Regular Joe Interview #2 - Greg Scherer - 3/8/2008
Well, we are another week closer to spring and we have another "Regular Joe" interview, this time from Greg Scherer. Greg is an M3 competitor currently working his way through 39 off, and is a super guy for doing this for us (and the sport). He started competing in 1994 at 22 off and has done several clinics around the country, and he has also been a guest coach at Gordon Rathburn's Ski Paradise in Acapulco. Without further delay, I bring you Greg:
Name, Rank Serial Number- All that stuff...?
My name is Greg Scherer and I have a regular job and family so I guess that makes me a regular Joe. My family recently moved to the Dallas Fort Worth, TX area from Colorado. My family consists of my wife and son and our dog- who runs a pretty tight ship. I have been a Mechanical Engineer for 17 years so I am a geek as well.
When did you start water skiing?
Nobody in my family was big into watersports but growing up I always loved boats and anything to do with the water, so I didn't learn to ski until I was 22 and it took me a month of trying 3-4 days a week to finally get up on one ski but I was hooked after that. All my friends made fun of me because I was the only one who had to have two skis. They don't make much fun of me now...
How old were you when you ran your first full pass in the course?
After Graduating college with a degree in Engineering I got a job and found a couple other engineers that water skied and they were gracious enough to take me with them- at 5:30AM we met at the marina of Pueblo Reservoir, Pueblo, CO on Saturday and Sunday! Some of those mornings were rough due to the night before... This is where I was indoctrinated into the course behind a 1973 ski Martinique- not even a Ski Nautique. The boats wake made the rocky mountains look small! But, I knew how to make big spray and I could look good on a ski so I thought a course shouldn't be too tough. Whoa, I was in for a big surprise and the guys who invited me along just laughed as I pulled through the gates and sailed past the1 ball and tried to turn on the tail of the ski. From there it took me about 12 tries to complete the 28 mph longline pass, that was 1991 and I was 24.
Let's talk milestones; 1st full pass at speed, 1st 15-off/22-off/28-off etc
After one of the guys bought a 1988 Supra Comp TS6m and got a membership on a private lake with a course, I progressed to 34mph longline from 28 mph in about 4 weeks- there was a lot of gas burned in that period of time though. I had my friends to help pass along what they knew and more importantly their willingness to pull me night after night after night. I was spending $100's on gas and equipment during this phase and I could have spent that money on coaching to understand what I needed to be working on, instead of just going out and hammering away at the course and re-inventing the wheel for myself. The cost is the same but the differences are huge as far as what you get out of it.
I remember the day I ran my first 22 off pass- that was the day the my future wife showed up at the lake! I was [strutting my stuff] from running "shortline" and she was wearing a black bikini...must have been something in the water! Now, she's my coach and driver and best fan or at least tied for best fan with my son.
At this point the members of the lake were encouraging me to go to tournaments and I resisted because "I wasn't good enough for tournaments". I wish now that I would've started then as the others that go to tournaments were in the same spot skiing as I was and we would have started helping each other earlier and I would be better now. I started competing in tournaments the summer of 1993 and qualified for my first regionals in 1995 and my first nationals in 1997. I coached my first ski clinic in 2006 and started coaching at Ski Paradise in 2007.
What tips can you give skiers who are new to the course?
tip #1- the course is more about timing and rhythm then about big spray and big turns
tip #2 is that when folks get into the course and get infected by it, get yourself to a coach and some coaching at this point. Don't wait until you "get good enough for a coach to be able to work with something" or "when I get to shortline", if you wait until then your first coach will spend more time correcting the bad habits you adopted because you didn't understand tip#1
Do any other milestones stick out for you as far as your progression from long line to short line slalom?
One of the big things that I found along my way is to keep my elbows in tight to my vest from just before the boat picks me up to where I start to make my reach on the other side. This is a real chicken/egg thing that I've not come up with a trigger (Note: I like that term -Joel) that works for everyone. All skiers have to find the thing the reminds them to drive their elbows into their vest before the boat loads them, from longline to 41 off. Having the elbows in tight will help skiers to keep from breaking at the waist, it will make it easier to stay in a strong position behind the boat and it will keep the ski in front of you which means your hips are in decent shape. Next time at the lake have one of your ski buddies take some pictures of you skiing right before the first wake and notice where your elbows are in relation to your hip bones, the smaller this distance the better your skiing will be. Now go to Waterski Mag or your favorite internet ski site and look at the 38/39/41 off skiers and notice that same distance as compared to the picture of you.
The next biggest thing for me was when Chet Raley asked me "what did you see during that pass?", I replied that I didn't understand the context of the question. Chet was getting at the fact that I kept my attention down and directly in front of the ski, he wanted my attention to look out far in front of me. This does several things to your body position without us ever being aware of it. When we look out far in front of us our chin is off our vest which rolls our shoulders back ever so slightly and that provides a stronger position on the ski, it also helps us to adjust to changing conditions in the course or from the boat. These days I spend a lot of time telling students to look into the boat, at the pylon, at the tower, bimini what ever I can do to get them to lift their chin up off their vest. The other thing this does for us is to keep us from over-rotating our upper body to finish a turn.
Say that you only used one rope all year. What loop would be the most worn out?
For me that would have to be 32 and 35 off. I spend a lot of time trying to work on things to improve the littlest of techniques so that they are memorized. Then when I shorten the rope I have a better chance of maintaining proper technique to get through the pass instead of just hanging on for dear life.
Why do you ski?
I really enjoy the energy of skiing and the physical release I get from skiing a couple good sets. There is nothing like the feeling of the perfect turn in slalom, when my ski carves around and sets up great angle without loosing any speed and just after I get set the boat picks me up and I just resist the boat to the other side. That's when it feels easy. I also can't ski alone, I have to have a driver and usually it's more then just that. So, my family is all together and we're enjoying the warm and sun and the water, NICE...
What part of the sport do you like best?
Well, of course I love the actual riding behind the boat part but, it's also the friends made across the country and being out with family and friends and enjoying each other. Anymore, competitions are more about going and seeing friends at tournaments and developing new friends with common goals. To go out a rip a PB in a tournament is still an amazing feeling and a memorable moment, don't get me wrong. The thing that I recall on a cold winter days or nights though is hanging out at the lake after skiing hard all day, being with family and friends and talking about all the various topics that come up. Those are the memories I carry into my old age
What do you think is the key to advancing to higher speeds and shorter lines?
The key here is proper body position and technique. I think the biggest bang comes from squeezing your torso with your elbows before right before the boat picks you up and holding that position until you make your reach on the other side. Looking out in front of you is the next biggest thing to advancing. The rate of advancement directly correlates to how well a skier executes those things.
Greatest day skiing?
That would have to be a tournament a couple years ago- the “Laku top dawg head to head” that was three rounds and a run-ff 4th round for the two top skiers. I made it to the 4th round by running 38 off three of the four rounds and got to spend the weekend with my son camping to boot. He was so tired after riding his bike and swimming all day that he nearly fell asleep in the middle of his chicken nuggets. I won a trophy at that tournament and my son keeps it in his room to this day.
Future plans?
I want to compete in some big dawg tournaments this summer with the goal of making it into the sweet 16. Looking beyond this summer I would like to make it into the final 4 of the Big Dawgs or whatever they call that kind of tournament. I want to keep helping skiers progress. I want to keep enjoying the sport with my family and sharing it with others who don't have the same opportunities that we have.
Some have said that slalom is a rich man's sport - Do you think that's fitting?
I think that all depends upon the definition of slalom. If your definition is shortline, in the course slalom with perfect conditions all the time and great driving then, yes- that's very costly but, not much more, if any, than most any other hobby I can think of . Not everybody wants or needs that though, it's still fun to go out to the lake early in the morning and tear up a glass smooth lake behind whatever can pull you with your family and friends. And then sit in the boat and watch all the other folks in the afternoon because you're too tired to hold on any longer. That definition doesn't require a lot of money.
What about when people say the sport is dying?
I would have to ask what sport they are talking about. If it's tournament skiing they are talking about I would disagree. My perception is that tournament skiing is holding pat or on a slight rise. Membership number are up in USA WATERSKI and I see a lot of kids out there having fun throwing ropes around trees or whatever they can and pretending like they are skiing and a whole gambit inbetween. The challenge is to reach out to the college crowd and just after graduation crowd and help them continue their skiing. It's easy enough to ski while dad is footing the bill but after a person graduates and is now on their own, paying their own bills- that's when club memberships and boats and skis are a little tougher to justify.
Finally- after a day of skiing, what's your drink of choice?
A nice cold beer... I like them all so I'm not going to promote any one brand. No wheat beers though, I don't like those.
Comments:
Joel, 3/8/2008: I should also mention that Greg's handle here is skisix38off. I'm really glad to have him here!***Comments cannot be made on archived items. If this is a new post, just go to the home page to comment on it***
