26 COACHING FUNDAMENTALS
be just right - even when you are using rental equipment that
perhaps lures you into a quick grab and dash for the water.
The size for freeride should be adjusted to be neither too
small nor too large. If you have big feet, for example, and you
get on a friend-with-small-feet’s board then you will
experience the mild panic that comes with trying to tiptoe
into footstraps that are too small for you…no one wants to
carry a polo stick with them to smack their foot into the
straps on the go. Too large and - imagine if you slipped and
your whole leg went though up to your knee – erm, no.
Replace long before the footstrap degrades into
more layers than a Viennetta!
Struggling to get into the straps because they are wonky,
have been trodden flat, are neither positioned nor sized
correctly, slip open, are split apart or are generally turning to
dust will make controlling a planing board harder which will
cause frustration, slow progression, waste time and make
any session less fun.
Footstrap size
Imagine wearing shoes that are too big or too small. Walking
around would be weird and running would be rubbish. Like a
dancing shoe on foot that can’t stay still, footstraps need to
The perfect sizing should be one that is comfortable yet not
tight and so you can see all of your toes through the strap. If
you fall off then your feet should easily come out but you do
not want your feet to slip out as you are blasting along. I like
my straps to be a little loose whereas a freestyler who needs
a guaranteed emergency exit for an aerial bailout will have
them much looser and twist their feet to get a good
connection to the board when they need to.
Think about the season: most of us wear boots all winter for
cold UK conditions and then, when we go back to bare feet
in the summer, we have to make the straps a little smaller or
they would be way too loose now that the boots are off. Then
when it gets cold again and the boots go back on we need to
open the straps up a little or we run the risk of getting our
feet stuck in them. If you are working on your carve gybes
there is nothing that will ruin the latter part of the carve more
than having your old front foot jammed so hard into the strap
that you are unable to release it smoothly when the critical
time comes. So if your carves are smooth only up to the
Can’t see all the toes?
Too tight Lots of foot protruding?
Too slack Heel too far inboard to control lift
from fin? Too slack
All of the toes through and
comfortable yet not too tight?
Just right! Big gap above foot? Not as efficient for
lifting toes to dig heels in to flatten board
when overpowered Small or no gap above foot? Good for
lifting toes to dig heels in to flatten
board when overpowered
uk
WIND
SURFING