How to Overcome Fear/Mental Side of Wakeboarding

How does one overcome the fear of getting hurt or the bad wrecks that can occur when wakeboarding? I have thought about this often, as it is something that I would like to overcome. When performing jumps or tricks my technique may be perfect, but I tend to let off when approaching the wake and the removes the pop and the distance. I tend to think about would could happen, instead of what is going to happen. I am looking for tips or suggestions. Heck maybe I need a shrink?

Maybe the lack of fear is something you are born with? For example my brother and I both have the same parents, but he is a daredevil. From the time he was born, he would jump all kind of stuff with his bmx bike and then moved onto motocross. He does the same crazy stuff with sport bikes as well. I have asked him about this and he tells me , he just does it.

I know some people are just more cautious then others, I just want to remove some of mine as it is holding me back from improving.

I am the same way to some extent. I didn't start snowboarding until I was 26, then wakeboarding at 27 or 28. Starting late, I was already behind the curve because my sense of self-preservation had kicked in. I had a job I had to go to on Monday morning, a wife to support, no $$ for injury recovery, etc. I have learned that I can't just go out there and get some 'balls'. I tried it, tore my MCL on a tantrum gone bad. I learned I have to prepare for success to convince myself that I can do it. Tramp work, progression trees on the water, and visualizing what I'm going to do in the air. If I can't visualize it, I won't try it. (well, shouldn't try it...I tried a TS backroll and took a knee to the cheek that was almost serious disaster...) That is my suggestion, find someone who can help you break the tricks apart and work on each piece one step at a time...this includes the approach to the wake...don't try some crazy trick until you can soar into the flats with ease.

I have the same problem ever since I blew out my eardrum last season I've had a problem with being a bit of a puss

i know what you are saying i started late and had the wife, fam, $$$$ issue so that dose tend to slow us down. I don't want to turn this into a helmet/ no helmet thread but after a few hard eyelid pealers i picked up a protech helmet and it just helps me feel a bit safer. I tend to ride better with it than without. i know it is a total mental thing but i feel safer with one.

I always wear one now too

I started riding just two years ago in my late 30's, so I did not have the child innocence. But at the same time, even when I was young I was cautious.

Put a bunch of hot women on the boat. It will make you do some strange things.

I was balls to the wall three years ago, then blew my knee out. I still board, but I can't get over the mental block...

There is no cure. You will take hard falls wakeboarding. You WILL get hurt. For some, however, the rush of success outweighs the fear of failure.

Now, having said that, I wouldnt worry about getting hurt trying new things. When doing something new, your body is already bracing for the risk of failure. 95% of injuries that I have seen, come from people doing tricks they already have dialed. You get comfy with that trick, and your body relaxes a little when doing them. It is those time when sudden unpredicatble takeoffs and landing can hurt you.

Pushing for new stuff is easy. Be VERY careful not to get to lax with your bread and butter stuff. Thats what gets you hurt.

Brandon,

I am in the same situation as you in regards to age, experience and aggressiveness. I feel I am improving but at a very slow pace due to lack of aggressiveness. Unfortunately, I am no help.

I used to be scared to do a lot of stuff, including diving off of a 30 foot cliff. But once you do it once, even if you hurt yourself, it gets easier. Now I dive regularly. Yesterday I took the wakeskate out with no fins for the first time, kept trying to ollie, unsuccessfully, but still. I could barely control the board because of the no fins thing, it was nuts. But I did it, and by the end of the set, I had much better control, and I did stick an ollie, even after going off the front of the board a few times, one of which I tweaked my jaw, neck, back, and had the board hit my legs which were still above the water. You just can't let those things worry you. If it happens, it happens. Just go out there and throw yourself balls to the wall, it'll be way more fun than being scared to try stuff, even falling when doing stuff is more fun that not trying it at all. I realized that last year when I wasn't progressing at all wakeboarding. Then I just decided to start going for it, and it's been all the better. If you get hurt, just heal up, and pick up where you left off, or you'll just wind up regretting it.

It's only water, how bad could it hurt.

WOUNDEDKNEE

I took a serious digger on Saturday. One of the worst I've ever had. Came across TS, was thinkin about 180, didn't commit, but opened up to the boat a little and SMACK. It was a brain fart all the way.

When i got back in the boat I was talkin to the crew about trying new stuff and the mental processes we go through in a split-second and why we didn't throw the new trick. We decided that you can't possibly think about all the things you need to do to execute. You have to trust your ability and just throw it.

for me I will try anything..but last season I injured my knee and not only was i not able to ride like before it was depressing...wakeboarding and snowboarding are really the only activities that I get personal satisfaction from and make me happy.... Its really all I think about day in day out...Im totally addicted..ha ha..so my point is that after my knee injury Ive been so F-ing scared of getting another injury....but im working on my confidence level very slowly.. However Im a believer that if you just throw whatever trick you want to try and live through it ...then it take the fear and hesitation away..then you land it and the feeling is just incredible...JUS DO IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been in the same boat for the past 5 years since tearing my PCL. I'm almost 40 and married with two kids. I just don't have the balls to try new things like I did when I was 20. However, I have found that you can still push yourself to land new tricks within your comfort zone.

I still am afraid of the invert and 360 (and higher). I've tried them all with somewhat painful results, probably because I just wouldn't commit to the trick. Instead of continuing to set myself up for failure I've come to the resolution that these tricks just aren't for me, for now. Instead I have focused on tricks like jumping switch, TS w2w's with grabs, HS 180's, TS 180's, half cabs, etc.

I ride with a lot of people who have plenty of inverts and spins, but 99% of them can't jump w2w toe side to save their life, much less grab it while doing so. Half can't even do a HS 180! The point is, there are plenty of tricks to learn before going for the glamour tricks and you will get the same satisfaction landing them for the first time as you would have if you had landed an invert. The feeling of landing something for the first time is the “drug” that is wakeboarding and it feels great no matter what the trick. This change in attitude has helped me to leave the lake with a smile on my face rather than in frustration.

I'm into my 40s and have to admit I'm not immune to peer pressure....well not exactly the overt peer pressure you see in HS, but if I'm riding with others who are pushing it, it pumps me up a bit to try new stuff. Besides the motivational aspects of riding with better riders, they can coach you through the tricks and let you know if you are ready to take it on or offer advice on what to do if you do not get it the first try.

Here is some other practical stuff that helps me try to get over the wall of fear. Do a quick set with your bread and butter stuff that are good foundations for whatever you want to throw that is new and then the next set try to bust your new trick new early in the set. If you stay out there too long the nads will shrink.

I also tend to try to learn new stuff on weekday riding when I know the conditions will be good. Breaking the trick down into pieces (eg: off the wake BS 180 before W2W....). I also will not keep throwing a trick over and over. If I do not get close in 3 tries, time to move onto something else as you will start developing muscle memory of how not to do it and crashing over and over can get you discouraged or worse injured. Wakeboarding is one of the most fun things you can do and do not get discouraged if you do not get it right away. Just keep it fun.

Sorry for the ramble....

I'm in the over 40 club w/2 kids, never did big tricks in snowboarding so why should do them in wake. I also tore my MCL in the terrain park. no more parks for me . I also ride with peps who throw down, but I'm happy going W2W and hopefully someday I'll be adding a 180 w/grab. Rich your post, definitely shows me it's all good!

You just gotta think about what needs to be done and do it, don't think about possibly falling, only envision success. See yourself completing the new trick. My friends and I have started what we call a "push day", where we get three jumps total & then you have to try the trick you are working on and must try it at least 4 times.

One thing I will say about falling, is that when you have been in the sport for a long time, you start to learn how to fall and when to throw in the towel on an attempt. Always be sure to take care of your body & it will take care of you. As they say "if you ain't fallin, you ain't tryin".

On new tricks I've started breaking them down into their parts. First learning a surface 180, then taking it to the air, then once comfertable giving it a grab. It worked really well on that.

Right now I'm doing the same thing with HS 360's. I spent a lot of time going slowly behind the boat doing surface 360's just to learn the handle pass, then increasing the speed and still doing them on the surface. Now I'm at the point where I'm ready to try doing it off the wake, just gotta wait till next time I'm on the water.

But yea, I just try to make it into smaller, simplier parts, then put them together for whatever the goal is.