What makes a wakeboarder really good?

What makes a wakeboarder really good?
Equipment
Talent
Practice
Work Ethic
Coaching

I found this to be an interesting question.

I am torn between Talent, and Practice with coaching being up there too.

The main thing, water time. Riding every day if your body can handle it. After that, trampoline time and some coaching helps.

Here is what I was thinking. To build talent, you need a lot of practice. Now, there are some naturals out there but practicing make everyone better.

I was thinking practice and work ethic but those are kind of similar.

Their outlook on the sport and other riders, as well as for what purpose and actual intent/motivation to ride is.........

To be the best (PWT material) I think talent is where it is at. Not everyone has the talent to be in the position that those guys are even if they could ride as much as they do.

I think anybody can be a better wakeboarder with more practice and to be a good boarder you do not have to be the most talented.

Practice, work ethic, talent.

chicken and the egg

Yeah, remember, by definition "talent" is in-born ability--things like your build, height, your eyesight, even balance can be considered talent. "Skill" is what you hone from your talent through practice. People who are naturally talented (good balance, short, strong, fast-twitch muscle) are going to have an easier time learning the sport, but you can't develop skill without the practice and the coaching.

In other words, talent is your capacity (some people are just born with a greater potential in certain areas), but practice and coaching are what fill that capacity.

However, since wakeboarding isn't like basketball (where height is such a premium) or say football (where speed is a must), talent isn't as great a factor as will, practice and coaching. Even though talent is a capacity in a sense, I don't think that physical conditionals of a body matter as much as fearlessness and drive which aren't really talents so much as skills that people develop through willpower... I think that in general any healthy person can become extremely good at wakeboarding (even if you're tall or short, etc), but most don't have the willpower (or more pointedly, the money) to do so.

So:

1.) Practice
2.) Coaching
3.) Talent

I dont know. There should have been another category, "understanding." I think that you have to have a general understanding of the physics of wakeboarding to be a good wakeboarder. I can tell you from first hand experience that some rides just understand the physics of the sport better than others. This understanding definetly grows out of Talent and Practice, but I think some have, some dont. Sorry if this doesnt make sense but I am having a hard time describing what I am talking about. Some wakeboarders just get it, they know that if they push off the wake like this, pull the handle in here, what the result will be and how it will effect the trick. Now that I really think about it, this is probably born out of practice. Sorry for the rant.

TOW

Time on Water

I agree with time on the water. Anybody you see that is progressing very quickly is most likely driven by them being on the water and riding a lot.

i think practice is the key to making your average wakeboarder "really good". to be really "really good" (pro level), I think you have to have natural talent first and then practice. i voted twice.

Good points Brian and Andy.

I'd agree that water time and coaching is key if you want to beat the learning curve. As for talent...I haven't seen too many "naturals" in wakeboarding. Body strength is important so that is an advantage and certain people with gymnastic-type backgrounds will excell at inverts faster than most. Also, snowboarders will have an advantage.

I'm sure Dallas's gymnastic background helped her learn inverts faster than most. There's a guy I ride with, S. Hussey, who was a high diver before he ever wakeboarded so he had strength and the air-awareness to advance quickly. He can not ride for a year and go out and stick a mobe or pete. This other guy I ride with who was a cheerleader in high school learned quick...a couple inverts and raleys like in one day on the water. The gymnast, snowboarder, cheerleader, high diver all had skills that allowed them to advance quicker.

However, you can't teach style. Guys who come from another board sport usually have more style at first than those who don't. Surfers just want to go out and carve the wake...lol, but like skaters they also ride more knees bent and try to grab the board so they typically have more "style" and can learn quicker. I think JD Webb had a surfing background before boarding.

I don't know what background Keith Lidberg had before he came to Florida from up north (snow?), but I heard he learned a bunch of inverts on the cable real fast early on...so there are the exceptions and prior skills and body strength have a lot to do with it.

practice is nothing if you don't have the work ethic to push yourself during practice.. a lazy practice where you just work on stuff you do well already will get you no where. That is why i chose work ethic.

Natural talent is obviously important, but it's not essential, even at the PWT-level. Look at Chad Sharpe. He's one of the least naturally talented pro riders out there. You can tell he has to work just a little bit harder and take a few more hard falls to accomplish something than, say, his roommate and wakeboard phenom Danny Harf. That said, practically no one will leave Sharpe out of their top best 10 riders. He's got the drive, desire, water time, and--perhaps most importantly--the cahones to be as good as anyone, regardless that he wasn't born to wakeboard.

Riding with people who are goin to push you is really important to me. I guess that would be coaching tho. I was stuck doing the same old stuff and then one day last summer started riding with some old friends who are really good and they started pushing me and i am a way better rider now

I picked talent. To win a pro contest - you have to have tons of natural talent. All those guys practice constantly, but there are still only 5 or so guys capable of winning contests consistently. The ones you see on the podium the most are the ones with tons of natural talent. All the other variables are the same for all pro riders, besides talent.

i dont know about talent. alot of people dont focus on winning at all. to some, wakeboarding is not about competing, winning, respect, etc. its about the feeling of wakeboaridng, and doing what you want to do. i think one thing they definately should have not left out is fundamentals. people can go out, practise as much as they want, and not get any better (me for one) just because they dont have proper fundamentals. I found that out the long, hard, frustrating way!

How many sets per day/week do you think the pros ride? I know this has been discussed in some interviews. I thought it was like 4-5 per day which I can't even imagine. Doing 3 in one day kills me.

Athleticism is by far the number one item as to how good someone can be, and you have to have it to be at the top level.

Work ethic and determination can over come a lack of athleticism to a certain degree.

With water sports I think the number of guys who have the opportunity to go out and ride all of the time are few and far between. So the ones that get that much practice will be better. But the guys who are the best are blessed to have great athleticism and a great work ethic to push themselves.

Trust me Rusty is a great athlete!!! A guy his size doing the things he does is amazing. Mix that with a great work ethic you have a champion.

I think it's all about TECHNIQUE! Which takes lots of time to learn, mastered through good coaching/instruction, and time on the water.

I find that the proper trick/edging/timing technique can catapult your riding skills in 1 season.

Learn the heelside & toeside edging, correct handle & body position first for wake 2 wake jumps. Master these in your first season and you will explode in your 2nd season.

The right attitude towards the sport and others around them.

Jermiside, it took me 5 seasons to start trying to master the proper technique. trust me, its impossible to get better without it.

It's not a which one, it's a check off list

you need Talent, Practice, Work Ethic, Coaching and Equipment couldn't hurt because having a sick wake is always good.

Hey jerm do you have any tips on getting big air? I have been reading these forums for 2-3 years. I hear, stand tall, edge through the wake, keep line tension, progressive edge, handle at hips, stand tall. I feel like I am doing these things but I am still searching for big air. I was just wondering if you had any different tips of how to explain the procedure or feeling of pop that would help me. I know it isn't my wake, because my friend boarded behind it and was going way bigger than me.

MONEY is what it takes. If it's not yours, then someone else's. Someone has to pay for all the water time necessary(boat, gas, equipment, bills, etc) to get good enough to compete, IMO. Everything else is secondary...

Work Ethic...if you dont have good work ethic u will not take the time to ride and practice...thats my opinion

I am with Josh

beer.

I think KC nailed it on the head

Luke, from your list sound like you have all the right technique's. Couple other things to remember are for heelside shift some extra weight on your front foot, sounds odd just trust me. For toeside shift extra weight to your rear foot. Combine those with maintaining your edge ALL THE WAY THROUGH THE WAKE. Don't make the mistake of putting all that together then flattening out once you get to the wake, that's how you loose the good pop. Let us know how you do.

-Fun!

if your talking PWT condition, talent
if your talking just riding, it really depends on how long youve rode because there can be some one with 10 years of experience that are learning 2 wake jumps or there can be someone that just started working on 1 wake grabs, in my opinion id rather be the 1 wake grabs when i just started that being a rider with 10 years experience with a 2 wakejump. its all about how fast you progress.

love of the sport will lead to work ethic, sponsorships to take care of some of the money problem, and practice because they love it and wanna keep doin it, it'll be fun if you love it so i think its the love of the sport that you need.

steeze.

wicked steez

Coaching, Coaching, Coaching. Learning the right way will always pay off.