The Coaching System
There really is nothing like Wakeboarding in the world. It is one part walking on water and the other part flying. Learning new tricks on a wakeboard is sooo much fun. The story we hear over and over, year after year, from the discouraged wakeboarder is that “Wakeboarding hurts”. Translation: “crashing hard on a wakeboard hurts.” The sad part is it doesn’t have to be that way. You really don’t have to crash hard to learn new tricks. Learning to wakeboard is fun safe and easy when you know what you're doing. Over the past two decades we have built a fundamental coaching system that starts with getting up on a wakeboard and ends with turning pro. The second part of our secret to coaching success has to do with controlling the major variables while teaching. The most important variables for learning include water conditions, wake shapes & sizes, line lengths & boat speeds, and equipment.
1) Fundamental Coaching System
The core of our coaching system is breaking down every trick into easy to learn fundamentals. We teach most of these fundamentals at slow speeds so the crashes feel more like jumping into a pool than getting thrown off a roller coaster. Were talking 10-16 MPH. Once we develop muscle memory and all the building blocks, we go for the trick also at a slow speed and usually with minimal air. After you learn the trick at slow speeds and get it consistent we bump you back up to your normal riding speed. The second part of our system is technique. You don’t have to be strong too wakeboard. On the contrary the stronger you are the slower you will progress without good technique. Technique is what allows us to work with a 400 hp boat and not against. So its extremely important that as you learn the fundamentals you are also developing good muscle memory with technique. When you break Wakeboarding down like this it doesn’t require natural talent. It only takes a desire to learn and time on the water. Really, with our system we guarantee everybody can do it. Generally, the more of a beginner you are when you start with us the better because its a lot faster to teach new technique than to break bad habits.
2) Our Formula= Conditions + Coaching + Equipment + Fun
We really believe we have the best formula for learning in the world. When we started 18 years ago we started with the best coaching techniques developed by tow of the top coaches in the world Darin Shapiro and Kyle Schmidt. From that point we continued to evolve the system as our coaches developed better and more efficient ways of teaching Wakeboarding. With our 10,000 plus hours of coaching history, you will learn tricks in minutes that took us entire summers to get when we were learning.
Water Conditions
Wind & rollers are the biggest enemies of progression. A little of either is workable. However the average conditions most weekend warriors have to face are progression killers and can be dangerous. Rollers change the size of your ramp moment by moment. Imagine a bike jumper or skateboarding not knowing the size of their ramp until they hit it. You get the point. An average day at camp includes glassing mornings from 7:30-10:30. We get light to medium winds in the afternoons and have several protected coves to retreat to if need be. Warm air and water temperatures make your experience more enjoyable and are also key to improving your body’s performance and durability. Lake McClure’s all around constant conditions are the reason we chose this magical destination to call home.
Equipment
My dad had a really good point when I was growing up. He said “It’s not the bike that makes the rider, it’s the rider that makes the bike. He had a good point. However when it comes to Wakeboarding your boat is the jump ramp and not the bike. You really need a good ramp if you want to learn and progress. If you throw a bunch of dirt clods into a pile and call it a jump it doesn’t matter what type of bike you’re riding when you hit it. A bad ramp is a bad ramp. The same is true with Wakeboarding. The right equipment and the correct rope lengths and boats speeds will make all the difference in the world when it comes to your progression and your safety. Having a good board and bindings setup is also very helpful to your progression as well. We have roughly a half million dollars in wakeboard boats to ensure you have everything you need to succeed.
Coaches
The coaching system you use will directly affect the speed and safety of your progression. The most important part of any coaching system and of west coast camps is our coaches. Our coaches are not just good riders. They are first and foremost good role models and people that serve others over themselves. They have a deep passion to see others succeed. They are fun, energetic, professional boat drivers, extremely hard workers…they are the best. Our coaches have hundreds and many times thousands of hours both in and behind the boat. Our coaches are the most respected in the industry because of the experience, talent, passion and success we have had over the past two decades. Our coaches generally start out as campers and are driven to multiply their life changing experience to the next generation. They are required to work their way though internships, shadow coaching, driving classes, and tests in order to graduate into becoming a “coach”. We invest so much into our coaches that they become family and we do everything in our power to keep them as long as possible. Being a coach at West Coast Camps is being part of our family for life. Our wakeboard coaches are the lifeblood of our camp. They are legendary…Just ask our past campers
Boat Speed & Line Lengths
One of the most important and neglected elements to the wakeboard experience is the proper boat speed and line(rope) length. Every drill we do has a specific boat speed and line length. The speed and line length are 100% dependent on one another. These secrets work wonders for your progression & safety. They are available for free through our west coast camps app available on iTunes. These optimal combinations are dialed for our MB boats and will slightly change for different brands.
Boat Driver
Having a professional boat driver really changes the outcome when it comes to learning new tricks. We have many tricks up our sleeve when it comes to driving. Our drivers ability to watch the rider and feather the throttle at the same time to help relieve or add line tension can be the difference from riding way or taking an unnecessary fall. We can’t do all the work for you but we can sure help you out in the process. Driving straight lines is another key to keeping consistent line tension for the rider. Failure to drive straight adds unnecessary line tension when the rider is going one direction and puts slack in the line when they’re going the other. This puts the rider at a huge disadvantage when learning. Next time your out driving you can watch your prop wash in the mirror to see how straight you lines are
Fun
We’re not kidding. After years of observing campers and ourselves, we figured out that having fun radically increases a riders progression. Our goal is to keep Wakeboarding Fun. Making Wakeboarding fun is all about the encouragement, camper camaraderie, vibe, perspective, the energy…Our camp spirit. We get just as psyched seeing someone get up for the first time as seeing someone learn their first jump or their first flip. Every time anyone learns a new trick we get too vicariously relive the moment when we first landed that trick. Wakeboarding is all about the experience and the journey… not the destination. There will always be another trick to learn. It is so important not to take Wakeboarding too seriously even if you are serious about getting really, really, really, really good. Many of our campers have gone on to become pro riders . Goals are good, pressure is bad. Pressure leads to a lot of mental frustration and mental blocks and stops progression. Pressure generally comes from trying to skip too many steps in the progression latter. Essentially trying to do things that you’re not prepared for. We will not only get you prepared but have a blast doing it. Our camp motto…”Stay Psyched!!!”