LearnWake

In this video I'm going to walk you through the Heelside Back Roll and point out specific areas that will help you easily land this trick out on the water. Lets start with the set up or edge out.

For this trick a shorter edge out and narrower approach is ideal. This shorter edge out and set up promotes a more loaded style pop through the wake if you stay patient and edge only through the edging zone, which we will get to in a second. You can see that I only edge out about ten feet past the foam in the water created by the spray coming off the side of the boat. If I start my approach here at a short distance form the wake and drift to start back towards the wake I will be forced to lean and accelerate closer to the wake, which promotes a bigger pop and better release of the trick into the proper rotation.

Next, let's talk about the edging position and it's importance. You can see here that my position starts almost tall with a slight knee bend because I know that a taller position will allow me to create more leverage than a seated position. And, since loading the line is the most important part of popping this trick, this is crucial to your success. If I start my approach with this almost completely tall position it will help me hold a taller position through the wake even though my instinct is to sit and push at the wake. My goal is to hold this tall, knees rolled forward position for the entire approach, the pop and release of the trick through the wake. And you can see that my position here is very similar to my starting position to accomplish this. Being tall gives me effortless high pop off the wake.

With that tall position in mind, let's talk about the “edging zone” next. The edging zone starts at the line of foam outside the wake and extends to the top of the wake. This is your load and release area. If you load the rope and your edge hard as you enter the edging zone and then release the edge as exit the other side off the top of the wake, all while maintaining the tall position discussed earlier, you will get good pop as you start the rotation. Let's go back to the start of the approach for a second and look at how the edge progresses distinctly as I enter this zone. My set up is smooth and my initial turn towards the wake or start of my approach is ultimately created by the boat's natural swing. Since I know this natural swinging motion is acceleration towards the wake I just allow the boat to build my edge outside the edging zone. When I cross the line to enter the edging zone you can see that I use my tall position to lean and load the line to increase my edge, speed and board pressure, all of which are key elements to getting good pop and rotation. The drift and then the load on the line are very distinct and are more like two different edge levels instead of one edge towards the wake.

Off the top of the wake you can see that I lead the rotation with my eyes and shoulders. By looking left and up toward the sky over my lead shoulder a chain reaction begins. My eyes turn my head skyward and away from the boat which causes my lead shoulder to open or turn up and away in the same direction. Since my shoulders are turning my hips are forced to turn, which also turns the nose of the board. So, ultimately my board turns because my eyes look in the proper direction. I'm not forcing the board in this direction up and through the wake. I just look and everything follows.

This initial look off the top of the wake is also important for an early spot of your landing. By looking early off the top of the wake and leading the rotation with my eyes I can spot my landing before my rotation even reaches the half way point as you can see here. Confidence in looking skyward at the beginning of the rotation ensures that I won't be disoriented at the end of the rotation when I need to land. This should not be a blind or late spotted landing. I see blue sky first off the top of the wake and then the color of the water immediately after.

Throughout the rotation the handle should be kept pretty quiet. On the set up my arms are slightly bent but relaxed to ensure I can load the line properly. I want to lean, not pull. They are also relaxed low so the handle is naturally positioned directly in front of my hips or waist. This positioning creates a balanced constant speed rotation much like the equal balance of a rotating propeller. You can see the only handle movement happens in two spots. The first is at the take off because of the twisting motion we discussed earlier. Since your eyes lead the rotation up and away from the boat the handle will naturally move towards your back hip. Just let this happen naturally but don't leave it there when you try to land or you will spin a Frontside 180 or Roll to Revert. The second handle move away from center happens just before landing to stop your rotation and cancel out the twist that happened at take off. You can see that I have to move the handle aggressively left to halt my rotation and position the board for a Heelside landing. The handle naturally moves right or toward the take off side of the wake during the take off and I have to force the handle left or towards the landing side of the wake just before I land. It would be opposite for a Goofy footed rider or switch Heelside Back Roll.

Last, but not least, I anticipate another Heelside edge for the landing. Don't stop moving across the back of the boat when you land. If you edge again in a slightly more seated but similar position as the take off, while staying back against the rope, you will stick the landing easily and continue your direction moving out away from the wakes to complete your textbook Heelside Back Roll.