Dave Briscoe`s Blog -blog.thewakeboardcoach.com-

The Parks Bonifay documentary has been under production for the past few months. It looks to be an amazing story on his and Shanes life. I went up for the interview and ended up with about 2 hours worth of stories. There was plenty to Talk about since i’ve known them for the past 16 years. It was a great interview. Look for the release of the documentary in June. After the filming i sat in on a meeting with alliance and some of the current top riders like, Rusty, Phillup, Parks, Shane, Trevor, Benny G., Jimmy Lariche and Danny to name a few. We all talked about the future of wakeboarding and where we think it’s going and what we would like to see. We then hung out and had a late night of old stories. Fun night to say the least.

It’s been just over a month since my knee surgery and my recovery has not only been speedy-but the doctors are blown away by the range of motion that I have already. I guess all of those years without an ACL has helped…

We started our holiday season this year with Zane and Laurens 1st annual “Cheesy Sweater Party “09″. I arrived by boat with Joe and Jared dressed to the hilt in my $12 outfit from the Salvation Army. This was definitely a who’s who of “cheesy”. We walked up the lawn to find Capt Zane Stubbing with a hat directly from the Love Boat. As the night progressed the “cheese” thickened with old friends coming out of the woodwork. JD Webb, Derek Grassman, Andrew Atkinson and his new wife, Brian Hutton, Kevin Michaels (editor of Wakeboarding Mag), Jeff  House, and the list goes on. There were between 60-80 people there throughout the night. Zane pulled out all the stops with a fully display of amazing food and beverages to fill a pool for a rail jam! He even had a first prize for the person with the “Cheesiest” sweater. I was in the finals but Andrew took first place with his Christmas sweater adorned with enough sequence to make Betty Bonifay proud. It wasn’t just a party-we did get our exercise in with keg stands! As the sun came up people started dropping in true vampire style. It was a great night!

We had an unseasonably cold November although December has made up for it so far! This time of year always reminds me of the reason I moved to Florida….mid 70 to mid 80deg temps daily – flat water and rarely a cloud in sight. Not to mention the sunsets! We’ve started to get really busy – alot of people have snow coming down and they are flocking to the camp to enjoy this utopia. Holiday bookings are almost full so call me soon to reserve your spot.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Hello all,
I have finally bit the bullet and gone through with my long awaited acl surgery. I need both knee’s done but started with the left knee on Nov 7th. In a little over a weeks time I’m already at 130 degrees. As soon as they tell me I can I’ll get the right one done. Hopefully I’ll be riding again by mid April. That’s my goal anyway. It’s going to be a long winter though with no riding or hockey. I guess I’ll have to put all my energy into making the next podium rider. Hope to see you in Florida this winter.

Dave

We had the long awaited USA vs. Canada hockey game last week. It was like old home week. It was a perfect mixture of water skiers and wakeboarders. I saw many friends that I have not seen in a long time. Some of the pro wakeboarders on the USA team were Shaun Murray, SeanWatson, Joe Laski, Anthony Monaco, Philip Soven, as well as my students Gillian Sien, Cheada Milovanovic (Cheada won a case of beer for fulfilling the bounty I had on Rusty’s head), and yours truly to name a few.

Team Canada had superstars such as Rusty Malinoski, Chad Sharpe – the Llewelyn brothers.

It was a close game with Canada making 2 more goals than the USA with a final score of 5-3. Nonetheless it was a great game with lots of contact and heart dumped on the ice.

A banquet followed as a much needed reunion with all of the pros that have been in the trenches together for years. The stories flying around were priceless as Alliance and Wakeboarding Magazines tried to capture the moment as much as they could. It was such a great event that it’s been decided that it will be an annual event. We will definitely start training earlier!

After hours I met up with all the wakeboarders in downtown Orlando. Everyone came out of the woodwork – Parks, Shane, Coby,  Henshaw, Rusty, Chad, Watson, even Drew McGuckin showed up. It was tough trying to keep up with the kids but being the professional I am did the best I could!

Now we are winding down with spring breakers and are preparing to leave on tour for Briscoe’s Summer Sessions 2008. We hit the road April 30 – planning on 28 stops! We hope to see you there!

Please book directly thru dealers and you can get their info on the website. We are now authorized dealers for Monster Towers and WetSounds and Fly High . So if you are looking for a bigger wake a louder boat and more board racks and bling then we can set you up!

Last night an old friend of mine Richard Grey (National Canadian Barefoot competitor) sent me this chalenge as listed below.

I need to put together a team to play in Orlando on April 18th, `08. I know of quite a few hi end Hockey players from Canada that have competed in Wakeboard or Waterski. So I imagine they will put together a decent team. The criteria is you have to have competed in a Sanctioned Wakeboard or Waterski Tournament.

 Read the letter below and if you can play high-end Hockey I need to hear from you.

Richard Grey Wrote;

I issued the Challenge to the USA tonight via a phone call to Dave Briscoe (Pro Wakeboarder). He accepted for the USA so the Game is ON! Dave is now the USA Team Leader.

I have know Dave for many years and he is a very good friend. I debriefed him on the conception of the idea, the purpose (Calagry 2009 Funding), and the work done to date. The Game is scheduled for April 18, 2008 Afternoon with a Evening Dinner/Social Awards Banquet & Auction. Saturday Multi Discipline Water Ski, Wakeboard, Barefoot tournament to follow. 

Dave Briscoe plays hockey in Orlando. He has a couple of sheets of ice in mind. I mentioned to him that a South West or West Location would be best. Dave will look into it, but I also mentioned that Stephanie would likely be in contact with him to secure the sheet (Rink) that he recommends. 

Dave, FYI: Stephanie is our Fundraising coordinator (Staff Position) for Water Ski & Wakeboard Canada. Paul Melnuk is the Chair of our fundraising committee (Volunteer). The Four of us now Form the Canada vs USA Hockey Challenge Team. Lots more to follow on the event in the near future.

This will be a historic event that will help produce the BEST World Championships EVER in Calgary Alberta, 2009 

Thanks for all of your involvement,

Richard