Techniques for starting new skiiers

[nemalibu]

Hello All:

I have a child who has been "skiing" on a ski skimmer for the last few years and I plan to move him to skis this year.

I have been asking around to see what techniques people use. I am concerned that his upper body may be a bit weak for the boat pull on starting so I am looking for ways to make this go smoothly.

One person I know described his method:

He floats in the water directly behiond the kid with a life jacket on. He reaches around the child and stabilizes the child by holding them on the back of the legs directly above the knee. When the boat starts to move and the child starts to move he gently pushes the kid up from behind.

Does anyone have experience with this approach? Does anyone have another approach they would like to share?

[btbaeder]

Hello All:

I have a child who has been "skiing" on a ski skimmer for the last few years and I plan to move him to skis this year.

I have been asking around to see what techniques people use. I am concerned that his upper body may be a bit weak for the boat pull on starting so I am looking for ways to make this go smoothly.

One person I know described his method:

He floats in the water directly behiond the kid with a life jacket on. He reaches around the child and stabilizes the child by holding them on the back of the legs directly above the knee. When the boat starts to move and the child starts to move he gently pushes the kid up from behind.

Does anyone have experience with this approach? Does anyone have another approach they would like to share?

How old is your child?

When my son learned to ski (when he just turned 5) I would get behind him and try to hold the back of the skis down in the water right at the start of the pull. It helped him keep from going over and still gave him the feel of getting up correctly. After a few of times this he was able to get up on his own.

[steemin]

Hello All:

I have a child who has been "skiing" on a ski skimmer for the last few years and I plan to move him to skis this year.

I have been asking around to see what techniques people use. I am concerned that his upper body may be a bit weak for the boat pull on starting so I am looking for ways to make this go smoothly.

One person I know described his method:

He floats in the water directly behiond the kid with a life jacket on. He reaches around the child and stabilizes the child by holding them on the back of the legs directly above the knee. When the boat starts to move and the child starts to move he gently pushes the kid up from behind.

Does anyone have experience with this approach? Does anyone have another approach they would like to share?

Over the years we (my wife and I) have got many skiers up for the first time.

We even have a ski mounted on the wall in our lake home that

the new skier gets to sign (added incentive).

The biggest challenge is getting the child comfortable in the water.

The technique you described above works great.

When an adult is in the water with the new skier it relives a lot of the anxiety.

It also allows the adult to get the child into position for take off.

As far as your question regarding...having enough upper body strength to hang on while they are being pulled out of the water. I have not seen this as an issue as long as the skier is in position and has their skies under control. Kids pop right up out of the water so fast it is easy.

Good luck and have fun

Scott

[Jimmypooh]

my $.02 is to make sure little kids use full size skis with the tips tied together. It's a little harder in the water as they are so buoyant, but makes getting up a ton easier. Dont worry about the boots being too big. It wont matter.

[MalibuNation]

Push down with your toes once you start getting up.

[zzbutler]

First, make sure the kid has been on something like a tube to just have the experience of being on the water successfully.

We used training skis with the bar connecting the skis in the front and the ski rope tied to the bar for the towing. Then a short rope/handle coming up for her to hang on to. The observer in the boat holds the other end of the rope so that you can let go of the rope when needed and not accidentally drag her if she falls wrong.

I also put my daughter on an old Zip Sled link, which might have been easier if we used first before the skis.

All kids are different and people have different ways to approach things like this. For my daughter, we literally had to pry her fingers from the back of the boat, kicking and screaming to get her out there. That may or may not be the best approach for all kids but she was very happy once she did it and would not have tried it otherwise.

With anything we did, we always have an adult in the water with them. Generally, we try to start out close to the bank so that the adult in the water can hang out safely when the child gets up and we take off across the lake.

[hattric73]

skis tied together work great...someone next to them for confidence is helpful...even if they aren't doing anything...

a good driver makes things a lot easier!

ONE person giving instructions, everyone else should just be observing...

"knees to chest, relax like you are in the lazy boy and stand up when you get going"

[Swampy]

We've taught lots of kids on a barefoot boom. It's almost foolproof.

1. Get them up the first time on the boom.

2. Get them up with a short rope off the boom.

3. Get them up with a long rope.

It's also nice since you can be next to them offering advice and moral support but I have to agree with hattric73

ONE person giving instructions, everyone else should just be observing...

Everyone wants to give advice.

[RedOwl]

ONE person giving instructions, everyone else should just be observing...

I think that is probably the best advice so far.

I can't think of anything more frustrating for the learner or instructor, than 5 different people yelling instructions at random.

[MalibuNation]

ONE person giving instructions, everyone else should just be observing...

I think that is probably the best advice so far.

I can't think of anything more frustrating for the learner or instructor, than 5 different people yelling instructions at random.

That's funny, I seen that so many times. Arms out, arms to your chest, elbows inside your knees, elbows outside of your knees.

[bobofthenorth]

We start them on the boom, move them to a handle off the boom and then to the long line off the tower. For kids about 10 and older its usually a couple of pulls on the boom, couple of starts on the short line and then they are OK on the long line and usually up first pull. For younger kids or "little" kids (could be physically small or emotionally younger) my wife will hop in the water for the first long line pull. She floats on her back behind the kid, uses her legs to manage the skis and holds the kid in position. Having someone in the water gives the kid courage and Marilyn can help them manage the skis, rope and body position for that all important first start.

[Faceplant409]

...Good advice all. I'll (HOPEFULLY) be trying to get my 6 yr old up this year.

Swampy: please tell me that is not your boat in your avatar... (LXI?)

Patrick

[Sixball]

The one thing I have not seen yet and I agree with most of the advice above. Hattric73 has one very impotent peace of advice. "a good driver makes things a lot easier!" Be very careful of the power used to bring the skier up. A small child will need very Little power and apply very easy. I use a person in the water with a new skier very often.

We got a mid 40 year old from China who could not swim up using a person in the water. First time. It was so funny he got up and was going around the lake yelling I can fly, I can fly, in a very broken english.

Also once you get a small child up you need a lot less speed to keep them on plain so watch your speed.

[Boat Rocks]

A bearfoot boom, a person in the water, a good driver, NO PARENTS allowed, they ride in an accompanying boat or we teach beside the party barge where they can watch. Parents lose their cool to easily and then the child WIGS out, they want their parents to tell them what they are doing wrong and in most cases the parents aren't real lake people and have NO CLUE. Its hard to deal with the kids and parents who don't live the lifestyle, (it just a FUN thing for a weekend, your gas, your time, your dime!) but you hope they find enough interest to become what we call lake people and spring for their own boat.

[bobofthenorth]

We let the parents in the boat but tell them to sit down and keep their mouths shut. (we say that very politely) I did however once scream "Patti - SHUT UP and SIT DOWN" at my sister-in-law. She did and she has never, to my knowledge anyway, held it against me.

[MalibuNation]

We let the parents in the boat but tell them to sit down and keep their mouths shut. (we say that very politely) I did however once scream "Patti - SHUT UP and SIT DOWN" at my sister-in-law. She did and she has never, to my knowledge anyway, held it against me.

I like it when someone wants to carry on a conversation (sp) with me when I'm intensely looking in the mirror as the skier is ready to tell me to "hit it", or people in the boat tell me to "hit it", it's the skier who says this and no one else. Some times I have to explain this to the skier too.

[Soon2BV]

All total my wife and i have probably taught about 25 or more young kids to ski, from ages 4 to 18+.

Here are some of our tips and lessons learned.

For little kids -

Get trainer skis that are tied together and have the handle tied to them. A person in the boat holds the other end of the rope, that has a handle on it. The newer sets will last forever, so you can always donate them or sell them when you are done. we had a wood set that lasted 15 years.

Find a quiet cove. One adult stays in the water with the kid. one adult is in the boat, holding the other end of the rope. keep them steady, talk to them, explain what will happen. if this adult in the water is small enough, and the one in the boat strong enough, i have actually held on to the back of the skis to keep the kids stable and then been pulled along when the boat starts out. (get ready for some water in the face). we do this for several times.

As the kids get more comfortable, then take the tow rope from the skis, but keep the skis tied together. use a shortened rope from the boat. still have someone in the water with the kid, because the skis are hard to handle when tied together. do this way several times.

Next step is to untie the skis. again, have an adult in the water.

Eventualy, the kids get comfortable and can stay up long enough that one of us would help them get skis on, and then get back in the boat before taking off.

for older kids that can't fit the trainers, we use a shorter rope (60'), and have someone with them in the water to help them stay stable. as our kids got older, they were often the ones in the water with their friends who were learning.

to re-emphasize a few points from above -

1 person gives instructions.

Everyone gives encouragement.

Be incredibly patient and relexed.

Have a camera ready

Push them, but know when to stop for a while and let them relax and rest.

there is nothing more exciting than the face of a kid getting up for the first time!!

[Chef23]

I have taught a ton of kids to ski including my own. There is no issue with upper body strength. It takes very little upper body strength for a kid to get out of the water on two skis.

Having someone in the water helps. We have a spot where the adult can be standing up and the child floating. Basically all the adult does is hold the child steady in the water so they stay straight and don't tip over. We used 59" HO skis with the tips connected. They make tail weights which we didn't have but would probably help. The driver needs to be very gentle on the throttle. We taught our kids behind the boat at 28 off because we don't have a boom. They both got up the second or third time at 5 and 6 years old.

One thing that might help is having them go out on a knee board. It gets them used to the pull on the handle from the boat as opposed to a skimmer which is pulled by the boat. We have taught plenty of kids that never went on the kneeboard first though.

Good luck and have fun.

[uk_exile]

Boom, handle off boom, then short rope off tower. Tower with short rope give a nice upward pull and can really help learners. We use it a lot teaching adults to start a slalom ski.

Most important with kids though is make it fun and no pressure. One small hint each try, zero don't comments.

[uride2]

Dry Land Training

Not always time, but if you can plan for it, some dry land training, at least with the kids, helps a lot.

I wet down the grass, have the kids put on the water skis and pull them around a little bit so they are used to the feeling.

Also do a simulated "hit it". Have them sit on the back of the skis and YELL "hit it" and do a simulated start.

Seems to help, makes the teaching less frustrating than doing it all while the child is in the water, and seems to speed up the process.

[Boat Rocks]

A bearfoot boom, a person in the water, a good driver, NO PARENTS allowed, they ride in an accompanying boat or we teach beside the party barge where they can watch. Parents lose their cool to easily and then the child WIGS out, they want their parents to tell them what they are doing wrong and in most cases the parents aren't real lake people and have NO CLUE. Its hard to deal with the kids and parents who don't live the lifestyle, (it just a FUN thing for a weekend, your gas, your time, your dime!) but you hope they find enough interest to become what we call lake people and spring for their own boat.

Also throw the skis out and let the little ones float with them on for a while, helps with learn to control the skis on their on.

[bobofthenorth]

We often do a platform drill to help newbs get some muscle memory for straight arms and good body position. Just have them stand on the swim platform and give them the handle. Depending on the size of the kid you can either hold the rope or wrap it around the pylon. For sure when we start moving toward dropping the ski we will do a lot of platform drills to get them into good body position.

[Michigan boarder]

As a side note, I tried to get my 7 and 9 year old on skis repeatedly last summer. At least 4 different days, for multiple tries. No luck, even with me in the water with them, demonstrations, etc. These are athletic kids (football, soccer, gymnastics, etc.). My goal was to get them comfortable with that and then they could try to wakeboard. Then one day after wakeboarding I asked if they wanted to give that a shot, even though all we have is my Hyperlite 136 with adult Spin bindings, all way too big. The 7 year old got up on the FIRST try, stayed up 'till his arms wore out. The 9 year old was up on the 3rd try, and went over, and over, and over 'till he was exhausted.

I think the large surface area of the board makes it a lot easier for them to get up, so that may be worth a shot if someone is having difficulty skiing.

[Chef23]

As a side note, I tried to get my 7 and 9 year old on skis repeatedly last summer. At least 4 different days, for multiple tries. No luck, even with me in the water with them, demonstrations, etc. These are athletic kids (football, soccer, gymnastics, etc.). My goal was to get them comfortable with that and then they could try to wakeboard. Then one day after wakeboarding I asked if they wanted to give that a shot, even though all we have is my Hyperlite 136 with adult Spin bindings, all way too big. The 7 year old got up on the FIRST try, stayed up 'till his arms wore out. The 9 year old was up on the 3rd try, and went over, and over, and over 'till he was exhausted.

I think the large surface area of the board makes it a lot easier for them to get up, so that may be worth a shot if someone is having difficulty skiing.

The kids or the driver must have been doing something wrong if you couldn't get them up over 4 days with multiple tries. I have taught dozens of young kids to ski without a boom and gotten them all up even the ones that aren't athletic.

The key points are make sure they have their knees into their chests and arms out straight, Let the boat pull them up and always keep the arms straight.

The driver is very important with small kids. It is almost impossible to give them too little gas. If the child is under 75 pounds on two skis they won't need much speed to get out of the water. If the rope snaps out of the kids hands generally either they have their legs straight, are trying to stand up too soon or the driver is giving it too much gas. With the right throttle kids can still get up with their legs straight.

Good luck and have fun with it.

[gmoneycrf450]

We let the parents in the boat but tell them to sit down and keep their mouths shut. (we say that very politely) I did however once scream "Patti - SHUT UP and SIT DOWN" at my sister-in-law. She did and she has never, to my knowledge anyway, held it against me.

Bob...if she's a woman she's holding it against you...lol...just waiting for that perfect time to bring it up...lol