another jr. race ski question

Question
Hi Cynthia,

My son is 13, weighs 85 lbs. and has been racing the local Tahoe League for 3 years.  He is currently using 135cm Atomic Slalom skis and 147cm Dyanstar GS skis.  In my non-expert opinion he angulates and carves the second half of the turn pretty well, has a marginal turn intiation and is on his heels a bit.

His buddy, who my son beat every race this year, and who out weighs my son by about 15 lbs just went from 140 slalom skis to 150 slalom skis and 163 GS skis (Volkl).  He beat my son the last race and now guess who wants those same skis?  Would you recommend longer skis for my son assuming he is 95lbs next season?  That long?  Thanks,

Greg

Answer
Dear Greg -

If you are correct in your opinion that your son has poor turn initiation, longer stiffer skis will not help.  However, if his mechanics are otherwise good, your son may need something to help him get off his heels, and start the turn.

His boots may be too stiff dumping him back, just when he is moving forward to start the turn.  His bindings may also need to be set slightly forward of the normal set point.  This would give him less tip to have to control early and more tail to ride through the turn.

Finally, your son may need skis that are torsionally stiffer (don't twist) so that when he does initiate a turn, the ski responds immediately.  

With today's skis, longer is not always better.  The damping ability of most good skis mean you can ski a shorter ski with speed and control.  Especially for slalom, quickness and control in turning is far more important.  Look for a ski that will help your son initiate the turn more easily.

Personally, I really enjoy Volkl skis, but they are race horses.  If your son is not strong enough for them, they could run away with him, and hurt his confidence not help him.  If he is determined that Volkls will help him, and you are inclined to spring for them, look for a slalom that is torsionally stiff, longer but not too much longer than his current ski, and has a side cut that will help him initiate turns.  If your son grows taller or gains significant muscle weight, you can increase the length more, with confidence.

Please feel free to write back, if you need clarification on any point.  Also you might want to have a race coach who is not familiar with your son, watch him race and free ski.  That coach may see things that have become so habitual, that neither you nor your son notice them anymore.

Best of luck to both of you.

CM Bedell