July 12th 2008 Groveland, Florida
I’ve done well this year May 3, I received a qualifying Slalom score of 14.2 points and I needed 14.1 points, then June 28th I received a Trick qualifying score of 2620 points where I needed 2550 points.
The knee is better but it’s still sensitive and I’ve had to be very careful to not injure it again. I’ve not jumped since June 14th and I’m not 100% sure if the knee will be able to handle the landing of jumping over 40 feet in the air. So far this year, I’ve only focused on a single event at each tournament but we are getting closer to Regionals and Nationals, so I need to ski all events today.
The first event is Tricks, and as always I nail the start and have a great trick pass with a score 2720 points; most likely this will be a National Record. Great way to start the day. Second event it Slalom (also know as wakes) and I way a personal best 15.0 which is beyond amazing for anybody much less a 57 year young man! I never dreamed that I could possibly score anything near this value. Wow things are really going great!
Where we go, the last event… Jump.
Jump 1– I go about 10.8 meters and loose the handle. I’m told by my ski buddies to use a special glove that will help me hold one.
Jump 2 – I use standard gloves and jump about 10.8 meters again, but again I loose the handle in the landing.
Jump 3 – I change gloves and use ‘clinchers’ and go about 11.1 meters and land so hard that I break the rope! Wow clinchers really work.
Jump 4 – I’ve made some adjustments in body position, approach to the ramp, and where my eyes focus as I go over the jump. I travel 11.3 meters and I hold one! Wow 11.3 meters – a new personal best. Not enough to get me qualified for the Worlds (12.7m) but now I’m getting closer.
Today was the greatest performance of my ski career. Two personal bests and a 99% performance in the third event.
Regionals coming up in two weeks, and hunting for 12. 7 meters in jump…
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Qualifying in the Trick Event
Now I’m in trouble. I get hurt Saturday June 14th Jumping in Atlanta and I have a tournament in two weeks June 28th at Port Saint Lucie, Florida. I have to give up training for Jump and start training to qualify in the Trick event in less than two weeks with a bum knee, and my ski partner is now in the UK.
I have to really take it easy and I train very carefully to not injure the knee anymore, but I still have to push as hard as I can. Delicate balance here…
Saturday June 28th arrives and Joe Pressendo the Tournament Director allows me to ski early in the day to give me the best water so that I have the best opportunity to get a qualifying score. My trick run consists of a start called the ‘flying-back-tumble-to-one’ which is worth 700 points (see http://www.barefootwaterskier.com/videos/Back-Deep-To-One-Holt.wmv), by the way qualifying score for Worlds is 2550. I’m probably the only skier the world that attempts this trick in a competition, and to my knowledge, I’ve never missed it, but you know there’s always the first.
I’m on the starting dock with the rope in my hand, the boat proceeds to idle away and I call ‘hit it’ the boat takes off, I jump off the dock, the tumble around and nail the start. The then proceed to do all of my tricks, backwards one foot, one foot reverse (other foot), surface how (while skiing backwards), back-to-front (now I’m skiing forward, all at 43 miles per hour), now a tumble to one 360, reverse 360 to one, a 180 to one, a reverse 180 to one, then a wave and wave reverse (see http://www.barefootwaterskier.com/videos/MikeHoltTrick2July8-2006.wmv)
I’m happy, but now I need to complete my second pass and the start is the second most difficult start in the world, it’s the back-deep-to-one. Okay boat tightens up, I yell ‘hit it’ and we are off to the races. I again make the start, but I’m skiing backwards and I need to turn from the backwards skiing position to the forward position. I make the back-to-front and get ready for my run at 44 miles per hour. I ski with no hands only with my neck, then a neck one foot, reverse neck one foot, two one foots, then teeth, then teeth one foot, and teeth one foot reverse, now a toe, tow reverse, tumble 360 to two fee, reverse tumble 360 to two feet and I’m done!
I receive a score of 2620 which is enough to qualify me for the Trick event at the 2008 World Championships. I did it, I’ve now qualified in two of three events. In 2006, I only qualified for one event, and now two years later and I’m two years older, I’ve improved to the point where I’m going to words for two events.
But a Jump qualify score of 12.7 meters is still to be conquered.
I have to really take it easy and I train very carefully to not injure the knee anymore, but I still have to push as hard as I can. Delicate balance here…
Saturday June 28th arrives and Joe Pressendo the Tournament Director allows me to ski early in the day to give me the best water so that I have the best opportunity to get a qualifying score. My trick run consists of a start called the ‘flying-back-tumble-to-one’ which is worth 700 points (see http://www.barefootwaterskier.com/videos/Back-Deep-To-One-Holt.wmv), by the way qualifying score for Worlds is 2550. I’m probably the only skier the world that attempts this trick in a competition, and to my knowledge, I’ve never missed it, but you know there’s always the first.
I’m on the starting dock with the rope in my hand, the boat proceeds to idle away and I call ‘hit it’ the boat takes off, I jump off the dock, the tumble around and nail the start. The then proceed to do all of my tricks, backwards one foot, one foot reverse (other foot), surface how (while skiing backwards), back-to-front (now I’m skiing forward, all at 43 miles per hour), now a tumble to one 360, reverse 360 to one, a 180 to one, a reverse 180 to one, then a wave and wave reverse (see http://www.barefootwaterskier.com/videos/MikeHoltTrick2July8-2006.wmv)
I’m happy, but now I need to complete my second pass and the start is the second most difficult start in the world, it’s the back-deep-to-one. Okay boat tightens up, I yell ‘hit it’ and we are off to the races. I again make the start, but I’m skiing backwards and I need to turn from the backwards skiing position to the forward position. I make the back-to-front and get ready for my run at 44 miles per hour. I ski with no hands only with my neck, then a neck one foot, reverse neck one foot, two one foots, then teeth, then teeth one foot, and teeth one foot reverse, now a toe, tow reverse, tumble 360 to two fee, reverse tumble 360 to two feet and I’m done!
I receive a score of 2620 which is enough to qualify me for the Trick event at the 2008 World Championships. I did it, I’ve now qualified in two of three events. In 2006, I only qualified for one event, and now two years later and I’m two years older, I’ve improved to the point where I’m going to words for two events.
But a Jump qualify score of 12.7 meters is still to be conquered.
Qualifying in the Jump Event
Okay, I’ve trained 100% to qualify in the Jump event for Worlds for four weeks with the World Record holder in this event David Small. I must receive a qualifying jump distance is 12.7 meters (41.6 ft), and the best I’ve ever done is 10.1 meters, so I need 2.6 meters more.
Arrive in Atlanta Friday July 13th and I’m getting excited, since I have nine attempts to make it happen. Saturday we start jumping about 2 pm and I’m the first jumper. Jumping is a very scary event, because of the high risk factor of getting killed if you fall just before the jump and smash you face into the hard surface of the jump.
Jump 1 – I travel 10.4 meters (more than my previous best) but I don’t hold on to the handle.
Jump 2 – I travel 10.6 meters, but again I can’t hold on to the handle.
Jump 3 – I notice that the rope is not tied to the right attachment point and it’s move to the higher level. I travel 10.8 meters, but I’m not able to hold on again…
Jump 4 – I travel 11.1 meters and I can’t hold on and the bad news is that I twist my knee on the landing and that’s the end of the day.
Bummer, I can’t jump anymore and I don’t know how bad the knee is and when I’ll be able to ski again. Now I need to drive six hours home …
But I did the best I could, but it was not good enough. Well at least I’ve qualified in one event for Worlds – Tricks at PGA May 3, 2008.
Arrive in Atlanta Friday July 13th and I’m getting excited, since I have nine attempts to make it happen. Saturday we start jumping about 2 pm and I’m the first jumper. Jumping is a very scary event, because of the high risk factor of getting killed if you fall just before the jump and smash you face into the hard surface of the jump.
Jump 1 – I travel 10.4 meters (more than my previous best) but I don’t hold on to the handle.
Jump 2 – I travel 10.6 meters, but again I can’t hold on to the handle.
Jump 3 – I notice that the rope is not tied to the right attachment point and it’s move to the higher level. I travel 10.8 meters, but I’m not able to hold on again…
Jump 4 – I travel 11.1 meters and I can’t hold on and the bad news is that I twist my knee on the landing and that’s the end of the day.
Bummer, I can’t jump anymore and I don’t know how bad the knee is and when I’ll be able to ski again. Now I need to drive six hours home …
But I did the best I could, but it was not good enough. Well at least I’ve qualified in one event for Worlds – Tricks at PGA May 3, 2008.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Getting Ready for Jumping
We'll I'm qualified to ski Wakes in New Zealand and I've set my sights on qualifying in the Jump event. Jump is by far has always been my weakest event. Why? Because I was scared:
1. I had a friend die from falling on the jump.
2. I've actually fallen and hit the jump.
You see the barefoot jump is made out of very hard fiberglass. It protrudes from the water as much as 18 inches and it's about 8 feet long by only four feet wide. So fear is a big factor in not in me being very good at jumping. Plus, I never practiced jumping, so this was also a factor of my poor performance.
David Small my ski partner happens to be the world record holder in the jump event, so if there is ever going to be an opportunity to learn to jump, now is the time for me to step up to the plate.
I trained exclusively for six weeks to qualify for Wakes at the first tournament of the season for Worlds and I did it! Immediately after qualifying for Wakes, I switched gears and trained to qualify in the Jump event. Davie and I only skied jump for the past four weeks and my first attempt to qualify for the Worlds in this even is this weekend (today is Tuesday) in Atlanta.
The pressure is on me, since David is returning home to the UK Wednesday. David is not only an amazing skier, he's a great coach. Personally, the best ski coach that I've ever had.
Okay, let me get back to the story. "How's jumping going," a friend of mine asked me yesterday. My response is 'I don't know' and I won't know until I actually ski this weekend, but here is how I've progressed:
I started terrified on the physical boom with my hands on the boom with shoe skies at a slow speed. David took me through the basics, then he had me progress to the short rope on the boom, again with shoe skies at a slow speed.
After a few weeks he had me ski directly on the boom, but now on my feet with increased speed.
At each of the progressive steps, boom to short line with shoes, boom on my feet, boom to short line on my feet, long line shoes and long line feet, I basically have to mentally start all over again.
Yesterday was my first day 'long line' on shoes and honestly I felt that I was not ready (but I always feel that when he takes me to the next state), but he's leaving in a couple of days, so I have to start skiing long line.
The most difficult part of jumping is letting go of 'self preservation as requested by David, as I approach the jump, this means raise up and forward on the jump but the mind tells me I’m crazy and it wants me to lean back and stay low so that I don’t face plant on the ramps.
I've been so frustrated during this process because I know that I need to get up and forward but my brain tells me to get low and backwards as I 'hit' the jump. I know the landings are skier and safer if I do as Dave says.
Yesterday I went long line with 'shoes' and something happed that I can't explain; even David is at a loss of words. I rose up and forward before the ramp like I never did on the boom and my jumps were great! Why did I jump so much better on the long line on my shoes than the boom? I I’m still not on my feet and it's not at a tournament.
I didn't mention that the qualifying jump distance I need to qualify for the Worlds is 12.7 meters and my personal best is 10.1 meters with an average of about 7-8 meters. What's going to happen today and tomorrow when I start to jump long line on my feet? Will I be able to transfer the new knowledge in a tournament? Will I qualify for the Worlds this weekend?
So many unknowns, life is so full of unknowns, so exciting. Soon some of these questions will be answered.
1. I had a friend die from falling on the jump.
2. I've actually fallen and hit the jump.
You see the barefoot jump is made out of very hard fiberglass. It protrudes from the water as much as 18 inches and it's about 8 feet long by only four feet wide. So fear is a big factor in not in me being very good at jumping. Plus, I never practiced jumping, so this was also a factor of my poor performance.
David Small my ski partner happens to be the world record holder in the jump event, so if there is ever going to be an opportunity to learn to jump, now is the time for me to step up to the plate.
I trained exclusively for six weeks to qualify for Wakes at the first tournament of the season for Worlds and I did it! Immediately after qualifying for Wakes, I switched gears and trained to qualify in the Jump event. Davie and I only skied jump for the past four weeks and my first attempt to qualify for the Worlds in this even is this weekend (today is Tuesday) in Atlanta.
The pressure is on me, since David is returning home to the UK Wednesday. David is not only an amazing skier, he's a great coach. Personally, the best ski coach that I've ever had.
Okay, let me get back to the story. "How's jumping going," a friend of mine asked me yesterday. My response is 'I don't know' and I won't know until I actually ski this weekend, but here is how I've progressed:
I started terrified on the physical boom with my hands on the boom with shoe skies at a slow speed. David took me through the basics, then he had me progress to the short rope on the boom, again with shoe skies at a slow speed.
After a few weeks he had me ski directly on the boom, but now on my feet with increased speed.
At each of the progressive steps, boom to short line with shoes, boom on my feet, boom to short line on my feet, long line shoes and long line feet, I basically have to mentally start all over again.
Yesterday was my first day 'long line' on shoes and honestly I felt that I was not ready (but I always feel that when he takes me to the next state), but he's leaving in a couple of days, so I have to start skiing long line.
The most difficult part of jumping is letting go of 'self preservation as requested by David, as I approach the jump, this means raise up and forward on the jump but the mind tells me I’m crazy and it wants me to lean back and stay low so that I don’t face plant on the ramps.
I've been so frustrated during this process because I know that I need to get up and forward but my brain tells me to get low and backwards as I 'hit' the jump. I know the landings are skier and safer if I do as Dave says.
Yesterday I went long line with 'shoes' and something happed that I can't explain; even David is at a loss of words. I rose up and forward before the ramp like I never did on the boom and my jumps were great! Why did I jump so much better on the long line on my shoes than the boom? I I’m still not on my feet and it's not at a tournament.
I didn't mention that the qualifying jump distance I need to qualify for the Worlds is 12.7 meters and my personal best is 10.1 meters with an average of about 7-8 meters. What's going to happen today and tomorrow when I start to jump long line on my feet? Will I be able to transfer the new knowledge in a tournament? Will I qualify for the Worlds this weekend?
So many unknowns, life is so full of unknowns, so exciting. Soon some of these questions will be answered.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Barefoot World Championships - Qualifying in the Slalom Event
In October 2006, I had the opportunity to skied the 2006 Senior Barefoot Water-Ski World Championships in Washington USA as an independent skier (meaning that I was not on the Official USA Team) in the Trick event only (I didn't qualify for jump or slalom event).
Barefooting at the World Championships was a magical experience to be with the World’s greatest barefooters. There were so many different cultures to get to know, Italians, Belgium, Swedes, Dutch, NZ, Aussies, French, Fins, and others.
On the first day at the Worlds I started making friends from around the world and it was just to amazing to be with others individuals that have trained as hard and many who have trained harder than me to become the best of the best.
At a World Championship, there are three different divisions, which are divided into men and women: Juniors (Under 16), Seniors (35 and over), and those between 16 and 34. Since I was 56, I skied in the Senior division.
What does it take to ski in the Senior Division? You have to be ranked in the top twenty of all skiers in the world for that given event. In my case, for 2006 I was ranked No. 20, but only in the Trick event. No easy feat for someone who was the oldest skier to ski the World Championship. My daughter Belynda is older than some of my competitors.
So how did the 2006 Worlds go for me? I skied well enough in the preliminaries to ski the semi-finals (top 50%), and I ended up finishing up 9th out of 20 skiers. If I hadn’t fallen on my second pass in the semi-finals, I would have ended up in 7th place. I was happy with my performance, especially since I preformed a 'flying back-tumble-deep-to-one start' (see http://www.mikeholt.com/img/other/wsmovie.wmv), which is the most difficult start in all of Barefooting and I was the only skier to even attempt the start.
What’s next in Barefooting? Well I left the 2006 World Barefoot Championships a different man and I’ll never be the same. I can’t explain it, there is something inside me that feels that I experienced something special and part of it was because of hard work and God’s blessings.
Yea, but what’s next? I left the 2006 Championships committed to qualify for the 2008 Championships in New Zealand, but by then I’ll be 58 years young competing against men almost ½ my age. Remember, to qualify for the Worlds I need to be ranked in the 20 of all skiers in the world over 35 years young.
So for the past 1½ I’ve had a personal trainer, I’ve watched my diet, and I've worked harder to improve my skiing skills. I skied a Personal Best (PB) in every event in 2007, secured a Gold metal (1st place) in all three events at the 2007 USA National Championships for my age division, and was the No. 1 ranked age division skier at the USA National Championships of all age divisions!
In March of 2008 I started skiing with the two time World Champion (2002 and 2004) David Small who is the current record holder in the jump event. David work with me on the Slalom event to see if I could get a World qualifying score of 14.1. At the first tournament of the season after training with David Small for six weeks, I skied a PB 14.2 points and I qualified to go to the Worlds in the Slalom event! I can’t believe that I qualified for the Worlds at the first tournament of the season, especially in an event that I didn't qualify in the previous Worlds.
Now that I’ve qualified for the Worlds in Slalom event, I've redirected my efforts to qualify in my weakest event, and that is the jump event. My average jump distance is about 8 meters with a PB of 10.1 meters. To qualify for the Words (top 20 ranking) I need a jump of 12.7 meters, which is about 50% greater than my average and almost 30% more than my PB.
David Small (remember he's the world record holder in this event) my ski partner, has been helping me gain the confidence to ski safely in a manner that will get the qualifying score of 12.7 meters. David will be leaving to return home (England across the pond) the first week in June and I won't see him again until late September. My first attempt to qualify in the Jump event is June 14, in Atlanta. I hope I make David proud of my accomplishments in Atlanta...
If I don’t get a qualifying jump score in Atlanta, I’ll need to let Jumping go and start training to get a qualifying score in the Trick event at the June 28 tournament in Port St. Lucie Florida. But that’s another story.
Barefooting at the World Championships was a magical experience to be with the World’s greatest barefooters. There were so many different cultures to get to know, Italians, Belgium, Swedes, Dutch, NZ, Aussies, French, Fins, and others.
On the first day at the Worlds I started making friends from around the world and it was just to amazing to be with others individuals that have trained as hard and many who have trained harder than me to become the best of the best.
At a World Championship, there are three different divisions, which are divided into men and women: Juniors (Under 16), Seniors (35 and over), and those between 16 and 34. Since I was 56, I skied in the Senior division.
What does it take to ski in the Senior Division? You have to be ranked in the top twenty of all skiers in the world for that given event. In my case, for 2006 I was ranked No. 20, but only in the Trick event. No easy feat for someone who was the oldest skier to ski the World Championship. My daughter Belynda is older than some of my competitors.
So how did the 2006 Worlds go for me? I skied well enough in the preliminaries to ski the semi-finals (top 50%), and I ended up finishing up 9th out of 20 skiers. If I hadn’t fallen on my second pass in the semi-finals, I would have ended up in 7th place. I was happy with my performance, especially since I preformed a 'flying back-tumble-deep-to-one start' (see http://www.mikeholt.com/img/other/wsmovie.wmv), which is the most difficult start in all of Barefooting and I was the only skier to even attempt the start.
What’s next in Barefooting? Well I left the 2006 World Barefoot Championships a different man and I’ll never be the same. I can’t explain it, there is something inside me that feels that I experienced something special and part of it was because of hard work and God’s blessings.
Yea, but what’s next? I left the 2006 Championships committed to qualify for the 2008 Championships in New Zealand, but by then I’ll be 58 years young competing against men almost ½ my age. Remember, to qualify for the Worlds I need to be ranked in the 20 of all skiers in the world over 35 years young.
So for the past 1½ I’ve had a personal trainer, I’ve watched my diet, and I've worked harder to improve my skiing skills. I skied a Personal Best (PB) in every event in 2007, secured a Gold metal (1st place) in all three events at the 2007 USA National Championships for my age division, and was the No. 1 ranked age division skier at the USA National Championships of all age divisions!
In March of 2008 I started skiing with the two time World Champion (2002 and 2004) David Small who is the current record holder in the jump event. David work with me on the Slalom event to see if I could get a World qualifying score of 14.1. At the first tournament of the season after training with David Small for six weeks, I skied a PB 14.2 points and I qualified to go to the Worlds in the Slalom event! I can’t believe that I qualified for the Worlds at the first tournament of the season, especially in an event that I didn't qualify in the previous Worlds.
Now that I’ve qualified for the Worlds in Slalom event, I've redirected my efforts to qualify in my weakest event, and that is the jump event. My average jump distance is about 8 meters with a PB of 10.1 meters. To qualify for the Words (top 20 ranking) I need a jump of 12.7 meters, which is about 50% greater than my average and almost 30% more than my PB.
David Small (remember he's the world record holder in this event) my ski partner, has been helping me gain the confidence to ski safely in a manner that will get the qualifying score of 12.7 meters. David will be leaving to return home (England across the pond) the first week in June and I won't see him again until late September. My first attempt to qualify in the Jump event is June 14, in Atlanta. I hope I make David proud of my accomplishments in Atlanta...
If I don’t get a qualifying jump score in Atlanta, I’ll need to let Jumping go and start training to get a qualifying score in the Trick event at the June 28 tournament in Port St. Lucie Florida. But that’s another story.
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