What was that one little hint that fixed your heelside jump to get pop?

[Brando86]

Special question for Brando86: in your response, you first said "The flatter your board is as you ride up the wake, the better the pop", but then your second paragraph drove home the point about being on edge. So, flat or on edge on the wake? Please elaborate if possible.

I suppose this could get particularly confusing, but think of it as though you're cutting but your legs are bent and you are charging the wake at that 45 degree angle. Now...with those things being considered, you're likely standing on a 60/40 split with more weight being placed on your back leg. The best way to describe the standing tall motion is to still lean against the line in order to keep the tension, but you're wanting to straighten your legs on the edge(or think of a trampoline...you'd push down to get higher). While you're cutting towards the wake you're displacing a ton of water that will balance out your body at the 45 degree cut while your legs are straight. Now "Straight" does not actually mean that your legs MUST be straight....they actually just need to be firm. Your legs can be bent at a 90 degree angle once you approach the wake as long as they are FIRM, not soft/mushy.

Honestly, before you work on getting "pop" off the wake, you need to work on your edge towards the wake. Forget the "stand tall" at the wake for a few trips out and focus solely on maintaining your edge and hitting the wake with stiff legs. One thing I cant really give advice on is how to hit while on edge because it will totally screw you up over and over in the beginning. Progressively cut towards the wake, and remember one thing...you should never be cutting harder towards the wake than when you're at the base of the wake. Cut out, let the boat initiate your cut and progressively cut harder and harder and harder until you're in the air...otherwise you will not retain balance in the air. I'm going to assume that you're a pretty smart guy because you're entirely over analyzing your technique. It took me 3 years to get across the wake and this is what finally got me there...it just takes a lot of trial and error. Once you understand the idea of the hardest edge coming at the last possible second while keeping your legs stiff, you'll be able to progress quickly since stability also comes with the cut.

Do a few drills where you're hitting the wake on a good edge, but go ahead and absorb the wake to get a feel for it. Once you're comfortable with how fast you're cruising towards the wake (which will always feel crazy fast at first), hit the wake with stiffness. Imagine dropping from a roof onto a trampoline - you're going to naturally try to absorb that bounce with your knees so you dont end up back on the roof. If you hit that trampline with stiff legs you'll get booted...this is what you want