after a multi-decade hiatus. The strength is something I want to work on, I still feel like I have it, though I just don't trust it.

Strength is "easy" and cheap to improve. And amongst many youth athletes as well as racers "in their best years" -- fairly often untapped improvement potential. Low hanging fruit. Wich also hangs high, because it's not as fun as skiing. Makes a difference, especially as you move on to a little steeper terrain and start working the skis more. Added benefit is injury prevention.