So it’s no surprise that at this point in the evolution of slalom skiing one of the biggest things I coach is for people to learn to move efficiently…with little to no waste or energy or direction. I speak a lot about moving in a positive direction versus a negative direction. This means you not only need to move across course, but with the boat as well. Without getting into the heavy details, the idea is that your center of mass should fall in the desired direction of travel rather than away from the boat or to the tail of the ski.
This is where I feel like I get misquoted as do many coaches and skiers…inevitably 9 out of 10 skiers say, “…yeah I understand about dropping the hips and everything…” or something to that effect. The funny thing is I purposely avoid the word “DROP” when referring to the hips at all costs.
Here are some different definitions for the word. The first four are exactly what you shouldn’t do and the fifth one is similar to what creates efficient positive movement, but again the definition suggests that the word would normally be followed by “down”. Nevertheless, I believe the word really tends to carry a connotation of a negative movement and should be avoided in describing our ideal movement through the turn and across the course.
drop [drop] noun, verb, dropped or dropt, drop⋅ping.
–verb
|
2. |
to fall or move to a position that is lower, farther back, inferior, etc.: to drop back in line; to drop to the rear. |
3. |
to squat or crouch, as a dog at the sight of game. |
4. |
to cause or allow to sink to a lower position. |
5. |
to move gently, as with the tide or a light wind (usually fol. by down). |
By Seth Stisher