Practicing on a trampoline

[suburban]

I'm fairly new to wakeboarding- started two years ago, and I only get about a two weeks a year to really do some serious riding. I'm getting frustrated with the lack of time actually on the water, so I want to try some tricks on the trampoline- I have a 14' diameter on in my yard.

Throwing inverts is no problem behind the boat, except for one thing. I always hit my board on the tow rope. If I drop it, I can usually land feet first, but if I try to hang onto it, I always smash my board into the rope halfway over and land head first. I'm used to rotating straight forward and straight backwards, and the rope is always right in my path of rotation.

So, two questions. One, will jumping on the trampoline hurt my board? I weigh about 185, and the board is a LF trip 42 that I really cannot afford to replace. Two, how do I best practice with a handle/rope on a trampoline? Tie it to a tree? Attach the handle to a bungee cord so it's pulling me in the air?

Thanks!

[GnarShredd]

Jumping on a trampoline with a wakeboard will definitely ruin the trampoline. So don't do that.

As far as the rope goes, just tie it to a tree and have at it. Watch some videos of people on youtube and go from there.

As for using a bungie... that sounds like a quick trip to the hospital.

Just use some common sense.

[mobywake]

Just tie a rope with a handle to a near by tree about head height and just jump around and throw some tricks.

I have noticed also that standing on the tramp without bouncing then making a single jump and doing tricks simulates the pop off the wake the best. IMO it's how I do it when I get the chance to be on a tramp.

[Wakebrad]

Just tie a rope/handle to a tree and jump like you normally would. They make boards specifically for the trampoline, but I don't find them to be that helpful. Just jump with your feet free. If you get off balance you can land without bashing your face.

For learning inverts, check out the trick tips section of this website. You can't just throw a front-flip or a back-flip like you can on a trampoline, partly because of where the rope sits. The easiest to learn are the backroll and tantrum. The backroll is more of a cartwheel motion than a flip. The tantrum is the closest to a backflip but you have to use a trip-flip approach to the wake, basically turning 90 degrees before you do the backflip.

Looking at the trick-tips and how these moves are executed on a wakeboard will be more helpful than the trampoline if you already have good upside-down awareness.

[Mattyboy]

In terms of learning to front flip, think this video is awsome

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28kbgF6wbxk