I had my first ever wakeboard lesson today and it was awesome! After years of learning from videos, online, and magazines I still felt there were a lot of basics that I didn't have a good handle on. I was down at Century Marine
http://www.centurymarine.com/ getting a light for my boat and casually asked about lessons. They said they have two guys, Sam and Ben, that coach and a lesson runs $50. Seemed like a pretty good deal to me.
I met them at the lake today and I cannot believe how much I progressed. I rode two sets. I was especially working on TS as I'm a HS hero with a roll, 180s, and a sketchy raley. I'm about 1 in 4 for TS and even if I clear the wake I usually end up on my butt. By the time I was done I was doing grabbed TS W2W like it was nothing and working on a TS front flip! Ben and Sam were so good about telling me what I was doing wrong and how to correct it. I ended up getting way more board control on my HS jump as well. I also tried and hit my first double up! They were really good at seeing what I was capable of doing next and giving me the push and encouragement to go for it.
On top of that they were just way cool dudes and I learned a ton watching them. (although I doubt I'll ever be doing Toe 7s and nuclear glides.
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For $50 it was a STEAL! We also used Century's 220 and it was unreal. It took some getting used to such a bigger wake but then it was just so much fun. I think that's the biggest feeling getting coached left with me; FUN!
Anyway, if you're in Az, I wouldn't hesitate to give Century a call and schedule some lessons but in general, getting some real coaching was one of the best things that's ever happened to me in wakeboarding and I recommend it to anyone!