General Wakeboard Questions

I wanted to get people's thoughts on a couple of things. Here is a brief history, I've been learning t0 wakeboard for almost 4 years now...all completely self taught and very slow. I have no issue getting up, no issue getting a progressive edge...still mastering riding switch and w2w jumps. I'm ready to progress more and I know one obvious thing is more time behind the boat... i.e practice (lots). Considering going to an all day clinic here in NC, it would be four total sessions on the water that day with a private coach and driver. Is that going to truely step up my progress or do I just need to keep hitting the wakes each weekend before getting clinic lessons? Lastly, is taking the fins off now going help or hinder my progression at this time?

A 4 set day will be close to impossible if you are not riding much already. Its really hard to get in 4 sets in a day and make them all worth while. My suggestion would be to purchase an instructional series like "The Book" or Murray's newest one and just get more water time. If you are serious about progressing I would take a 1 week course and work out like a mad dog going into it so you can get the most out of it.

Fins will force you to learn to use the board's edges better. However some people become frustrated with this and stop enjoying the sport. Try it without fins and see what you think. If you start getting frustrated put them back on; this sport is all about fun.

M-Dizzie...let me say this about that clinic. The actual sessions are only 15 minutes on the water for 4 times, the rest of the day is land/trampoline training. Also, I wakeboard almost every Saturday and Sunday for a couple hours each day. Work out regimen is currently and has been for 5 years at least 5-6 days a week with a blend of strength training and cardio for a hour or more a day. Does that change your perspective or still get a book or DVD series with more water time....also, I appreciate your advice.

I agree with what M-Dizzle said. Instruction is great, but too much in one day will lead to an over load of information and a shredding of the body. Progression takes time and like you said, tons of practice. The clinic will be good, but try and ride as much as possible in addition to that.

In regards to your fin question, the boards you say you have are older boards and do not have molded fins. You will need to have a fin or the board will ride incredibly loose. I also noticed in your picture that you have the fin on backwards. Also you are using the slalom grip, try holding on with both palms facing down.

There is nothing wrong with the boards you have (I learned a lot of stuff on that Evil Twin way back when) but honestly I think you would benefit from a decent intermediate board. One with molded fins and a more modern profile.

You need a crew man. Use WakeWorld to find some local duders better than you to ride with.... peeps that will push you to progress... after 4 years of riding, wake jumps and switch riding should be second nature. Clinics and camps are fun, but they rarely can replace extended time on the water with experienced riders. I second "The Book" for supplemental instruction as mentioned before...

Still though man... NC is full of riders... Hook up with some guys that shred and stay on the water as much as possible.

Thanks for the responses...well taken advice. Last follow up question, what are some good intermediate boards on the market? I want to take this up to the next step for sure.

Luker is right on about finding a good crew. Being straight up and honest about the situation (though I will likely get flamed about it from the internet jockeys); getting into a crew that has a good level of talent will be very hard. In general good riders like to ride together to push each other and rarely take in a newer rider (less advanced as there is really no benefit to them). Most good riders have a strong network of people to ride with too; this makes it even harder to get in. Sadly, that's kind of the way it works (at least from my experience). So my suggestion would be to do your homework, approach boats with rippers and tell them you are looking to trade instruction for pulls. This way they get something out of it and vice versa. Having a macking wake and being able to drive well will help too.

Big Heavy touched on what I was getting with. If you do go with an instructor you need to decide what you want to accomplish going in and be very specific. If you ask about a bunch of different things/tricks you will be so overloaded with information that you will be lost. If I were in your position I would focus on building really good fundamentals. The Book has a good 2 minute drill for this as well as some other really good techniques.

Wakeboarding is one of the few sports where progression is not linear. People learn inverts long before they have real control of their riding, often times this leads to premature injuries that could have been avoided by learning the proper basics first (Yes, I too am guilty of doing this). Many riders go out, learn a bunch of inverts only to realize their basics suck and they need to go back and learn basic 180's, 360's etc. What ends up happening is the riders hit somewhat of a "wall" when they cannot land something like a Roll to Revert because they never learned frontside 180's. Or they are struggling on their scarecrow/backroll because they simply huck it rather having a solid Toeside edge. Case in point, learning the basics will get you farther faster, than trying to learn the "hollywood tricks".

Originally Posted by Luker

You need a crew man. Use WakeWorld to find some local duders better than you to ride with.... peeps that will push you to progress... after 4 years of riding, wake jumps and switch riding should be second nature. Clinics and camps are fun, but they rarely can replace extended time on the water with experienced riders. I second "The Book" for supplemental instruction as mentioned before...

Still though man... NC is full of riders... Hook up with some guys that shred and stay on the water as much as possible.

Best advice you can get!

I feel your pain. I started out riding a few times during the summer before I got my own boat. Even then, it was close to impossible getting peeps to go out and wakeboard, much less try and progress. Needless to say, I found a bunch of riders here on WW looking to progress and now go out at least once a week. Trying to get out twice a week, but that can be pretty tough with work and all. This year I decided to invest in some online coaching through Learnwake.com. So far I'm pretty impressed with what they have to offer in terms of tips, drills, and the entire online coaching method. For instance, you can upload a video of a certain trick you're working on, and they'll give you pointers on what you're doing wrong and what you can do to fix it. No bad for $10 a month. Thing about just getting water time, is you could be doing something wrong from the get go and have no one to correct you on it. You build bad habits, become frustrated, and end up leaving the sport because "it wasn't for you." .....or worse you end up taking up golf..lol...