UItimate Coach - A New Ski Jump Training Device
Over the years I have heard several concepts to describe the way you want to jump at the takeoff...jump at a 45 degree angle...jump like this(with the coach pointing in the general direction of a 45 degree angle)...even more recently I heard one coach suggest to jump like a banana. Admittedly, I don't know of too many 9-12 year old kids that know what a 45 degree angle is. This can be a real problem in ski jumping or any other sport. If the athlete doesn't know/understand what you are trying to get him to accomplish than the athlete has no way of knowing what it is he is suppose to do or no way of being able to tell if he is doing it. If he doesn't have enough life experience to understand what a 45 degree angle is than your wasting your time trying to tell him to jump at a 45 degree angle.
Last year while ski jumping the K90 in Lake Placid I heard a new way of describing this same concept..."Maintain the shin to chin angle". I told this concept to one of the newbie kids last fall and he loved it and could actually use it to his benefit. It's a much simpler and more direct way of telling kids what direction they want to obtain when they jump.
Last winter, 2007, this same concept got me to thinking about a way to make a new ski jump training device. I had two things I wanted to achieve with the device:
1) Prevent a jumper from being able to throw the knees out the back
2) Force a jumper to maintain the shin to chin angle
The first device
I came up with a rather simple idea and took a piece of a 1x12 and cut a notch in one end of it. The notch extended to just below knee high. I stapled pieces of velcro on each opening so I could strap my legs right to the 1x12. I would sit the 1x12 on top of my feet and strap it on nice and snug. When I went to get into my inrun position the 1x12 would match my shin to chin angle and the top of the board would sit against the wall. Beautiful I thought. Both concepts achieved. I can't throw the knees out the back and I know exactly the direction I want to jump, just keep my nose to the 1x12. Sweet...or so I thought.
The biggest problem was trying to keep the device from moving as I moved. All I had to do was move my feet up/down/left/right and the whole thing moved with me. It was just so cumbersome to use that it made it pretty much worthless. I used it for a couple of days and then I ended up sticking it by the head of my bed and it set there for pretty much a year, untouched.
I took a look at the device again, very briefly, right before the jump meet in Salisbury, Connecticut in mid February this year. I was simply stumped on what I could do differently. I thought about chopping the top of the 1x12 and making it into a box that would have the back side up against a wall or tree. I saw potential trouble with the idea and tossed it away fairly quick.
After returning from the weekend in Salisbury I woke up Monday morning with another idea. In about one hour the bulk majority of the Ultimate Coach was born. I saw several new potential concepts that I could build into the device, essentially building the near perfect training device.
Why current devices/methods are insufficient for ski jump training
Before looking at the new device I designed and built we need to look back at the problems with the devices/techniques that are currently being used to understand the limitations of the devices so we can look for solutions to build a much better device in the future. The devices are out there if someone is willing to be open minded and build them. In the sport of ski jumping it seems like everyone has this attitude of giving out 'hand me down' advice. No one is willing to notice what America is doing isn't working at making better ski jumpers. As a result we continue to get the same results all the time. I think my device shows there are far better devices out there if people will stop using hand me down advice/tools and start making their own.
A very big misconception of ski jumping is that you are suppose to jump and keep on jumping. When you start to jump incorrectly, normally right from the very beginning, the coach will go out and correct the jumper. This is the problem. One simple lesson of life is if you don't want to have break a bad habit, then don't start the bad habit in the first place. For example, you never have to stop smoking...if you never start smoking. The coaches real first job is to prevent the jumper from jumping wrong in the first place. The current training devices/methods don't offer the opportunity to prevent the jumper from jumping incorrectly. Bad habits get formed and if the coach is lucky the jumper will overcome the bad habit quickly. At times though this doesn't happen and it becomes a big problem for the jumper to overcome and it may take months or years or overcome. Why not nip it in the bud before the jumper ever gets on skis. In the past the reason has been simple, the training devices being used were inadequate and wouldn't prevent the formation of bad habits. My new device takes care of that problem in several cases and gives feed back without the need for the coach in several other areas.
The bugle, bungee cords, and catches with the coach all have several problems:
1) When was the last time you came down an inrun and jumped from a flat takeoff? When??? All takeoffs are angled downhill to prevent you from jumping too high in the air and coming down to hard on the landing. The takeoffs are angled so you will follow the curve of the hill and come in for a smooth, soft landing. Why do the coaches have kids practice catches or practice with the bugle or bungees from a flat takeoff? Sure they put the kid up on heel blocks or a piece of wood to represent a heel block but the kid is on a heel block when he has the skis on. So this effect has no meaning at all. The weight distribution is different between a flat takeoff and an angled takeoff. I heard another fellow master class jumper talk about the concept the last day I jumped on snow this winter. I thought he was crazy for suggesting that he would have to sit back more on the K50 in Lebanon than what he was used to doing. After experimenting with my new device I understand what he is talking about. Coaches right now give the kids the worse takeoff angle of all...none. Why???
2) All three techniques have no set inrun position for the given jumper. When the jumper takes a practice jump and then comes back to take another jump the coach has to make sure the jumper is in a good inrun position once again before letting the jumper take the next jump. The techniques can have varying degrees of feet separation as well. Normal ski separation, distance between the skis, is either 7 1/4 or 7 1/2 inch(I have to measure that again). The jumper can place his feet too close together or too far apart when using the current training devices/methods. Why?
3) All three techniques currently being used allow the jumper to throw the knees out the back. Why? You don't have to stop smoking if you never start.
4) None of the current devices give you any indication of what direction you want to jump. If you don't jump the right direction on the bugle you won't make it up on top, unless you use brute force to make it up there. You could have jumped chesty and not known why...unless the coach was there to tell you that you had jumped chesty. There is no indicator to let you know that you jumped too chesty or to direct. So what is the right angle to jump at?????????
5) To use the bugle you must come out of your normal inrun position and put your hands on the bar of the bugle for balance. How often do you want to do that when you jump?
6) Doing slows or bungees don't get you off the ground and into the flight position. They limit you to only the initial takeoff position and nothing more.
7) Slows/catches with the coach/friend require someone to be present to catch you or you can't do them. The coach doesn't have to be there when you use the bungee though.
8) You could forget to cock your ankles and not even realize you didn't cock them, at least until the coach told you. This could go on almost forever since their is no direct reason for the mind to make you cock your ankles.
9) The 'V' has become the big thing over the past decade and a half. None of the current devices get you into the 'V' so you can get use to spreading your feet into a 'V'. It's become the number one thing to learn to get you down to the bottom of the hill but no one has taken advantage of the adding it to any training device...until now.
10) On a hot, summer day the number of imitations that you can do with any of the three techniques are limited by how long you can withstand the heat and boredom. Actual jumping can be far worse when you start to include climbing steps back up to the top of a jump.
I agree that actual jumping is the best experience...once you have learnt the proper technique. Getting use to feeling the air, putting in a telemark landing, etc can only be accomplished with skis on your feet. Learning the proper technique should be done initially without the skis and then taken to the actual jump once the jumper has managed to train his muscles/mind the proper way to jump. At that point in time the jumper will be in a much better position to be able to pick up feeling the air, putting in a telemark landing, etc when he isn't trying to spend all his time learning the technique he should already know. Not only can this be accomplished much quicker on the ground with training devices, it can be done much better by building devices that make/force you jump correctly to start with.
All these problems are addressed with my new device. Pretty much the only reasons that a coach is needed with my device:
1) The initial inrun setup(once per jumper at least until the jumpers inrun position changes due to body growth or increased flexibility)
2) To make sure the jumper is jumping with the whole foot and with both feet
The different prototypes
I knew from the beginning that I had several things that needed to be built into the device:
1) Easy to travel with, at least by car, anotherwords it had to be easy to take apart and put together, not very time consuming(wouldn't want set up or tear down to eat into too much training time)
2) Lightweight so anyone, even an 8 year old kid, could set it up and move it around by themselves(admittedly, this one still needs some more work)
3) I was initially looking at a one person device not a device that could be easily adjusted for any ski jumper(this has since been changed and taken care of)
4) I wanted it come as close as possible to making you jump correctly each and every time you use it(I doubt you could get much closer than this device, prove me wrong)
So far I have made six separate prototypes of the device. Each one has built upon the one before it and added a whole new dimension into the device. I built the first prototype in early March and found it had one simple problem, it was very unstable. It was unstable even though I didn't have the base put underneath it that I thought I was going to need so I could use the device as it was intended around where I live. I knew I would need better stability to be able to use it in its designed environment(not on land).
The second prototype, built a week later made for a much more stable device, maybe the most stable device so far, including the present device. The problem with the second prototype was that it couldn't be taken apart easily and with the size of the device I wouldn't be able to fit it in my car to take it where I would be using it. The base still wasn't built and the device weighted quite a bit given everything. I also started to realize that I wanted the nose 2x4 to be collapasable. At that time it was screwed in place and either you made it over the 2x4 or you learned how to sing soporano, even if you was a very deep base.
The third prototype was built a week later. This time I managed to get it so it could be easily taken apart and put back together in a matter of a couple of minutes. I also put the nose 2x4 on a hinge and wrapped a bungee cord around it so it could drop down if you didn't jump hard enough and it would automatically come back up into place after you got clear of it. I finally went out and tested the prototype by jumping into the snow in my backyard in early April. I was a bit surprised watching the video I shot to see how much my takeoff position changed when I had the reference out in front of me to jump at. I was most amazed to see I wasn't bending at the waist like I normally do when I'm jumping the K50 in Lebanon. I was looking more like a real ski jumper. The only problem I noticed was I didn't have the device set up to be adjustable and my inrun position had me too much on my toes. I also noticed by jumping in to the snow banks that I was THROWING the hips forward about the time I was even with the nose 2x4. I knew throwing the hips forward wouldn't be an issue when I was using the device where it is intended to be used. The fear factor won't exist...their will be no need to braces myself before I land. Otherwise everything with the device seemed to be working the way I was intending it to.
After that session The next three days saw three new prototypes including most of the current design. The fourth prototype was the first to include the base into the device automatically and at the same time make the inrun position adjustable. After building the bulk of the prototype I saw the lack of stability as one problem and it wasn't going to be as easy as to adjust as I wanted. I bailed on the idea and took it apart before I ever went to bed that night.
The fifth prototype gave me the adjustability somewhat as I was wanting it. I found the way how to make the front and back of the inrun position adjustable. It still wasn't quite what I wanting but it was far better than what I was trying a day earlier. I still was having a stability issue.
The next day I started over again with the sixth prototype. I decided to use cross bracing for the legs and that made all the difference in the stability. I was able to get both front to back and side to side stability, even though I had the base build into the unit this time around. The device stands 3 1/2 feet off the ground at the front of the device. I knew any possible wave action shouldn't cause any kind of trouble in keeping things nice and stable with the device. I managed to get the front and back adjustments made better and also got the seat so it would be adjustable. The only trouble I was having at the time was trying to figure out how to adjust the angle of the nose 2x4. This 2x4 is supposed to be set so it is parallel to the ski jumpers shin to chin angle. Not coming up with the simple solution Fred Baker(parent of two former Lebanon ski jumpers) told me about this past week I figured I pretty much had the prototype phase finished.
After several times crawling up on the device, the front stands 3 1/2' off the ground, I decided to screw a couple of small scrap 2x4's to one of the cross braces so I could use them as steps. This worked beautifully.
Trying to set up the inrun position in my house, 7 1/2 foot high ceilings, wasn't much fun. Talk about feeling the muscles in your legs, OH YEAH! I ended up waiting until it warmed up a little and took the device outside and tried out there to setup the inrun position. I found it was so much simpler, with little to no muscle problems since I wasn't always having to squat. I knew it would be handy to have someone else around to help adjust the position but I was mostly wanting to make sure the device would be easy enough to adjust and lock into position. I found that it was working as I wanted it to.
Pain is the key to change
One of the quickest ways to get the mind to change is to make it experience pain. The subconscious mind hates pain. It will do anything it can to prevent the body from experiencing pain, physical or emotional. Try walking into the center of a nice campfire sometime...right into the fire...see what your mind has to say about it. Admittedly the conscious mind can decide to do otherwise, eg abusive relationships. This is where all the battles in life come from. I have experienced plenty of battles with my own mind since I started ski jumping. I know my mind hates the idea that I'm out here ski jumping thanks to bad(abusive) experiences in competitive sports I had as a kid, but I keep right on ski jumping anyways. Yeah, I still suck, quite frankly, as a ski jumper thanks to bad childhood experiences. I can/have picked up anything in life in no time flat, as long as there is no competitive environment involved. I've been jumping since January 2001 and I jump 12 months a year and 400+ jumps each winter. I still suck as ski jumper. I understand why quite well. Just because I'm fine with everything consciously doesn't mean my subconscious mind is fine with it and it is the subconscious mind that controls the body when you jump. You can only work on one thing at a time consciously. If the subconscious mind doesn't want you out over the skis, it will hold you back. It's a simple fact of life. If the subconscious mind says no...then the body ain't going to go.
With my training device I hope to use some physical pain to force change and make the jumper jump the way he is suppose. Basically use the fear of pain to make the jumper jump correctly. If you don't cock your ankles than your new nickname will be Stubby. Any ski jumper will more than likely learn to cock his ankles without hardly ever having to be told to do so because the mind will see that if he doesn't cock his ankles than he will continue to stub his toes on the toe block on the end of the device every jump he takes. Yes, the jumper is jumping barefooted.
Right now I need some more information from the coaches before I can do a full attachment of the toe block to the device. Unlike the direction your suppose to jump at the takeoff, err maintain the shin to chin angle(keep your nose to the 2x4) when it comes to cocking the ankles the coaches only ever say "Cock your ankles". They never say anything else, as to how quickly to cock them or how much to cock them(granted the degree of cocking depends on the flexibility of each jumper). They are very vague in their description. At least the coaches I have been around have been very vague.
One day while taking the device apart to take it back in my house I ended up braking the back adjustment arm, only made out of 3/4" particle board. I decided to see if I might not be able to clamp versus bolt down a 2x4 instead and get it work for the adjustment bar. I know what my ideal concept is but I don't have the necessary tools to accomplish it. The clamp idea seems to almost work better than the way I was doing it before. The nice thing is their is no need for a crescent/socket wrench when using the clamps and the way I have it attached now makes adjusting it much easier than what it used to be when your trying to set up the device on your own. Both clamps are right underneath your butt and very easy to reach.
In the past week or so I have thought of a couple more ideas. Why not make the takeoff angle adjustable(accomplished very easily/quickly, thanks Fred) and why not make it so the ski jumper is forced into a 'V'. This one I'm still working on and I need more information to accomplish this goal as of yet.
Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink
One of the big things you want to do when ski jumping is to hold the position all the way into the hill. My suggestion is to break with the concept of jumping on land and instead...jump into water. Water is a soft, forgiving surface that will allow the ski jumper to hold the position all the way into the landing, in fact, it is suggested to hold the position until after you have landed on the water. There is no risk of hurting yourself, other than maybe a red belly from doing belly flops on the water. You are only a few feet off the water at the highest point in the jump so the risk of hurting yourself is greatly reduced/essentialy eliminated. I figure you shouldn't need more than three to four foot deep water for safety sake. This is why I built the 3 1/2 foot tall cross braces/base for the device. The entire base will be submerged in the beach where I will be doing my jumping at. Only the 'takeoff' will stick out of the water as long as the waves aren't too high.
Another nice aspects of using water is on a nice, hot, sunny summer day you can take all the jumps you could ever desire and never break a sweat. Also, when you have a jump cycle of around one minute you could easily take 100 jumps in a matter of a couple of hours. What more could you ask for a beginner jumper to do than to take as many jumps as possible, especially when each one is essentially correct. Reinforcing correct technique is what every coach wants to accomplish...isn't it.
Also, how many times have you seen ski jumping at the beach/pool. Around my area the only water that is available are the beaches. I see it as a whole new way of recruiting ski jumpers where no one has ever tried to do any recruiting before.
The Ultimate Coach
Above are two pictures of my new device the Ultimate Coach. I don't have the inrun set perfectly for me yet. Granted I'm not too worried about that aspect as I'm still working on trying to get the final prototype designed. The pictures do give a real good idea of what the device is all about.
The Ultimate Coach is a ski jump training device which allows for a fully adjustable inrun position, including the takeoff angle. The jumper gets up on the device and adjusts the seat for his inrun position. It has both a front and back adjustment bar that can be raised and lowered to accomodate all size ski jumpers. I stand 6'3" and it works for me and it can easily be adjusted to work for smaller jumpers quite easily(Their may have to be one slight redesign once I get some small kids to try out the device. The front adjustment bar may need to come back further to accomodate their smaller thigh/upperbody lengths. I may also be able to change the seat pan around to accomodate their smaller bodies. I just need different sizes jumpers to test it out.) The seat itself can be moved forwards and back. The seat not only provides the reference of the correct inrun position once it has been set up, but it also blocks the knees so the jumper can't throw the knees out the back. Between the seat post and the seat there is another piece that moves forward and back. This piece has a 2x4 attached to it with a hinge that matches the shin to chin angle.
Using a screw as a wedge(Thanks Fred), you can easily adjust the shin to chin angle, err nose 2x4 to accomodate all ski jumpers. The nose 2x4 has a bungee cord wrapped around it so it can drop down out of the way if the jumper doesn't jump hard enough to clear the top 2x4. The 2x4 is the front reference for the proper inrun position. If the nose is buried into the 2x4 then you are too much on your toes and you need to sit back further so your jumping off the whole foot. It also is the reference for the direction the jumper wants to jump. Instead of maintain the shin to chin angle now the jumper has the full reference and he just needs to KEEP HIS NOSE TO THE 2x4.
When the jumper stands up beside the 'takeoff' the 2x4 should be up to his crotch at least if not a bit higher. This will give him the complete starting point of the proper direction to jump. Once he has managed to get that high it will be very difficult for him/her to change their position and jump more direct or more chesty. This will allow them to know if they are jumping the right direction or not. Did they keep their nose to the 2x4. The coach doesn't have to tell them...the device does.
As the jumper gets in his proper inrun position his butt should be just off the seat. His thighs close to the knees would naturally be touching but his rear end should be off the seat. His nose should just be touching the 2x4. His feet are already locked in place separated by 7 1/4 inches, I believe this is correct, it may need to be 7 1/2 inches both at the heels and at the toes, no cheating in any way allowed here.
Once I find out how I need to install the toe block and the "V" spreader I will add them in but the concept is simple. As the jumper jumps he better cock his ankles or his toes will hit the toe block on the end of the 'takeoff'. The jumper better spread his feet into a 'V' as well...then again he'll have no other choice, there will be a piece of wood on each side of the his foot that will force his foot out into the proper V spread. Currently I am guessing the V spreader will have to be made adjustable for individual jumpers as well since I believe the degree of the spread on the V is determined solely on shoulder width which can and is different for each jumper. Hopefully after the Eastern Division Spring Meeting on May 3rd I'll have my answers and be able to get the final prototype finished.
The Future
Right now I'm still looking to finish off the final prototype version of the device and then see if I can find out what is going to be the smartest materials to build the device out of, given water is involved. I have a feeling their are a few better techniques to use when building the device than what I have chosen thus far. Hopefully I'll make the contacts I know I should have already made and I will be able to get better informed on the smarter building techniques that I don't know about/haven't thought about yet.
I know the lake water doesn't really start to get very warm around here until mid to late June so I have no plans on testing the device until that time, unless something comes up unexpectedly that gives me other opportunities to run some more tests.
I also would like to find a way to make the nose 2x4 adjustable in terms of how high it goes up. This can easily be used as the jumper gets better to make the jumper jump harder to clear the top of the 2x4. If a coach wanted to really make the jumper jump he could screw the 2x4 in place instead of letting it be droppable. This would give the jumper the incentive to jump harder or he won't like the consequences. Pain is such a great motivator.
If anyone has any other ideas for making the device better let me know and I'll see what I can come up with. I think I have covered pretty much everything from the time you start down the inrun until the last split second before you put in a landing other than getting use to feeling the air. Then again, with this crazy sport who only knows what else I haven't been told/overheard as of yet.
Ryan "Crash" Crawford
Sunapee, NH
Last year while ski jumping the K90 in Lake Placid I heard a new way of describing this same concept..."Maintain the shin to chin angle". I told this concept to one of the newbie kids last fall and he loved it and could actually use it to his benefit. It's a much simpler and more direct way of telling kids what direction they want to obtain when they jump.
Last winter, 2007, this same concept got me to thinking about a way to make a new ski jump training device. I had two things I wanted to achieve with the device:
1) Prevent a jumper from being able to throw the knees out the back
2) Force a jumper to maintain the shin to chin angle
The first device
I came up with a rather simple idea and took a piece of a 1x12 and cut a notch in one end of it. The notch extended to just below knee high. I stapled pieces of velcro on each opening so I could strap my legs right to the 1x12. I would sit the 1x12 on top of my feet and strap it on nice and snug. When I went to get into my inrun position the 1x12 would match my shin to chin angle and the top of the board would sit against the wall. Beautiful I thought. Both concepts achieved. I can't throw the knees out the back and I know exactly the direction I want to jump, just keep my nose to the 1x12. Sweet...or so I thought.
The biggest problem was trying to keep the device from moving as I moved. All I had to do was move my feet up/down/left/right and the whole thing moved with me. It was just so cumbersome to use that it made it pretty much worthless. I used it for a couple of days and then I ended up sticking it by the head of my bed and it set there for pretty much a year, untouched.
I took a look at the device again, very briefly, right before the jump meet in Salisbury, Connecticut in mid February this year. I was simply stumped on what I could do differently. I thought about chopping the top of the 1x12 and making it into a box that would have the back side up against a wall or tree. I saw potential trouble with the idea and tossed it away fairly quick.
After returning from the weekend in Salisbury I woke up Monday morning with another idea. In about one hour the bulk majority of the Ultimate Coach was born. I saw several new potential concepts that I could build into the device, essentially building the near perfect training device.
Why current devices/methods are insufficient for ski jump training
Before looking at the new device I designed and built we need to look back at the problems with the devices/techniques that are currently being used to understand the limitations of the devices so we can look for solutions to build a much better device in the future. The devices are out there if someone is willing to be open minded and build them. In the sport of ski jumping it seems like everyone has this attitude of giving out 'hand me down' advice. No one is willing to notice what America is doing isn't working at making better ski jumpers. As a result we continue to get the same results all the time. I think my device shows there are far better devices out there if people will stop using hand me down advice/tools and start making their own.
A very big misconception of ski jumping is that you are suppose to jump and keep on jumping. When you start to jump incorrectly, normally right from the very beginning, the coach will go out and correct the jumper. This is the problem. One simple lesson of life is if you don't want to have break a bad habit, then don't start the bad habit in the first place. For example, you never have to stop smoking...if you never start smoking. The coaches real first job is to prevent the jumper from jumping wrong in the first place. The current training devices/methods don't offer the opportunity to prevent the jumper from jumping incorrectly. Bad habits get formed and if the coach is lucky the jumper will overcome the bad habit quickly. At times though this doesn't happen and it becomes a big problem for the jumper to overcome and it may take months or years or overcome. Why not nip it in the bud before the jumper ever gets on skis. In the past the reason has been simple, the training devices being used were inadequate and wouldn't prevent the formation of bad habits. My new device takes care of that problem in several cases and gives feed back without the need for the coach in several other areas.
The bugle, bungee cords, and catches with the coach all have several problems:
1) When was the last time you came down an inrun and jumped from a flat takeoff? When??? All takeoffs are angled downhill to prevent you from jumping too high in the air and coming down to hard on the landing. The takeoffs are angled so you will follow the curve of the hill and come in for a smooth, soft landing. Why do the coaches have kids practice catches or practice with the bugle or bungees from a flat takeoff? Sure they put the kid up on heel blocks or a piece of wood to represent a heel block but the kid is on a heel block when he has the skis on. So this effect has no meaning at all. The weight distribution is different between a flat takeoff and an angled takeoff. I heard another fellow master class jumper talk about the concept the last day I jumped on snow this winter. I thought he was crazy for suggesting that he would have to sit back more on the K50 in Lebanon than what he was used to doing. After experimenting with my new device I understand what he is talking about. Coaches right now give the kids the worse takeoff angle of all...none. Why???
2) All three techniques have no set inrun position for the given jumper. When the jumper takes a practice jump and then comes back to take another jump the coach has to make sure the jumper is in a good inrun position once again before letting the jumper take the next jump. The techniques can have varying degrees of feet separation as well. Normal ski separation, distance between the skis, is either 7 1/4 or 7 1/2 inch(I have to measure that again). The jumper can place his feet too close together or too far apart when using the current training devices/methods. Why?
3) All three techniques currently being used allow the jumper to throw the knees out the back. Why? You don't have to stop smoking if you never start.
4) None of the current devices give you any indication of what direction you want to jump. If you don't jump the right direction on the bugle you won't make it up on top, unless you use brute force to make it up there. You could have jumped chesty and not known why...unless the coach was there to tell you that you had jumped chesty. There is no indicator to let you know that you jumped too chesty or to direct. So what is the right angle to jump at?????????
5) To use the bugle you must come out of your normal inrun position and put your hands on the bar of the bugle for balance. How often do you want to do that when you jump?
6) Doing slows or bungees don't get you off the ground and into the flight position. They limit you to only the initial takeoff position and nothing more.
7) Slows/catches with the coach/friend require someone to be present to catch you or you can't do them. The coach doesn't have to be there when you use the bungee though.
8) You could forget to cock your ankles and not even realize you didn't cock them, at least until the coach told you. This could go on almost forever since their is no direct reason for the mind to make you cock your ankles.
9) The 'V' has become the big thing over the past decade and a half. None of the current devices get you into the 'V' so you can get use to spreading your feet into a 'V'. It's become the number one thing to learn to get you down to the bottom of the hill but no one has taken advantage of the adding it to any training device...until now.
10) On a hot, summer day the number of imitations that you can do with any of the three techniques are limited by how long you can withstand the heat and boredom. Actual jumping can be far worse when you start to include climbing steps back up to the top of a jump.
I agree that actual jumping is the best experience...once you have learnt the proper technique. Getting use to feeling the air, putting in a telemark landing, etc can only be accomplished with skis on your feet. Learning the proper technique should be done initially without the skis and then taken to the actual jump once the jumper has managed to train his muscles/mind the proper way to jump. At that point in time the jumper will be in a much better position to be able to pick up feeling the air, putting in a telemark landing, etc when he isn't trying to spend all his time learning the technique he should already know. Not only can this be accomplished much quicker on the ground with training devices, it can be done much better by building devices that make/force you jump correctly to start with.
All these problems are addressed with my new device. Pretty much the only reasons that a coach is needed with my device:
1) The initial inrun setup(once per jumper at least until the jumpers inrun position changes due to body growth or increased flexibility)
2) To make sure the jumper is jumping with the whole foot and with both feet
The different prototypes
I knew from the beginning that I had several things that needed to be built into the device:
1) Easy to travel with, at least by car, anotherwords it had to be easy to take apart and put together, not very time consuming(wouldn't want set up or tear down to eat into too much training time)
2) Lightweight so anyone, even an 8 year old kid, could set it up and move it around by themselves(admittedly, this one still needs some more work)
3) I was initially looking at a one person device not a device that could be easily adjusted for any ski jumper(this has since been changed and taken care of)
4) I wanted it come as close as possible to making you jump correctly each and every time you use it(I doubt you could get much closer than this device, prove me wrong)
So far I have made six separate prototypes of the device. Each one has built upon the one before it and added a whole new dimension into the device. I built the first prototype in early March and found it had one simple problem, it was very unstable. It was unstable even though I didn't have the base put underneath it that I thought I was going to need so I could use the device as it was intended around where I live. I knew I would need better stability to be able to use it in its designed environment(not on land).
The second prototype, built a week later made for a much more stable device, maybe the most stable device so far, including the present device. The problem with the second prototype was that it couldn't be taken apart easily and with the size of the device I wouldn't be able to fit it in my car to take it where I would be using it. The base still wasn't built and the device weighted quite a bit given everything. I also started to realize that I wanted the nose 2x4 to be collapasable. At that time it was screwed in place and either you made it over the 2x4 or you learned how to sing soporano, even if you was a very deep base.
The third prototype was built a week later. This time I managed to get it so it could be easily taken apart and put back together in a matter of a couple of minutes. I also put the nose 2x4 on a hinge and wrapped a bungee cord around it so it could drop down if you didn't jump hard enough and it would automatically come back up into place after you got clear of it. I finally went out and tested the prototype by jumping into the snow in my backyard in early April. I was a bit surprised watching the video I shot to see how much my takeoff position changed when I had the reference out in front of me to jump at. I was most amazed to see I wasn't bending at the waist like I normally do when I'm jumping the K50 in Lebanon. I was looking more like a real ski jumper. The only problem I noticed was I didn't have the device set up to be adjustable and my inrun position had me too much on my toes. I also noticed by jumping in to the snow banks that I was THROWING the hips forward about the time I was even with the nose 2x4. I knew throwing the hips forward wouldn't be an issue when I was using the device where it is intended to be used. The fear factor won't exist...their will be no need to braces myself before I land. Otherwise everything with the device seemed to be working the way I was intending it to.
After that session The next three days saw three new prototypes including most of the current design. The fourth prototype was the first to include the base into the device automatically and at the same time make the inrun position adjustable. After building the bulk of the prototype I saw the lack of stability as one problem and it wasn't going to be as easy as to adjust as I wanted. I bailed on the idea and took it apart before I ever went to bed that night.
The fifth prototype gave me the adjustability somewhat as I was wanting it. I found the way how to make the front and back of the inrun position adjustable. It still wasn't quite what I wanting but it was far better than what I was trying a day earlier. I still was having a stability issue.
The next day I started over again with the sixth prototype. I decided to use cross bracing for the legs and that made all the difference in the stability. I was able to get both front to back and side to side stability, even though I had the base build into the unit this time around. The device stands 3 1/2 feet off the ground at the front of the device. I knew any possible wave action shouldn't cause any kind of trouble in keeping things nice and stable with the device. I managed to get the front and back adjustments made better and also got the seat so it would be adjustable. The only trouble I was having at the time was trying to figure out how to adjust the angle of the nose 2x4. This 2x4 is supposed to be set so it is parallel to the ski jumpers shin to chin angle. Not coming up with the simple solution Fred Baker(parent of two former Lebanon ski jumpers) told me about this past week I figured I pretty much had the prototype phase finished.
After several times crawling up on the device, the front stands 3 1/2' off the ground, I decided to screw a couple of small scrap 2x4's to one of the cross braces so I could use them as steps. This worked beautifully.
Trying to set up the inrun position in my house, 7 1/2 foot high ceilings, wasn't much fun. Talk about feeling the muscles in your legs, OH YEAH! I ended up waiting until it warmed up a little and took the device outside and tried out there to setup the inrun position. I found it was so much simpler, with little to no muscle problems since I wasn't always having to squat. I knew it would be handy to have someone else around to help adjust the position but I was mostly wanting to make sure the device would be easy enough to adjust and lock into position. I found that it was working as I wanted it to.
Pain is the key to change
One of the quickest ways to get the mind to change is to make it experience pain. The subconscious mind hates pain. It will do anything it can to prevent the body from experiencing pain, physical or emotional. Try walking into the center of a nice campfire sometime...right into the fire...see what your mind has to say about it. Admittedly the conscious mind can decide to do otherwise, eg abusive relationships. This is where all the battles in life come from. I have experienced plenty of battles with my own mind since I started ski jumping. I know my mind hates the idea that I'm out here ski jumping thanks to bad(abusive) experiences in competitive sports I had as a kid, but I keep right on ski jumping anyways. Yeah, I still suck, quite frankly, as a ski jumper thanks to bad childhood experiences. I can/have picked up anything in life in no time flat, as long as there is no competitive environment involved. I've been jumping since January 2001 and I jump 12 months a year and 400+ jumps each winter. I still suck as ski jumper. I understand why quite well. Just because I'm fine with everything consciously doesn't mean my subconscious mind is fine with it and it is the subconscious mind that controls the body when you jump. You can only work on one thing at a time consciously. If the subconscious mind doesn't want you out over the skis, it will hold you back. It's a simple fact of life. If the subconscious mind says no...then the body ain't going to go.
With my training device I hope to use some physical pain to force change and make the jumper jump the way he is suppose. Basically use the fear of pain to make the jumper jump correctly. If you don't cock your ankles than your new nickname will be Stubby. Any ski jumper will more than likely learn to cock his ankles without hardly ever having to be told to do so because the mind will see that if he doesn't cock his ankles than he will continue to stub his toes on the toe block on the end of the device every jump he takes. Yes, the jumper is jumping barefooted.
Right now I need some more information from the coaches before I can do a full attachment of the toe block to the device. Unlike the direction your suppose to jump at the takeoff, err maintain the shin to chin angle(keep your nose to the 2x4) when it comes to cocking the ankles the coaches only ever say "Cock your ankles". They never say anything else, as to how quickly to cock them or how much to cock them(granted the degree of cocking depends on the flexibility of each jumper). They are very vague in their description. At least the coaches I have been around have been very vague.
One day while taking the device apart to take it back in my house I ended up braking the back adjustment arm, only made out of 3/4" particle board. I decided to see if I might not be able to clamp versus bolt down a 2x4 instead and get it work for the adjustment bar. I know what my ideal concept is but I don't have the necessary tools to accomplish it. The clamp idea seems to almost work better than the way I was doing it before. The nice thing is their is no need for a crescent/socket wrench when using the clamps and the way I have it attached now makes adjusting it much easier than what it used to be when your trying to set up the device on your own. Both clamps are right underneath your butt and very easy to reach.
In the past week or so I have thought of a couple more ideas. Why not make the takeoff angle adjustable(accomplished very easily/quickly, thanks Fred) and why not make it so the ski jumper is forced into a 'V'. This one I'm still working on and I need more information to accomplish this goal as of yet.
Water, water everywhere, but not a drop to drink
One of the big things you want to do when ski jumping is to hold the position all the way into the hill. My suggestion is to break with the concept of jumping on land and instead...jump into water. Water is a soft, forgiving surface that will allow the ski jumper to hold the position all the way into the landing, in fact, it is suggested to hold the position until after you have landed on the water. There is no risk of hurting yourself, other than maybe a red belly from doing belly flops on the water. You are only a few feet off the water at the highest point in the jump so the risk of hurting yourself is greatly reduced/essentialy eliminated. I figure you shouldn't need more than three to four foot deep water for safety sake. This is why I built the 3 1/2 foot tall cross braces/base for the device. The entire base will be submerged in the beach where I will be doing my jumping at. Only the 'takeoff' will stick out of the water as long as the waves aren't too high.
Another nice aspects of using water is on a nice, hot, sunny summer day you can take all the jumps you could ever desire and never break a sweat. Also, when you have a jump cycle of around one minute you could easily take 100 jumps in a matter of a couple of hours. What more could you ask for a beginner jumper to do than to take as many jumps as possible, especially when each one is essentially correct. Reinforcing correct technique is what every coach wants to accomplish...isn't it.
Also, how many times have you seen ski jumping at the beach/pool. Around my area the only water that is available are the beaches. I see it as a whole new way of recruiting ski jumpers where no one has ever tried to do any recruiting before.
The Ultimate Coach
Above are two pictures of my new device the Ultimate Coach. I don't have the inrun set perfectly for me yet. Granted I'm not too worried about that aspect as I'm still working on trying to get the final prototype designed. The pictures do give a real good idea of what the device is all about.
The Ultimate Coach is a ski jump training device which allows for a fully adjustable inrun position, including the takeoff angle. The jumper gets up on the device and adjusts the seat for his inrun position. It has both a front and back adjustment bar that can be raised and lowered to accomodate all size ski jumpers. I stand 6'3" and it works for me and it can easily be adjusted to work for smaller jumpers quite easily(Their may have to be one slight redesign once I get some small kids to try out the device. The front adjustment bar may need to come back further to accomodate their smaller thigh/upperbody lengths. I may also be able to change the seat pan around to accomodate their smaller bodies. I just need different sizes jumpers to test it out.) The seat itself can be moved forwards and back. The seat not only provides the reference of the correct inrun position once it has been set up, but it also blocks the knees so the jumper can't throw the knees out the back. Between the seat post and the seat there is another piece that moves forward and back. This piece has a 2x4 attached to it with a hinge that matches the shin to chin angle.
Using a screw as a wedge(Thanks Fred), you can easily adjust the shin to chin angle, err nose 2x4 to accomodate all ski jumpers. The nose 2x4 has a bungee cord wrapped around it so it can drop down out of the way if the jumper doesn't jump hard enough to clear the top 2x4. The 2x4 is the front reference for the proper inrun position. If the nose is buried into the 2x4 then you are too much on your toes and you need to sit back further so your jumping off the whole foot. It also is the reference for the direction the jumper wants to jump. Instead of maintain the shin to chin angle now the jumper has the full reference and he just needs to KEEP HIS NOSE TO THE 2x4.
When the jumper stands up beside the 'takeoff' the 2x4 should be up to his crotch at least if not a bit higher. This will give him the complete starting point of the proper direction to jump. Once he has managed to get that high it will be very difficult for him/her to change their position and jump more direct or more chesty. This will allow them to know if they are jumping the right direction or not. Did they keep their nose to the 2x4. The coach doesn't have to tell them...the device does.
As the jumper gets in his proper inrun position his butt should be just off the seat. His thighs close to the knees would naturally be touching but his rear end should be off the seat. His nose should just be touching the 2x4. His feet are already locked in place separated by 7 1/4 inches, I believe this is correct, it may need to be 7 1/2 inches both at the heels and at the toes, no cheating in any way allowed here.
Once I find out how I need to install the toe block and the "V" spreader I will add them in but the concept is simple. As the jumper jumps he better cock his ankles or his toes will hit the toe block on the end of the 'takeoff'. The jumper better spread his feet into a 'V' as well...then again he'll have no other choice, there will be a piece of wood on each side of the his foot that will force his foot out into the proper V spread. Currently I am guessing the V spreader will have to be made adjustable for individual jumpers as well since I believe the degree of the spread on the V is determined solely on shoulder width which can and is different for each jumper. Hopefully after the Eastern Division Spring Meeting on May 3rd I'll have my answers and be able to get the final prototype finished.
The Future
Right now I'm still looking to finish off the final prototype version of the device and then see if I can find out what is going to be the smartest materials to build the device out of, given water is involved. I have a feeling their are a few better techniques to use when building the device than what I have chosen thus far. Hopefully I'll make the contacts I know I should have already made and I will be able to get better informed on the smarter building techniques that I don't know about/haven't thought about yet.
I know the lake water doesn't really start to get very warm around here until mid to late June so I have no plans on testing the device until that time, unless something comes up unexpectedly that gives me other opportunities to run some more tests.
I also would like to find a way to make the nose 2x4 adjustable in terms of how high it goes up. This can easily be used as the jumper gets better to make the jumper jump harder to clear the top of the 2x4. If a coach wanted to really make the jumper jump he could screw the 2x4 in place instead of letting it be droppable. This would give the jumper the incentive to jump harder or he won't like the consequences. Pain is such a great motivator.
If anyone has any other ideas for making the device better let me know and I'll see what I can come up with. I think I have covered pretty much everything from the time you start down the inrun until the last split second before you put in a landing other than getting use to feeling the air. Then again, with this crazy sport who only knows what else I haven't been told/overheard as of yet.
Ryan "Crash" Crawford
Sunapee, NH
posted by Ryan Crawford at 8:05 PM
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