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Kids - How to them up


hammbone

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So my son got his 1st board from Santa this year. Any advice out there on making his 1st attempt a good experience? I got him up with me on my board (about threw my back out... Cry.gif ) and he was sooooo hooked!

CJ1st.jpg

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With kids that size, it's important to remember that you are pulling a lot less weight per board area out of the water. Easy does it. Barely above idle, the board (and rider) will start to plane, then you can increase the speed to what feels right.

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Go slow, no matter what speed he should be able to hold on to the handle, wether or not on plane. If he can't, his form is off or you're getting him up too fast. I find teaching people to wakeboard is much more difficult than ski. Some just like to lean back and plow the water!

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So my son got his 1st board from Santa this year. Any advice out there on making his 1st attempt a good experience? I got him up with me on my board (about threw my back out... Cry.gif ) and he was sooooo hooked!

CJ1st.jpg

I agree with what the other readers have posted. I also have little ones that are now 10 and 8. Both have been at it for 3 yrs now. The key we found was speed and arm position. Have them position their forearms on their thighs and lean back . This will allow the rider to distribute the force to their legs which are much stroner at this and any age. The resistance created by the water is so great in the beginning, most think it's too hard. By inverting their grip, and placing their forearms on their thighs, you eliminate this force. Always be patient and remember you are willing to try as long as they are.

Another trick is to practice in the basement. Take the fins off the board and get the child in position on the ground. Have them hold the handle and you pull on the other end and they can practice getting to their feet while sliding on the carpet. This is also a good way to teach the transitions from edge to edge and how to surface 180 and 360. Before long, they will have it mastered.

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I too agree with everything said. I have a 5 year old girl. I made her first experience on the water using a kneeboard while she layed on her stomach. Have the child get a feel of what a "real" pull behind a boat feels like by themselves so they aren't completely shocked when you start to get serious (wakeboarding, skiing, etc.) I also did the technique of a grass/lawn start. It works great. Find a slight hill, have them get into position at the bottom whlie you pull the rope from the top. Very realistic to the constant pressure. Once they learn to pop-up, do it again on flat grass/lawn and pull them around while helping them with their form (lessens face plants...which is sometimes a deal breaker for a child wanting to continue). Best of luck to you.

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We had our four year old boarding last summer. You can actually get him used to the feel by going arm over arm you pulling the rope to the boat with him holding on. That's if he's scared of doing it by himself. Taking the engine out of the equation helps. I also swam in the water with him at the start the first two days we did it. I'd just swim inside by the dock after he was up or I'd swim to him if he didn't get up. This really helped on the confidence front.

Everyone seems to be a little different with their "trick" or focal point for getting up. Here's what the key was for us. Tell them to keep their butt on the boad with their knees bent. Arms stay straight (usually outside the knees at this age). Most everyone, adults included, look to stand up too quickly. Tell them to stay in the seated/knees bent position until they are underway.

The tip about doing it on carpet is a good one. I'll add on thing to that tip, take the bindings off. If you have him stand on the board and then you pull him with the rope, the only way he won't get pulled off of the board is to keep his weight back.

The tip about allowing him lots of tries was a good one too. Logan (my son) must have tried 20 times before it clicked. He would get a little frustrated but me being there with him and blaming the fall on mom's driving helped. Whistling.gif

Kids are different from adults only in that they plane on top of the water with very little strength because of their size. With kids they pop right on top when doing the above. With anyone over 150 #'s they need to point their toes towards the boat. The board actually becomes a wing under water before it comes to the surface for bigger folks. This is why girls tend to get up more easily than adult males. The males are heavier and they try to muscle it by creating a snow plow. Some guys learn to cheat their way up by sticking one end of the board forward. This helps them plane and works but it is not "right" and causes more force than is necessary.

Anyway, we help a lot of newbees to get up and this is a favorite topic of mine. Sorry for the long response. Have a great summer!

P.S. My son did an accidental Railey (sp?) last year by leaning with all his might against the rope and then standing straight up quickly. It was really funny and thankfully didn't scare him or hurt on the landing (face, stomach first).

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We have tried several ways to help kids get up the first time. This method has been the easiest so far. We have gone to a quiet area of the lake and attach the anchor down the tube. I will then sit in the tube and help the kids sit on the side of the tube in a sitting position with the board/skis in the water. It is amazing how easily small kids (9 and under) can get up off of the tube. Once they have been able to go a couple of times they seem to be a lot more patient with the struggles of deep water starting. As for the kids on the trainer skis we will just pull them down the waterfron in a few inches of water to show them how it feels, very similar to the lawn method. If you can take off from a beach on the trainers it is really simple. We just put them in a couple inches of water and start out slow. Over the past 5 or so years we have had great success with both methods. Good luck, and have a great summer! Thumbup.gif

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All good advice. The only thing I would add is to make sure he can flip the board over on his own if he gets pulled out the front. It can be very unnerving for a child to be face down in the water and not be big or strong enough to flip the board back over to get on his/her back. Let him practice going from floating on his stomach with the board on to flipping around to his back while you are in the water with him.

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So my son got his 1st board from Santa this year. Any advice out there on making his 1st attempt a good experience? I got him up with me on my board (about threw my back out... Cry.gif ) and he was sooooo hooked!

CJ1st.jpg

I agree with what the other readers have posted. I also have little ones that are now 10 and 8. Both have been at it for 3 yrs now. The key we found was speed and arm position. Have them position their forearms on their thighs and lean back . This will allow the rider to distribute the force to their legs which are much stroner at this and any age. The resistance created by the water is so great in the beginning, most think it's too hard. By inverting their grip, and placing their forearms on their thighs, you eliminate this force. Always be patient and remember you are willing to try as long as they are.

Another trick is to practice in the basement. Take the fins off the board and get the child in position on the ground. Have them hold the handle and you pull on the other end and they can practice getting to their feet while sliding on the carpet. This is also a good way to teach the transitions from edge to edge and how to surface 180 and 360. Before long, they will have it mastered.

Totally agree with the practicing in the house or in the yard first. Taught my 5 year old daughter last year and we did this almost nightly leading up to her first real attempts. Also you need to have some patients. It took my daughter 5 or 6 different outings before we finally got 100% effort from her. Once we did, she rode like she had been doing it her whole life. Just be patient and try to get them to try even though there may still be some fear there. Over time the fear goes away and they put the added effort in.

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How are you guys getting out of the water on skiis and wakeboards with little guys on you? where is the best spot to put them. My son is a bit of a scaredy cat Cry.gif and if I fall it could spell weeks of not wanting to try again. he is fine on a tube slow, I was thinking of going to a stomach position on the knee board, we have trainer skiis that we are going to try as well being he is a really good downhill skiier. He is the type that will go from scared to evil kinevil in hours once he is comfortable on something the sky is the limit its just getting him to feel comfortable without scaring him.

Jason

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Hack hit the nail on the head with telling your son to keep his but on the board and don't stand up too fast. I told my son that he could ride along in a squating position if he wanted as long as he didn't stand up too soon. Once he is up on the water my advice was to pull the handle to the hip of your front foot and lean back.

My son learned at 7 but he probably only made about 60% of his attempts to get up that first summer. Last summer when he was 8 he got up all the time.

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With anyone over 150 #'s they need to point their toes towards the boat. The board actually becomes a wing under water before it comes to the surface for bigger folks. ....

Say what? That seems like an awful lot of work to be working the board like a "wing under water". I have never seen anyone do it that way (without subsequent face plant) , and that includes some big dudes. Seems alot more difficult than just getting up riding your board on top of the water.

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Not really too much work - if you're in the right position, there's not any conscious effort to it, it just happens. There is also almost no stress on any part of your body except you hands. At 245, I can get up on a 40" wakeskate that way. As long as you don't stand up too early, never a face plant.

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The "wing under water" works really well. One of our crew 6 foot 4, 270 lbs could not get up trying with his brother in law then came out with us and got up first time. Said it worked great. To start we had him try and float in the water with his life jacket on and just stand on the board with it underwater. Then got him to do the same thing only with his knees bent so he was "squating" on the board while it was under water. Then milk the thottle on and up he pops pretty much already standing/ squating. As Weinrdog stated there is "no conscious effort it just happens".

For the little ones they can't hold the board under water by them selves and do this so we start them off with the board up in front of them and as the throttle is milked on tell them to "kick their heels up under their butt". This does basically the same thing in that they are standing on the board while it is underwater, they just need some forward motion to keep it there. It is then like a "wing under water" that pops up and the rider is already standing on it. All this is a little bit of a timing thing and you have to have some feel with the boat and rider if you are driving. Don't pull them too hard.

With out the "standing under water part" or" kick your heels under your butt" part most people seem to load up the board pushing water until the boat over powers them and their knuckles get a good rap against the board as they get pulled into the face plant.

For the little ones we also do a dry land run while on the pier before the water run. Just give them the handle while they are sitting on the dock with the board on and give them a "manual" pull to get the feel of how the boat will pull and how they will have to stand up on the board.

Have gotten my nephew (11 yrs) and lots of his friends up this way and also a lot of my friends who are now regulars after learning behind my boats.

The other post I read with the kids starting on the tube works well too as again they are already standing on the board and basically up.

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I started my kid's out behind our jet ski holding the rope in my hand, when they feel I would let go of the rope so they wouldn't drink alot of water. Then I moved them up to the boat. A small jet ski doesn't seem to scare young kids as much as a big boat.

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Most all of the above can and will work but. One thing I cannot stress enough The driver Is one of the biggest contributers to a newbie getting up skiing or boarding. Most people just use to much throttle. The other big thing and it has been brought up is I like to put an adult in the water to get a newbie going. One of the most common errs is starting position. a person in the water can be a big help. Also watch if the person is tired take a brake same if cold. Good luck We get 6 to 10 young up each year for the past 6 years or so. Its a blast to see the smiles.

Last year we got a Chines engineer who could not swim up and skiing. He got up and went around the lake yelling in a heavy accent I am Flying I am Flying

If you have a young one be sure they can get out of the bindings. Very very impotent boarding.

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Most all of the above can and will work but. One thing I cannot stress enough. The driver Is one of the biggest contributers to a newbie getting up skiing or boarding Most people just use to much throttle. The other big thing and it has been brought up is I like to put an adult in the water to get a newbie going. One of the most common errs is starting position. a person in the water can be a big help. Also watch if the person is tired take a brake same if cold. Good luck We get 6 to 10 young up each year for the past 6 years or so. Its a blast to see the smiles.

Last year we got a Chines engineer who could not swim up and skiing. He got up and went around the lake yelling in a heavy accent I am Flying I am Flying

If you have a young one be sure they can get out of the bindings. Very very impotent boarding.

Rockon.gifThumbup.gif

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I got my 6 year old cousin up last year. It took a while but what worked was:

Accelerating real slow... I mean really slow.

Top speed slow, maybe around 10mph (dont quite remember).

To get the right position in the water we told her to pretend she was sitting in a chair (funny but it was the only thing that worked), and when she started to feel the boat pull, pretend to stand up out of the chair.

the of course put the handle to her lead hip.

After that we created a MONSTER!!! She wanted to wakeboard 908574095858495749 times a day.

Good Luck

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As a couple of previous posts mentioned, the driver is very important, there is almost always too much power applied for getting a wakeboarder out of the water. It doesn't take much.

One thing that I've found is that new boarders, young and old alike, have a tendency to fight the pull of the boat.

They'll be in what seems like the correct position, but as soon as the boat starts to pull them, they push their legs out and fight the pull.

Here's how I attempt to solve the problem. Have the boarder get in the water on their back and throw them the handle. You should sit on the platform and pull them torwards you using the rope. When they get close, put your feet on the bottom of the board with your legs locked out. Tell them you are going to pull the rope and you want them to get into the low crouched down position. If they are positioned right, you should almost be able to get them out of the water by pulling on the rope with your feet against the bottom of the board. They are usually positioned correctly when the part of the rope that joins the pieces or rope coming out of the handle is actually past the edge of the board.

Once they have this position correct, you can use your feet on the bottom of the board to show them how to rotate the board and get one foot forward.

These two things together usually have a boarder up after two or three pulls. Once they get the feel for it they are usually up every pull.

Hope this helps.

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...

With anyone over 150 #'s they need to point their toes towards the boat. The board actually becomes a wing under water before it comes to the surface for bigger folks. ....

Say what? That seems like an awful lot of work to be working the board like a "wing under water". I have never seen anyone do it that way (without subsequent face plant) , and that includes some big dudes. Seems alot more difficult than just getting up riding your board on top of the water.

If you've ever seen a person over 150# get up with the board parallel to the boat then you've seen them use the water wing method. You may just not have known that was what was happening but every pro to novice rider that gets up consistently does it.

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So my son got his 1st board from Santa this year. Any advice out there on making his 1st attempt a good experience? I got him up with me on my board (about threw my back out... Cry.gif ) and he was sooooo hooked!

I've used a barefoot boom for my kids and others....first couple of times they hang on to the boom....next they go with just the handle on the boom....when they get that, then the graduate to the rope on the pylon or tower...

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...

With anyone over 150 #'s they need to point their toes towards the boat. The board actually becomes a wing under water before it comes to the surface for bigger folks. ....

Say what? That seems like an awful lot of work to be working the board like a "wing under water". I have never seen anyone do it that way (without subsequent face plant) , and that includes some big dudes. Seems alot more difficult than just getting up riding your board on top of the water.

If you've ever seen a person over 150# get up with the board parallel to the boat then you've seen them use the water wing method. You may just not have known that was what was happening but every pro to novice rider that gets up consistently does it.

I started getting up this way last year because my back was hurting but i still could ride as long as i didnt jump. It is very easy to do and is alot better on your body! I might have forgotten how to do it the old way. Whistling.gif
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