Fresh snowfall made the slalom training uncertain – but the course was set out and well side slipped – working out perfectly thanks to being relatively sheltered from the winds.
Initially there were a few problem runs with Alex ducking under poles on his turn to his right. This was initially suspected to be due to poor use of the left leg – but it turned out it was due to the previous turn to the left not being strongly enough on the fronts of the skis. Greater support from the ski fronts gives greater pressure under the support foot and so greater ability to incline and angulate – allowing higher speed, better grip, better line – in both directions. Alex very quickly tuned into this.
Attack
At last Alex was ready to go on the attack and make it stick! New acceleration was gained from propelling the centre of mass dynamically downhill at each turn initiation and instead of being in a defensive and survival mode Alex was now on the hunt for more speed. Good to see!
Some people imagine that you need to be aggressive to race slalom but it’s not like that – it’s about explosively pushing to the limits and having the learned and instinctive competence to hold it all together. Racing isn’t “passive” – it’s a head on attack with absolute focus on being fast! However – you wouldn’t want to go into a boxing ring with Mike Tyson if you weren’t prepared – same applies here.
Notes for Mike:
The last descent of the day together made it clear to me that Mike must learn to make pivot – fall line turns – above everything else. Alex might not have developed his pivot enough to be his best in bumps – but he can flip from carving to pivoting at will – and does so all the time. Being able to “brake” with the pivot directly in the fall line (no forward motion across the hill) is a critical skill. The recent adaptation to using the outside of the foot should make this skill clearly accessible to mike now through appropriate exercises.
