Marshall Cole plans to follow his father's cross-examination footsteps and become an attorney. A USD political science major, Cole, 20, is also minoring in business. He needs no direction to the university's Copley Library, as evidenced by his cumulative 3.3 grade-point average.

Juxtaposed against that academic backdrop is Cole's favorite recreational pursuit: high-speed, water-ski racing.

When the water's flat as a table top, Cole tops out at a fraction above 100 mph. What's it like slapping across water at that speed, your legs strapped to a 6-foot long, 1 1/2-inch thick wooden ski?

"Hmmmm, it's almost like sticking your head out a car window going 100 mph," Cole said.

Asked if he's ever pulled the auto equivalent, Cole confessed, "No, but I'd like to."

His mental acumen aside, Cole isn't averse to some risk-taking. The incidents have been few, but skiers have died pushing the speed envelope. Neck trauma and nerve damage to the arms are more common.

"I guess you just don't think about it," Cole said when asked about the fear factor.

Not only long on nerves, Cole is blessed with talent, too. In 2001 he won the International Water Ski Federation Ski Race Junior World Championships. This weekend on Lake Havasu, Cole will attempt to qualify for the United States open team that will compete in the world championships come June in England.

For Cole, competitive water skiing represents a family affair. He proudly says his father, Jon, 54, "is arguably the best there is in the world at that age."

A prominent Los Angeles civil lawyer who is scheduled to argue a case before the Supreme Court next month, Jon doesn't dismiss his son's assessment.

"There's very few men who can ski as fast as me," Jon said.

Marshall's brother, Graham, a UCSD graduate student pursuing a doctorate in biomedical physics, also skis. At 8, Graham became the then-youngest person to ski from Long Beach to Catalina and back, completing the 62-mile trek in two hours, 37 minutes.

"Marshall's got more ski-racing talent than his brother and me combined," Jon said. "The only thing Marshall needs is the mental heart and mental discipline. And he's got it. He just doesn't necessarily grab it all the time."

"I still take a very nonchalant attitude toward skiing," Marshall admits. "I don't get very worked up about it."

Jon feels Marshall's intellect actually slows him down on the water.

"Some people think Marshall's too smart to win a world championship," Jon said. "He's out there thinking about the boat, trying to take over. He's driving, he's observing, he's skiing. I tell him, 'Stop thinking out there. Just ski.'"

Ski racing entails much more than just hanging on for dear life behind a boat that's pushing 100 mph.

Hand-eye coordination is a must to avoid body-shattering wakes. Balance is a given. Some of the the races last an hour. Imagine being pulled for 60 minutes, averaging 80 mph. The body takes a beating, particularly the legs, back and shoulders. Cole likens a racing weekend to running a marathon.

"It's hard to go up and down stairs (the next day)," he said.

To increase his fitness, Cole has worked with a personal trainer since November. Tyler Merrill, co-owner of Addies Studio 1 on 1 in Pacific Beach, has geared workouts specific to Cole's athletic demands, featuring plyometrics to build his legs.

Merrill also significantly altered Cole's typical college-student diet.

"I love ice cream," Cole said. "I had the carne asada burrito every now and then. I had no diet. It was just eating."

Cole now eats five times a day, balancing lean proteins (chicken, fish, egg whites), complex carbohydrates (sweet potatoes, oatmeal, rice) and essential fats (peanut butter and avocados).

Since working with Merrill, Marshall notices an improvement in his fitness and Jon sees an improvement in his son's skiing.

At a recent Lake Havasu session, Marshall was hitting 104 mph.

"I was just shaking my head," Jon said.

Practice the craft long enough and a skier takes a frightening fall. Marshall's occurred at about 80 mph when he was 12. His legs tiring and the drag against the ski becoming too powerful, Marshall crashed, turning several flips.

While he skied the next three years, the passion was gone.

"I would call it a bit of fear," Jon said. "And you can't be scared out there."

About 31/2-years later, Marshall raced an old rival who had recently won the junior world championship. On this day, negative thoughts were expunged from Marshall's memory.

"Marshall, you just beat the champion!" his father said after the race. "You beat him at his own game, rough water! What does that tell you?"

"Dad," Marshall said the next day, "I want to go after the junior world title."

Which he would win two years later. Thinking back to his crash, Marshall said that once he could breathe, he climbed in the boat "and kind of recovered."

Dub it a 3½-year recovery.

Added Marshall: "A long therapy program."