Jeff Rodgers (Greenwood, S.C.) works full time to support his family as well as training and competing in men’s slalom. A professional water skier since 1984, he had a stellar year in 2003. Rodgers placed fifth at the Malibu Open, second at the MasterCraft Pro Water Ski Championships and took home gold at the Water Ski World Championships, not to mention tying the slalom world record (1 buoy at 43 feet off). Again.
“I’m just really hoping to build on last year. Things went really well for me, and maybe I can slip in there and get a Masters. I guess the Masters is one of my targets for this year,” says Rodgers.
But skiing isn’t the only thing on his mind. Rodgers works at his family’s well-drilling business and squeezes in water skiing when he can. Being an elite athlete, especially one as successful as he is, Rodgers has limited time to practice.
“I just ski in the evenings whenever I get a chance. I don’t really have a set schedule,” he comments. “I just come home from work and go out and ski. It’s just kind of a way to relax and have fun.”
Water skiing and work are both important to him, but Rodgers’ family tops the list. His wife is very supportive of his career, and his son is following in his father’s footsteps by learning to ski. Still, Rodgers contends that he wants his son to do whatever makes him happy and not just ski because it’s what his father does. Rodgers’ brother also shares his passion for the sport, though he does not compete. The pair skis together whenever possible.
Recently Rodgers and his wife built a house on the lake where he trains and skis with his son and brother, making it more convenient for him to prepare for the upcoming season. As a result, he has more time to spend on the water and at home with his family.
“We just built a house on our ski lake, so I think it’s going to be a lot easier. We got to ski a good bit last fall before it got cold, and it was a lot of fun being able to just run out and ski and then go back and do something else,” Rodgers says.
Living in South Carolina gives Rodgers optimal skiing conditions throughout the spring and summer, but winter weather has cut back his training time. He has only recently begun to train consistently.
“It’s just started to kind of get warm where I am. So, I am just trying to get my body in shape,” he explains.
Once summer arrives, Rodgers will be training and competing through October. He will need all of the encouragement he can get with a rigorous and spread out schedule. Rodgers will be participating in three major tournaments this season, the Malibu Open in June, the MasterCraft Pro Championships in August and the U.S. Open in October, an extended agenda for any professional athlete.
“It’s going to make a weird summer for training, to stay up for tournaments for that long. It’s going to be interesting,” Rodgers says.
So, with a family and a full time job, why be a professional water skier, too?
“You don’t do it for the money. You don’t really get paid to ski,” he contends. “I think you have to do it because you want to do it. And keep it fun and enjoy it, because if you don’t enjoy it, you’re not going to succeed in it.”
Nonetheless, Rodgers does have sponsors that help him financially, and in turn, he aids them in improving their products. He enjoys doing test runs with new gear to find out what works and what doesn’t, because “little changes make big changes on the water.”
Aside from knowing that the key to success is having fun on the water, he may have another advantage over his competitors. Rodgers says that working outside in the humidity all day has helped raise his tolerance for heat during tournaments, something that most of his opponents can’t say. Paired with his experience in the sport, this makes him a difficult force to contend with.
Rodgers doesn’t know how long he will keep skiing, but he does have a guideline to help him determine when it’s time to quit. Rodgers plans to keep skiing until it stops being fun. And as long as he’s competing, he wants to be the best.
“As long as I’m competitive I want to stay at the top,” Rodgers says.
