Passing the Torch: Kirby Liesmann’s Journey from Wakeboarder to Coach, Teaching the Heelside Backside 540

 

 

Kirby Liesmann helps people find their love for watersports through his wakeboarding and wakesurfing school. In addition to teaching people the basics of watersports, Kirby loves teaching students advanced level tricks. This past winter, Kirby taught wakeboard student, Brody Sprigs, the heelside backside 540, which, according to Kirby, is the most rewarding trick he has ever taught. 

Kirby learned the trick at 18 and claims it was the most exciting trick he’s learned. Kirby accomplished the trick after spending the Winter in Florida training with his coach, Chad Brown. “Chad was an exceptional coach who really pushed me to understand the fundamentals and fill in the gaps of my weekeneses in my riding,” said Kirby. Kirby was training to competing in the Pro Wakeboard Tour, which, at that time required qualification. “There were two events that you had to do to rank in the top 20 to make it into the rest of the tour, which was five contests throughout the summer. I knew I needed this trick,” said Kirby. If you’re not good at spinning in the heelside direction, the heelside backside 540 is challenging.  Wakeboarders typically have a dominant direction in which they spin.  For Kirby, this was not the direction he was comfortable spinning. Also, with this trick, if you come up short, you can catch the back edge of your board on the water and slam your back into the water. With his coach’s guidance, he learned the backside 360 and perfected his backside 180. Coach Chad helped Kirby accomplish each step of the trick, training his muscles until it came naturally.  Eventually, Kirby put the two tricks together and landed the backside 540 in competition. It is now one of his most consistent hard tricks.

After years of successfully landing the trick, Kirby was trhilled when the time came for him to teach this trick. “I was able to take what I learned from my instructor and apply it to the process of teaching Brody Sprigs to do this trick,” said Kirby. “As a wakeboarding coach, this is the most rewarding part because I’m taking all my experience from learning these tricks and passing it on to the next generation.” Brody was in a similar situation to Kirby, as spinning in that direction didn’t come naturally for him. Kirby started working with Brody on spinning on his non-dominant side in 2020; by 2021, he could do a backside 360.  Brody wasn’t close to thinking about trying the backside 540. This Winter, Brody trained with Kirby in Fort Myers, Florida, once a month. During the first training, Kirby worked with Brody on the backside spin, practicing sliding the board on top of the water and passing the handle. Then Brody worked on doing a one-wake 360 and then went back to doing it wrapped. Eventually, Brody’s heelside backside 360’s improved significantly, and by his last trip, he was ready to try the backside 540. All the training that Brody put into learning the proper way to spin; including using tension on the rope to help him land, spotting his landing, and controlling his body in the air, paid off. “He started getting close, and I couldn’t believe that, like, oh my goodness. This would be the first time I’ve ever taught somebody how to do this trick,” said Kirby. Soon enough, Brody smoothly landed the trick, and he rode away from it full of excitement and celebration! Brody is now back riding at his home, the Lake of the Ozarks, and continuing to land the backside 540. “I just couldn’t be more proud of him and his patience in this process,” said Kirby. “The possibilities are endless now that he’s built his foundation and learned the fundamentals of this trick, and I can’t wait to see what he’s able to do with it.” Who knows, maybe Brody will be doing back side 720s by the end of the 2024 season

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