This is great history thanks MAx. I still remember the early videos of Reilly and Paul where they had pronounced "A-frames", late hard hits and lots of up extension movements. They didn't know how to release or create early angles. Like Steve Porino advice "early pressure" that is what they were after, which is still all wrong.
I don't have enough fingers to count how many skiers in my career I have run into who skied at a high level but skied incorrectly. By incorrectly I mean they had missing components and therefore they were making compensation type movements. To the regular eye, (untrained) they look great because there is lots of action and high-speed movement. However, they are often inefficient and wasting lots of energy.
Richie Berger is probably the most natural instinctive skier I've watched, beside Hirscher, but no one will ever be able to ski at Hirscher's level. All the Demo guys watched Berger's skiing for years, they studied his movements, they listen to his advice, yet they can't ski like him. Why? Because Richie Berger doesn't convey his movements for the way he skis in his presentations or clinics. He comes up with the "NTS" company line, traditional instruction.
NTS=National Teaching System
Reilly, Paul, and others were not skiing like Richie before I started to coach them and work on their boot set up. Even these great athletes and skiing professionals could not learn by watching. When I saw them skiing in videos, I was not impressed, I saw lots of issues.
Some new people may think this is arrogant but those that do may not realize, I've skied and trained with World Champions since I was 20 years old. World Champions in my day were Jean Noel Augert, (he Won 5 world cup slaloms in one season) and Werner Bliener (silver medal), Andre Bachleda (a world cup GS winner).
Later, as a coach, I skied with Ingemar Stenmark and he trained with us. He spent a week with me and my group of Nor-Am skiers. How many coaches have had that experience? I've trained with the best, first hand, I've skied with the best first hand. I've skied with Eric and Rob Deslauriers, Doug Combs, Tommy Moe, the Cochrans, the Mahres, the list goes on. So when I see good freeskiers, their errors stand out immediately to my eyes.
I am not intimidated by what responses I might get when I offer a critic about anyone's skiing because I can back it up. Demo Team skiers are not at the level as the top World Cup skiers or even the best Nor-Am racers. This gives you some context.
I coached a young racer in Alaska for three seasons, he was on the same team I was coaching in Alaska when I had Tommy Moe in the program. He went on to place 3rd twice at the Valdez World Extreme Championships, I coached Chris Davenport from when he was 14 to when he was 17, and his sister Kate who made the US Ski Team. I'm not intimidated by the Mike Rogans or the Epic ski people; they are far lesser skiers than the people I grew up with.
I'm sorry to rant on like this but sometimes I just get the feeling there is so much misinformation about skiing out there and it's from so-called experts with no real background. So when people say "Who do you think you are telling Reilly what is wrong with his skiing, I can tell you. In fact, Reilly is "now" very appreciative of my coaching and we have an ongoing relationship.
https://harbskisysems.blogspot.com/2014/01/my-evil-twin.html
