What you may have missed in wake recently...

There is some crazy progression and innovation going on in wakeboarding/wakeskating/video editing right now...and it's only the very beginning of the season! In case you may have missed it, we put together a highlight reel in one post of the latest and greatest wake videos to hit the web. From handle pass double inverts wake to wake by Dowdy, to cable 1260s by the Breddas brothers, to cranberry bog wakeskating, to 240 frames-per-second video, these are all must-watch videos.







One Shot by Breddas.com from Breddas on Vimeo.



Kyle Alberts-The Pro that Never Was

Spring Winching: CRC Pond

Before this latest snowstorm arrived, VT Wake managed to get our first taste of riding in 2013. It was just a quick winch session but it was good to get back out there. It looks like we'll be stuck with snow for a few days, but the extended forecast is looking promising. Hopefully we'll have some boat footage to share within a couple of weeks. For now, enjoy this quick clip of Sean O'Toole and Eli Archer.

VT Wake CRC Winching 3/23/13 from Adam V on Vimeo.

Spring Break Updates

Hope all Hokies are enjoying their Spring Break. Lots of VT Wake riders are in Florida for break, including Sydney Hobart. Sydney made a stop through Orlando to do some cable riding and hang out with her cousin, LF rider Gordon Harrison, and some other friends. Great to see some Hokies getting back on the water.

Speaking of getting back on the water...looks like the weather is finally starting to cooperate. After a cold winter and some Spring Break snow a few days ago, the weather is starting to turn around. Just checked the 10 day and not one forecasted low is below freezing (although you should never trust the weathermen). Not the warmest or sunniest forecast, but we are used to it. Sounds like the Maroon Marauder is ready to be dewinterized any day now. Hopefully the 45 degree water will warm up fast!

Throwback Thursday-Gauntlet Trailer

As we await Nick Schrein's new VT Wake full length movie, Gnarcolepsy, we wanted to bring it back a few years for Throwback Thursday. Gauntlet was Nick's first full length effort, filmed back in 2008. It's fun to look back at some VT riders back in the day and see how they have progressed since then. Joel is the only rider still around from Gauntlet, but many of the featured riders still wakeboard regularly. It's also cool to see the progression in filming and editing quality by Nick. His skills and equipment have improved a lot over 4 or 5 years and Gnarcolepsy will be some of his best work yet. Another nugget: The band featured in this Gauntlet trailer is the Baker Family Band. That is the same Baker family as Sam Baker, a good friend of several VT Wake riders and current roommate of Gordon Harrison, whose cousin Sydney Hobart is one of VT's top girl riders. Small world.

Gauntlet Trailer 2 from Nick Schrein on Vimeo.

Riders to Watch for in 2013: Garrett Wootton

We are starting a new series of articles to highlight some of the up and comers in VT Wakeboarding, or riders who have been progressing fast that we expect to make some noise in 2013. The first rider on the list is Garrett Wootton from Virginia Beach, VA.
After transferring from Old Dominion University a year and a half ago, he began pursuing a degree in Business Management and joined VT Wake. Garrett embodies the 757 lifestyle. He is super laid back, loves boardsports, and rides with style. As for his wakeboarding, he came to Tech with a backroll and some solid heelside spins, including HS FS 540s.


Just in the last season, Garrett learned:
-TS FS 360s
-TS FS 540s (landed his first one behind an 18 foot center console with a wake "the size of my shoe")
-TS Frontrolls
-Scarecrows

Ya...so maybe he used to be a slight heelside hero...

Either way, he nixed that moniker pretty quickly and progressed well, especially for only being his fourth season of wakeboarding. Competitively, Garrett has been a big part of our Regional success, earning a podium spot in his division in both 2011 and 2012. For 2013, Garrett is hoping to get TS FS 360s down landing wrapped, tantrums, raleys, and maybe start experimenting with TS FS 720s.

Garrett brings a great sense of humor to the club in addition to his wakeboarding skills (and a whip straight out of dub magazine). We are happy to have him at VT and look forward to seeing his riding reach new heights during the rest of his time in Blacksburg.

Top 10 Riders of All Time: #1 Davis Prillaman

Taking the top spot on the VT Wake Top 10 Riders of All Time list is SML native and CWB rider, Davis Prillaman. Oddly enough, he and #2 Joel Wagner attended the same high school. Davis graduated from VT in 2009 with a degree in Engineering and is now living in Charlotte, NC. He is another rider with amazing raw talent that can do just about anything on a wakeboard. While he wasn't too involved in competing for VT he was at the top of the local wakeboard scene in NC/VA and his riding certainly left a mark on the club. Davis could go for months without riding, then go out on a mediocre wake and land Tootsie Rolls, Method HS BS 540s, Mute TS O/A 720s, Batwings, Moby Dicks, and more. No warm up needed. While several riders on our list have specialized in certain areas...Adam in spinning, Joel in handle pass inverts, Edan with his style, etc...Davis is the complete package. He really doesn't have any holes in his riding. He can go big, spin, do technical tricks, blast off double ups, and he has style. Unfortunately, Davis doesn't wakeboard as much anymore, but his riding cemented him as the #1 rider in VT history and it looks like he will hold that spot for a while.

Mute TS FS O/A 720

Double Up HS Roll to Revert

Top 10 Riders of All Time: #2-Joel Wagner

       

Holding down the Number 2 spot is Joel Wagner, another Smith Mountain Lake rider who recently started riding for Liquid Force. Joel just finished his final semester at VT with a degree in Accounting and is now working in the Northern Virginia area.

          So what makes Joel so good? First--he has a huge bag of technical tricks. The list of handle pass inverts alone that he has landed is incredible. Tootsie Rolls, Roll to Blinds, KGBs, Crow Mobes, Skeezers, Dum Dums, and more. Second--Joel is a switch MONSTER. VT riders in general take lots of pride in being good at switch riding, but nobody in the club can match Joel's switch ability. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that he wakeboards "Regular," but skateboards "Goofy." Joel looks so comfortable switch that sometimes you forget which foot forward he is. His switch scarecrows are sometimes bigger and more laid out than his regular ones. He has a huge bag of switch spins, switch inverts, and even switch raley based tricks and switch Whirlybirds. 

          Joel has always been a good technical rider, but last year Joel really put in work to step up his spin game. While he has landed a handful of BS 540s and 720s, he has never focused as much on spins as he did last year. His work paid off; his spin game went through the roof as he got all four FS 540s on lock back to back. He also added some style into his repertoire with technical spins like grabbed switch TS FS 360s landing wrapped and a legit Stalefish HS BS 180. 

          Competitively, Joel has been the anchor for VT's team over the past several years. After a finals appearance at Nationals 2011 in Men's A,  Joel won the individual title at Eastern Regionals 2012. Joel went into Nationals 2012 riding better than ever, but unfortunately had a fluke run that took him out of the hunt. Expect Joel to show why he was voted one of the Top 10 collegiate wakeboarders in the country by WakeWorld when he returns for his last year of eligibility at Nationals 2013. Joel is the real deal. 

Joel Wagner 2010 from Nick Schrein on Vimeo.

Top 10 Riders of All Time: #3-Kyle Barmoy

The first rider to crack the Top 3 is Kyle Barmoy from Westminster, MD. Kyle probably has the most raw talent of anyone to come through VT. His level of comfort on any board is pretty unbelievable. On a snowboard trip with some VT wake riders, he attempted a 720 on his first hit of the day without ever previously seeing or hitting the jump. While he washed out on the landing, it is a testament to his knack for boardsports. Kyle is also a very well rounded rider. He has inverts, spins, switch tricks, raley based tricks, and style. He has a legit Batwing, an absolutely flawless Tantrum to Blind, and he's a rider who can spin both on-axis and off-axis. HS FS 540s, TS FS O/A 720s, HS Front to Fakies, Crow Mobes, the list goes on. The only thing keeping Kyle from the #1 spot on this list is his limited time at VT. After 1 year, Kyle elected to move back closer to home and is now attending college in Maryland. With his talent, continued progression, and a full 4 years at VT, Kyle could have very well been one of the best collegiate wakeboarders of all time.

kyle barmoy 09 from Terry Bailey on Vimeo.

  

Top 10 Riders of All Time: #4-Edan Fletcher

Coming in at Number 4 is Edan Fletcher, a fifth-year senior Engineer from Pittsburgh, PA. Edan is the definition of style. With a strong snowboard (and skateboard) background, he approaches wakeboarding with a different mindset than your average rider. Edan has a perfect Nosegrab HS Backroll, a nasty grabbed TS FS 360 landing wrapped, and has been experimenting with a variety of wrapped spins, including HS and TS BS 360s. He is undoubtedly the most stylish rider to come out of VT and is also one of the better rail riders in the club. Keep an eye out for him as he returns to Nationals after missing last year. Edan's style combined with an growing bag of tricks and consistency make him a rider to watch for.

Top 10 Riders of All Time: #5-Adam Van Dyke

At number 5 on the list, Adam Van Dyke is arguably the best spinner in the club. The Senior Marketing/Management major is another Smith Mtn. Lake native and lifelong Liquid Force rider. While he has a solid bag of toeside inverts, Adam is a classic example of the phrase “spin to win” with his victory in Men’s C at the 2012 Alt Games (Nationals). He can do all 4 Frontside 540s and both Heelside and Toeside Backside 360s. He suffered a nasty knee injury and complications from a massive double up last year just weeks after Nationals. After a November surgery, he has been working extremely hard in hopes of being back in time for Nationals 2013. When he gets back on the water, expect to see Adam chasing down both Heel 7s and HS BS 540s with a vengeance this year. -Nick

Adam Van Dyke spins like a top... from Nick Schrein on Vimeo.