Thanks Joseph!!

[Steve]

I skied with Joseph as my coach yesterday on his Pennsylvania ski tour. We had a great time. I had some serious alignment issues that he resolved within the first two hours! My fore / aft balance was pretty bad I was constantly struggling to stay foreword. Man, it feels so good to not have to struggle any more. My thigh burn went away and my knees could actually bend at the end of the day. He took me from a wedge entry, into pure parallel turns, and even threw in some countering. What a great feeling to be actually carving, probably for the first time in my life.

Thanks Joseph for all your help, encouragement, and dedication to the sport.

[DavidV]

Steve,

thanks for your post, sounds like you had fun. I am interested in your reference to improving fore/aft balance. Did Joseph make any specific adjustments to your fore/aft alignment ?

[Steve]

DavidV,

Here is what Joseph did to fix my fore aft balance. Added a booster strap (keeping the strap inside of the front spoiler, and outside the rear spoiler), added a tongue pad, added heel lifts under the inner liner, and added a 2 mm shim under the heel of the boot. This combination is working well for me using my current boots and bindings. Prior to these adjustments, I was falling in the back seat just getting off the lift! It is wonderful to find a great coach who also has an understanding of proper alignment.

I understand that these adjustments are boot specific and even the binding angle enters into the equation. My previous ill fitting boots were too big and had way too much forward lean for me. On those boots I had a 2 mm toe lift added under the toe of the boot and did not use heel lifts. My fore / aft balance was okayish that way, but the boots were still sloppy on my feet.

I hope you find the magic combination. It feels so much better when your are properly ?tweaked?.

[trtaylor]

Steve,

Sounds like you had a great time. I was sorry I wasn't able to hook up with Joseph on this visit. Although our season is rapidly nearing an end, I'd be glad to hook up and do some turns with you anytime.

I do have some ski days planned both this week and next.

Tim