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Midwest Air Force Leaving Mark on the Waterski World

Joey Gilroy Alumni, Feature, Midwestern Region, News, South Central Region, Southern & Atlantic Coastal Region

One of the best parts of waterskiing is the communities that are built around the sport. One group of young athletes has come together to build an elite corp of jumpers.

Midwest Air Force Takes Off

In August of 2017, Brandon Schipper, a jumper for the University of Louisiana Monroe, and Ben Leutz, a University of Alabama jumper, came together and created an Instagram page for the talented young jumpers based out of the Midwest. Leutz, explained the origins of the team.

“It started from Brandon [Schipper], he knew the midwest had huge young jumpers, more than any other region. We were all already friends so he kind of just started the page and we went from there. So originally it was just me, Brandon, Cole [Kalkbrenner] and B’ster [Detty], but I added Will [Roberts], Jon [Leutz], and Brett [Stackpole] to the team and left it there,” Leutz said.

  • Indiana alumnus B’ster Detty
  • The Midwest Air Force takes top 3 at Midwest Regionals
  • ULM’s Brandon Schipper
  • Jon Leutz
  • Will Roberts
  • Brett Stackpole

Spreading the Sport

The overall goal of the Midwest Air Force is to improve the members’ jumping abilities while also showcasing the results of their work across the country. Although the group is committed to personally improving their skiing abilities, they also make efforts to improve the skiing community nationally. Will Roberts explained how they accomplish this goal.

“One of the main reasons [we came together,] outside helping each other with our jumping is to connect with the skiing community and try to create some buzz if you will. [It is] always cool to see excitement in the sport and [that is] something we try to do as a group,” Roberts said.  

Brett Stackpole continued to explain how the group  has helped him work with other skiers, and spread his passion.

“The Midwest Air Force has given me the chance to see more of the younger kids get excited about the jump event. It is something that means a lot to me and I want to be able to share it with as many people as possible,” Stackpole said.

Midwest Air Force members (Left to right) Will Roberts, Brett Stackpole, Jon Leutz, Ben Leutz, Cole Kalkbrenner, and Brandon Schipper during AWSA Midwest Regionals in Wilmington, IL.

The Midwest Air Force currently includes: B’ster Detty (Indiana University alumnus), Cole Kalkbrenner (Missouri State University alumnus), Ben Leutz (University of Alabama), Jon Leutz, Brandon Schipper (University of Louisiana Monroe), Brett Stackpole, and Will Roberts.

Advice from the Experts

Some of the members of the Midwest Air Force were kind enough to share some advice for those who are looking to improve their jumping abilities.

Will Roberts (PB 181ft): If I had to say one thing it would be patience. It doesn’t happen overnight. Just keep working on the basics and it will all come. And if you know anyone knowledgeable about jumping send videos and try to build a connection. Most people are willing to help if you’re willing to put in the time.

Ben Leutz (PB 203ft): My advice for improving your jumping would be to always stick to the basics. Freddy Krueger, the greatest jumper of all time, has said many times his form can always be simplified to knees, trees, and freeze. For more advanced jumpers I would say practice and record your jumps. There’s nothing better than booting a huge jump and being able to look at it afterwards. But the best thing about is you can take the jump frame by frame and see what you did right and what you did wrong, the same goes for the huge crashes!

Brett Stackpole (PB 163ft): I would say the most important aspect to improving your jumping abilities is to have someone consistently watch you do so they know your jumping style and are able to notice little changes. This someone does not have to be a world class coach, but someone who is going to pay close attention and do what they can to help you succeed.

B’ster Detty (PB 193): In most things we do in life, it’s important to master the basics before we move forward. In jump, the smallest and most basic skills certainly contribute to your success down the road. Keeping healthy is the name of the game in jump whether it’s mentally, physically, emotionally, etc. Each jump has to begin with a new mindset that starts with respect for the jump but ends with big guts. With all this being said, the absolute corner stone for jumpers is to wait later, jump farther.

Brandon Schipper (PB 200ft): Advice I have for people looking to improve their abilities is to get out and ride your skis.  For the longest time I thought to practice jump I needed to be hitting a ramp. I made the biggest improvements once I started riding my skis and playing around with different cuts/intensities.  The best coach is practice.

Jon Leutz (PB 169): My advice is to continue to jump even if you aren’t the best compared to others, if you keep up the hard work, you will improve.

The Midwest Air Force can be found on Instagram @MidwestAirForce.

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Joey Gilroy

I'm Joey "Goey" Gilroy, and I am a junior at the University of Cincinnati where I major in Secondary Education-Social Studies. I am currently the Vice President of UC's Waterski team. I compete in all three events at the collegiate level, but my favorite is jump.