How to Jump Toeside on Your Wakeboard

One of the most common mistakes that beginner to intermediate wakeboarders make is that they only develop and incorporate heelside jumps and tricks into their wakeboarding game. I call these kinds of people “Heelside Heroes”. A lot of these kinds of wakeboarders are able to jump wake-to-wake really well on their heelside, but then when they are on the toeside wake they are completely inept. Often they just taxi back into the wake only to cut out and jump heelside again. Do this over and over and over and it will start to become very monotonous. Lets talk about how you can start to incorporate and progress your toeside jumps so you can open up your game to more tricks and shed your heelside hero reputation.

Body Position

This is something I talked about in more detail in my “3 Fundamentals of Wakeboarding” article, and it applies heavily in this scenario. When you are cutting toeside, whether you are going towards or away from the wake, a big mistake wakeboarders make is that they will lean over the wakeboard. This will screw up your balance and cause you to be less stable on your board. Instead, you need to lean back, and against the line. This will root your and your board more securely in the water and make for an easier and more balanced jump.

Look at the leftmost picture. If you approach the wake in that position, your body will get to the wake before your board. This will actually cause you to get tripped by the wake instead of it propelling you, and you will likely loop out and fall. When you approach the wake in the correct position, leaning against the line, the wake will propel you upwards and it will be much easier to stay upright and eventually land the jump.

Holding the Rope

Another common mistake that I see are wakeboarders letting their back hand come off the rope as they hit the wake. Most beginners will think it is fine to jump one-handed; they say it gives them more balance. The truth is when you let go of the rope with that back hand you are losing a lot of your power, and you will go from trying to jump, to trying not to fall. This goes back to another point in my “3 Fundamentals of Wakeboarding” article. When you are leaning against the line cutting toeside, all the tension will be in your back shoulder. This means your back shoulder/arm is the main thing receiving the pull from the boat. As you hit the wake, there is a lot of force coming up through your board and legs, and you will feel a big jolt of pulling energy coming through your back arm. Many people feel this, freak out, let go, and thus lose most of the power in their jump. Keep a fearless grip on that rope and you will find yourself much higher in the air than if you had let go.

Practicing

These toeside jumps are not necessarily hard, but they do feel awkward at first, especially if you are only used to jumping heelside. Once you do about 20 jumps, it will start to feel much more natural. I would recommend starting small. Go out about 10 feet from the wake, and cut in on a slow edge. You don’t even need to get off the ground for the first few tries. You can just cut in and roll over the wake; this will help you acquaint yourself to the feeling of going toeside. As you get comfortable with that, begin to cut in on a faster edge, and try to get some pop off the wake, even if its only a couple feet. Practice your body position and leaning against the line, and make sure to hold onto that rope with both hands. Have the other riders in the boat record you so you can go back and look at where your head and chest are as you are cutting into the wake. After you have those things down, its time to send it. Really try to get some air. You’re never going to get better if you don’t take some risks!

I hope this gave some of you heelside heroes the tools you need to start progressing your toeside game. Now get out there and shed that heelside reputation!