Dropping Rear Hip on Heel Side

[Scott.Creer]

We are having some difficulty with some of our younger racers who switch between hard and soft boots frequently when it comes to body positioning. They have a tendency to drop their rear most hip back on the heel side and parallel the board, versus staying squared with their rear foot, causing them to have an elongated turn shape on the heel side.

That said what I am looking for is some good exercises to break this habit, and start equalizing turn shape and improving stability. We have done the hand/hands on the front knee exercise, the rear knee forward exercise, the stubby in hands will be the next one.

Any other good exercises?

-Scott

[Scuff]

We are having some difficulty with some of our younger racers....when it comes to body positioning.

-Scott

Right! It's an ongoing battle trying to correct this bad habit in riders switching over from freestyle.

It's counter-rotation, or reverse-steering the board (kicking out the rear leg..."surfer-style"), ((THIS... not This.)

Often the transitions between turns start by twisting the shoulders and hips first in order to steer the board...

Working "Top-Down", instead of the preferred "Bottom-Up" like we demonstrate with "The Norm."

Would love to know if anyone has successful methods to correct this bad habit, when visual and aural explanation, and demonstrations fall short.

~Karl

[Gtanner]

Boot-drill.

Touch the back cuff of your front boot on toe-sides (left if regular) and the rear boot front cuff on heelsides (right if regular). It forces your shoulders parallel with the ground on each turn and tends to stop the hip-pop on heel sides.

-Gord

[Strider]

Would love to know if anyone has successful methods to correct this bad habit, when visual and aural explanation, and demonstrations fall short.

~Karl

I have the same problem as almost all of my riders are good freestylers and carve well in soft boots before we put them on HB's. Two things I've found that help. First, if you back off the angle on their back foot a bit it opens their hip more parallel to the board like they are used to and makes them more comfortable on the board so you can get them to concentrate on the upper body position. This is somewhat like reinforcing bad habits, but if you use it to get them doing the rest correctly, it is easier to then move the angle back up. The only other thing that I"ve had some success with is working them up the "kinetic chain" of the joints. I first make them do some short runs standing tall with all their joints locked out and have them do some small turns just leaning. Then, show them how to flex thier ankles and do the same thing using some ankle flex only. Do these on a fairly flat run and don't let them pick up too much speed as they will have problems with balance at first. Next add in the knees, then then the hips. This helps to get them used to feeling the board and what each joint does to the turn, while keeping them oriented to their stance and not countering. It is also helpful to have them add or subtract flexion at different joints in different combinations to learn how each feels and how it effects the turns. It's a long process, but it does help with their body awareness and can fix a number of different problems.

With all of that, it is still a challenge to get them to stop over countering and is a constant problem.

[Jack M]

http://www.bomberonline.com/resources/Techarticles/practice_drills.html

[Beckmann AG]

Is this a problem on both hardboots and soft?

What is your description to your athletes on how to make the 'proper' turn?

It sounds like the board is 'turning under the rider' on the heelside, and if so, this is generally related to which body parts are used to tip the board, and how this affects weight distribution along the length of the board.

Solutions are often found in the arrangement of the boot binding interface, the movement options available to the athlete as a result, the context they find themselves in, and their understanding of what it is they are being asked to do.

One useful task is to try and extract the maximum glide on an extremely flat slope while riding the roundest (the slow) line. Doing so tends to encourage edging movements from smaller body parts, from a more 'centered' posture.

The low energy context requires accurate movements to maintain balance, while requiring less support from the equipment (so, for instance, if this is difficult with boots buckled, you can unbuckle to increase the ROM without compromising the desired outcome).

If you do this first with softboots, and then with hardboots, the athletes should be able to articulate their difficulties as associated with range of movement etc.

[Scott.Creer]

Is this a problem on both hardboots and soft?

What is your description to your athletes on how to make the 'proper' turn?

I do not believe that this is an issue on soft boots, as with soft boots in a freestyle stance the hips should always parallel the board, so that the knees and hips flex naturally.

The proper turn is a complex answer. I was more referring to proper body alignment on a heel side carved turn (or race style skid to carve turn). I typically tell the kids that their hips should be 90 degrees from the back foot and arms should be forward in front of their body to allow their knees and hips to flex naturally (although I do not say it in those words). Minor rotation toward the curve of the carve is ok, but this problem is the kid's rotation towards the downhill edge to being parallel with the board.

Thanks everyone for the comments and new drills.

[Beckmann AG]

I do not believe that this is an issue on soft boots, as with soft boots in a freestyle stance the hips should always parallel the board, so that the knees and hips flex naturally.

Had mistakenly assumed that stance angles on freestyle gear had been turned forward a bit as an 'intermediate stage' between quacky and alpine.

The proper turn is a complex answer. I was more referring to proper body alignment on a heel side carved turn (or race style skid to carve turn). I typically tell the kids that their hips should be 90 degrees from the back foot...

A simpler, and possibly more effective arrangement is to suggest hips facing the angle of the front foot, rather than referencing the rear foot, if for no other reason than the lack of abstraction.

...and arms should be forward in front of their body to allow their knees and hips to flex naturally (although I do not say it in those words).

As that's a bit of a non-sequitur, how else do you describe it?. Simpler to advise one hand for each edge, slightly ahead of the 'shoulder line', and leave it at that. Generally, the less tension introduced to the upper body, the better.

Minor rotation toward the curve of the carve is ok, but this problem is the kid's rotation towards the downhill edge to being parallel with the board.

Not uncommon when the board is edged by moving the CM diagonally across the feet. For the alpine tyro, this is the easiest means of 'edging'.

Rotating, or trying to rotate the hips and/or torso in the direction of the arc may, without compensation, bias the rider toward the front foot, which may exacerbate the problem.

A good starting point toward resolution, is to ensure that the rider can stand on their board with equal weight on both feet, hips in line with the front foot, with no muscle tension in the legs. (On a flat surface, no glide). From there, introduce the compound articulations of the feet/knees/hips such that the CM can move directly across the board. The posture should be fairly upright, so as to remain more or less over the board, rather than hanging off to the side.

From there, aim to feel edge contact under the rear heel slightly before the front heel.