My son has been trying to land a backroll now for over a month. He has the rotation down, lands (most of the time) on the down side of the far wake and looks like he has it but he can't hold on to the rope. <BR> <BR>He says the rope is getting pulled from his hands but watching him it looks like he is just letting go. <BR> <BR>Don't know if he is scared, not pulling back hard enough or if it is really just getting pulled from him. <BR> <BR>I don't wakeboard so I am no help to him. Others that do and have watch him say he has it, he just need to hold onto the rope. <BR> <BR>Any suggestions or tips?? <BR> <BR>Thanks

i used to have this problem a lot. When he throws the backroll make sure the handle is close to his waist and that he doesnt let it out from his body...cause once it gets out it probably is yanking it outta his hands....and he could be letting go as well lol

I CANT LAND A BACKROLL but i used to lost it out of one hand. i can atleast hold on all the way through the rotation now, i put each of my elbows to each side of my hips as i start to cut in and keep it locked there. like i said, im still working on landing one. but at least i can hold on with both. kind of like what jt thompson said

Yea I used to have the same problem. I could land the backroll about 45% of the time but it was sloppy with one hand holding on . <BR> <BR>Like the others said, focus on keeping two hands on and keep it in as close as possible, with elbows into your waist. <BR> <BR>For me, I already had the rotation down, so while cutting in instead of focusing on the cut or edge, I focused on keeping my hands on. You literally just have to commit yourself 100% mentally, telling yourself you will hang on no matter what. <BR> <BR>Once I started keeping both hands on, I started landing it 99% of the time, extremely clean every time too. <BR> <BR>Hope that helps a little.

Duct Tape!

+1

He has already been teased about the duct tape!! <BR> <BR>Here is a link to a clip of what he is doing: <BR> <BR><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4fdQzMZNoE" target="_blank">http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W4fdQzMZNoE</a> <BR> <BR>This is my first "You Tube" post and the music isn't normally what he listens to. It is just what the videographer (his mom) had playing! <BR> <BR>Let me know if you see anything that will help him out. He wants to land this by the end of the season and it is just around the corner for us.

looks to me like he is letting go.....yep he is definitely letting go....tell him to man up and hold onto the handle and he will have it

you cannot land anything without the handle.

I think that his board is actually hitting his rope as he comes around. Slow it down and check it out. <BR> <BR>What he is attemping is a "Mexican" style backroll (I don't know where the name came from). I have done the same thing on mine. For me if I stand taller throughout the trick I don't catch the rope. <BR> <BR>I have never caught the rope on a standard backroll. If he wants to try a standard backroll, have him intiate the rotation by looking over his left shoulder &amp; to the sky. Right now he initiates it by tucking his head downward.

Thanks for the replies. <BR> <BR>I talked to my son about committing and holding on no matter what. When he does he seems to loose a little focus on holding his edge and getting enough pop to clear the wake. But it has to help him knowing that he held on until he hit the water. <BR> <BR>Next time out he will try it with 2 hands, he hasn't tried that yet. He was told to let go with his rear hand and throw it behind him. <BR> <BR>I never thought of the board hitting the rope. And it seems possible, when he holds on it always look sloppy, but I thought it was from lack of focus on hitting the wake as mentioned above. <BR> <BR>I watched the video in super slo-mo and there are some attempts that he definitely just let go and others it looks like the board might be hitting the rope. <BR> <BR>He seemed to think it might be but didn't really know. I would think he would have felt it?? <BR> <BR>If it is, what does he need to do differently?

Hold on with both hands. Keep them in close

I used to have trouble holding on with my trailing hand on a backroll. One reason is that it wanted to go to revert, but the other was just concentration. It was starting to mess up my shoulder doing the roll with only one hand. I just had to concentrate on my grip and let the roll do it's own thing.

I am pretty sure the problem is your music....I recommend "Eye of the Tiger" instead----LOUD

I have been there and have seen other riders 'let go' when doing these...an auto eject type of thing which is probably 99% mental. <BR> <BR>As a training tool, I have thought about rigging a bmx type handlebar to a rope tied to the center of it. That way you have to hold on with both hands...let go with one hand and the bar will flail. You would need need to pad the bar and get grips but think this might make holding on more automatic. Suppose you could also tie a line to the center of a normal wake handle after taking off the lines at the ends and get the same effect but seems it could be dangerous if the line wrapped around part of your body. Haven't tried it on anyone yet, but thought this might be a good raining device for someone who automatically lets go. <BR> <BR><img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65919/736296.jpg" alt="Upload">

He lets up on his edge a little too much as he is approaching the wake. <BR> <BR>And I agree with Doug. You aren't going to land your first backroll listening to American Girl by Tom Petty. It just ain't going to happen. Eye of the Tiger would probably do the trick.

I know this may sound crazy, but when my youngest learned the backroll he would literally cut in with his elbows locked at his waist. That way the rope wouldn't get too far away from his body. We would always know when he was going to throw it. He did it that way for about 2 months until he learned better control.

OK, we are going out tomorrow and I will have him try 2 hands on the handle, down by his waist and elbows locked. Then just focus on not letting go. If that doesn't work, I am breaking out the duct tape. <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/proud.gif" border=0> <BR> <BR>We will also switch back to his music, hopefully something that gets him a little pumped up. <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/lol.gif" border=0> <BR> <BR>(Message edited by ship_of_fools on September 22, 2009)

He did it!!! <BR> <BR>We went out and on his third try he nailed it. <BR> <BR>Unfortunately, he wasn't able to do it again (and we didn't get the one he landed on tape). He tried about 10 more times and never could hold on. <BR> <BR>The 2 hands at his waist seems to be what he needs to work on. <BR> <BR>He went back to letting go again, just kind of instinct now for him since he has done that so many times. He practiced just wake to wake jumps holding on with two hands but would still let go with one hand on those too. <BR> <BR>Maybe just a little more work and confidence. <BR> <BR>Thanks for all the tips!!

Yea a lot of it is muscle memory. Next time he rides tell him no matter what have his number one priority be to hold on with two hands. Even if he doesn't try any backrolls that will help.