Help with stance for new PMTS athlete

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Help with stance for new PMTS athlete

Postby NHSkiDad » Fri Jan 04, 2019 11:54 am

Mr. Harb,

Hello.

I am the father of two boys—(12yrs and 8yrs)—who are both competing in formal alpine racing programs this season. They both started skiing at age 2 and have been involved in formal developmental skiing programs at our local hill for the last few years.

I did not grow up skiing, and only took up the sport recreationally in my mid-20s—(43 yrs now). However, I am trying my best to help the boys develop, maximize, and own their skiing technique so that they can progress in the sport.

Fortunately, I stumbled upon your PMTS system last spring, and since that time I have been studying it intensely with the boys primarily using three of your books—(Anyone Can Be An Expert Skier 1 & 2, and Essentials of Skiing). The boys conceptually have the six essentials “memorized,” and particularly understand them within your clever framing of the essentials in order of their ascension up the kinetic chain. This season we are working on putting the PMTS essentials into practice. We began the season with tipping, and we are now working on flexing the free ski and extending the stance ski.

My older boy, who prior to PMTS exclusively focused using all of his might to stand on his outside ski as the only thing that mattered in a turn, regrettably developed an overall wide skiing stance as a result. We are trying to correct that since my understanding of PMTS is that the stance of the legs should achieve good vertical separation between the skis, while simultaneously maintaining minimal/decreased horizontal separation above the knees, because that position directly contributes to the power of the force transmitted to the stance ski in that that position essentially creates the effect of a structural/rigid cross-brace.

However, beyond conceptually picturing good vertical separation between the skis with minimal horizontal separation above the knees—(i.e the prototypical World Cup athlete position of the stance knee almost or actually touching the free boot), we are struggling with a specific drill/s to focus on that will address this issue in a way that provides direct/tactile feedback.

Inserted below is a link to a photo of my older son last weekend showing the horizontal stance gap we are trying to address, and if you are able, we would most appreciate your thoughts?

Thanks for all that you do!

Adam

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cx24ckdgs5j35 ... 2.jpg?dl=0

Image
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Re: Help with stance for new PMTS athlete

Postby Max_501 » Fri Jan 04, 2019 12:16 pm

How much work have you done on learning the Phantom Move along with good inside foot management? With my kids we started with Page 1 of Book 1 and didn't move forward until they were performing the exercises in the current chapter properly.

Check Point 1: Lift the inside ski to balance over the outside ski

Check Point 5: Stance width

Check Point 7: Inside foot management
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Re: Help with stance for new PMTS athlete

Postby NHSkiDad » Fri Jan 04, 2019 1:01 pm

Thank you for the helpful check points Max_501!

As you suggested, I will go back and review information on the Phantom Move and inside foot management.
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Re: Help with stance for new PMTS athlete

Postby Max_501 » Fri Jan 04, 2019 1:18 pm

NHSkiDad wrote:As you suggested, I will go back and review information on the Phantom Move and inside foot management.


Reviewing is good but have you worked through the progression in Book 1? It would be a surprise to work through the material and end up with a wide stance since inside foot management and a phantom is the outcome of doing those exercises properly.
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Re: Help with stance for new PMTS athlete

Postby h.harb » Fri Jan 04, 2019 1:22 pm

If kids can't stand strong on the outside ski with the inside ski lifted, it won't go well and progress is non-existent. It is the number one most important rule in skiing. Even if the alignment is off, at least the kids have a chance to adapt with balance in the right place. If they can't stand on one ski after many days of practice, the boots are way off. Don't bother running gates unless kids can keep the inside ski off the snow for a full run. If you run gates without this ability you are engraining poor movements. If a race program doesn't get this, they are wasting your time and money.
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Re: Help with stance for new PMTS athlete

Postby NHSkiDad » Fri Jan 04, 2019 1:57 pm

Max_501,

Perhaps we are doing it backwards: we read the Essentials of Skiing first, and have been concentrating on working through the six essentials in the order they are presented in that book--(i.e. tipping, flexing & extending, counteracting, counterbalancing, combining counteracting and counterbalancing with pole use, and, maintaining fore/aft balance. We read Anyone Can Be An Expert Skier 1 & 2 after the Essentials, and have been trying to take relevant segments from those two books and incorporate them into the specific progression in Essentials.

But, I think you are stating that we should be working through the specific content and format of Anyone Can Be An Expert Skier 1 exclusively?

Thanks for the feedback.
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Re: Help with stance for new PMTS athlete

Postby mardale » Tue Jan 08, 2019 8:42 pm

Do the Phantom with touch-tilt. Essentially, they need to try and touch the stance boot's inside rivet with the base of the inside ski. Start on a green run and do that until they can complete many turns on a blue run, while touching the stance boot with the inside ski and tipping it.

The get on the lift, go to the top and repeat :D

When you think it works, take video and post here for qualified feedback.
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Re: Help with stance for new PMTS athlete

Postby Max_501 » Wed Jan 09, 2019 7:33 am

NHSkiDad wrote:But, I think you are stating that we should be working through the specific content and format of Anyone Can Be An Expert Skier 1 exclusively?


That is correct. The progression in Book 1 builds the Super Phantom movement pattern which is a key component of expert skiing.
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