Alignment Issue?

[precisionchiro]

Just saw this post on Facebook, and there is a clear difference when we look at the outside legs in both pics.

Is boot setup/alignment a factor in the difference between Ligety and this young racer?

(I'm looking forward to the Alignment camp within the next couple of years. I want to learn about this)

[blackthorn]

I am really looking forward to comments from those with greater expertise than me. My answer is that there may well be and that there are many comparisons between these two still shots that one can make. This makes for an excellent study. I have already made a list of about ten things.

[jbotti]

A lot of the alignment stuff is hard to tell from one frame. One thing is however quite evident, Ted is leaning in big time and lacks significant CB while the other racer has quite a bit of CB. While I guess some of this could be affected by alignment I would doubt that this is the cause. Ted has always had a tendency to lean in (lack CB) even when he was dominating in GS.

[razie]

Not ideal to draw conclusions from a single frame, but the kid's alignment looks significantly softer than Ted's. I would suspect the cuffs - it almost looks like the boots are not tightened sufficiently, but that should not happen at that performance level.

Can't really tell if his boosters are over the plastic, that could play a role in there as well.

It's not just CB and knee drive, his fore/aft alignment is also significantly different. That's likely a combination of boot setup and body shape.

[h.harb]

Ted has stiff hips and strong feet no one should try to copy his skiing.

[noobSkier]

The kid looks a bit knock-kneed to me, which would be consistent with how boot-techs around here set up their racers. Hard to tell from one frame.

[razie]

That amount would be unhealthy. The load on the knee would be massive.

Assuming he's around the fall line, there is no CA and little to no CB. It's possible he got bounced around as a result and he's just reacting, trying the get the ski to engage - we should not read too much in a single frame and I can't find videos of his skiing.

However, Harald is absolutely right - considering body shape as well as physical limitations or strengths are factors often ignored but a very important part of alignment and good coaching.

[Marc]

Haralds blog post from 2010:

http://harbskisysems.blogspot.com/2010/ ... namic.html

[Max_501]

IMO the HSS Alignment Technician Course Manual will be significantly more educational than attempting to guess alignment issues based on one picture.

[razie]

Indeed - together with the video with before/after examples, the must-have tool for anyone interested in alignment!

The dynamic assessment table on page 39, together with the examples in the video, is really helpful in identifying knocked kneed alignment.

It's too bad that dynamic alignment is not really done around here and the quality of the static alignment is often questionable and far from the detailed assessment done at the HSS shop, which includes assessments of movements and limitations, range of motion etc. One can only wish that more techs and coaches attend the alignment camp!

I looked for and found a few more pictures of the same racer and they're painting the same overall picture: some talent and good results, but fighting what looks like a significantly soft alignment, hip and upper body involvement etc. It is a movement issue as well as the alignment - a good dynamic alignment assessment is easier when the skier is using PMTS movements and much more relevant after a good static alignment.

[HeluvaSkier]

We should collectively be cautious about offering analysis on single frames of skiers... I call it ANALYSIS intentionally, as this is not movement analysis. Without seeing an athlete actually ski (e.g. video) we can only guess at both alignment issues and technical shortcomings. In this case, there is clearly some kind of alignment issue, but as to what it is, is only speculation (e.g. could canting, could be cuff, could be tibial varus, could be a foot bed issue... etc. ...I have no idea). While other images of the same skier may show potential technical flaws, the top image referencing the skier vs. Ted does not show many glaring flaws. Offering much in the way of detailed analysis is irresponsible from a coaching standpoint as the feedback could be completely incorrect and thus a disservice to the athlete and their development.