My 4yr old's 3rd time behind the boat

[houstonshark]

I put this up on WW but thought I'd share it here also.

A month or so ago my 4yr old wakeboarded behind the boat for the first time. He did really well and rode for quite awhile but struggled getting his chest up. He stayed crouched for most of the time. I think he felt more stable or secure when he was lower.

We went out last weekend and he rode for the 3rd time. He is really progressing well! The very first time he ever tried, he got up about 50/50 regular and goofy but this last time he mostly got up regular, although the couple times he got up goofy, he still looked good.

You can really see his progression in the last clip of the video. He is finally getting his chest up and standing a little taller and is starting to cut a little. He has been able to cross over the wake toe side a couple times but for the most part, the wash eats his board and he falls.

I have slowly sped him up to 15.2mph and it has really helped his stability. As long as he looks comfortable, I hope to continue to add a little speed each time out in order to clean up the wake.

Any suggestions?

http://vimeo.com/48564955

[Cubacheski]

Hmmm.. I dont see a video. Maybe it is my computer

[houstonshark]

No. It's me...Trying to figure out how to embed it from my phone. Here's the link:

http://vimeo.com/48564955

[konajay]

That's awesome stuff... What a little stud. I'm sure you're very proud of him!

[thtrog]

Awesome, looks like a natural! I'm know a couple of kids who started at his age and now a few years later they are killing it. Keep him riding switch where he's comfortable either way.

[st68]

That is so fun to see him shred it up!!! He is doing awesome. What kind of board are you using for him? It looks really stable.

[Joeprunc]

That is awesome!!

[jbort]

super great stuff - imagine what he's gonna do in 10 yrs.

[houstonshark]

That is so fun to see him shred it up!!! He is doing awesome. What kind of board are you using for him? It looks really stable.

It's the Ronix Vision 120. It's a pretty wide board with center fins. Both of my boys absolutely love wakeboarding, though my 3yr old is not quite ready to ride yet. He'll surf with me but says he's not ready to ride behind the boat. He wants to learn on a 2.0.

They will play for hours on our boards in the grass or between runs at the cable park. Both can Ollie even my 142 board and get some air.

This is them playing on a friend's 134. They don't seem to care that it's a girl's board.

[Gwyn]

He looks great and really confident, tell him to keep watching the tower hitch, that will keep his head up and maybe try a shorter rope, as thtrog said get him riding switch as much as possible.

Try also when you pull him out to have him on the left side of the boat you might be able to keep him in the middle of the wake a bit better then, if he cant get the handle over his left hip to keep himself straight tell him to let go with his back hand, its helps them practice being upright and running straight, then get him to keep his back hand tucked in tight to his body !!

I know thats a lot to ask of a 4 yr old but once he feels it he will be sorted !! we always get them to practice on dry land with the rope tied to a tree with the board on, much better than trying to tell them when they are in the water !

will look out for him on the pro tour in about 12 years time !!! Good luck

[Moki]

It's another Parks Bonifay. He is doing awesome!

[houstonshark]

He rode for what seemed like forever yesterday and did so well! He's starting to cut in and out really well and can now cross over the wake on his toeside. He took a pretty nasty fall and busted his lip but wanted to keep riding! Momma said it was time to take a break though.

We took it easy today since the boat traffic was so bad. He was itching to ride at the end of the day once it slowed down. He got some great water! He actually charged the wake toeside a couple times and one time he crossed over the wake and tried to jump off of the other wake on his toeside edge. I'll get some video of him riding tomorrow and post it up. I'm so proud of him!

He's gonna pass me up quickly if I don't get with it!

[houstonshark]

The last time we were out was on Labor Day weekend and it was busy so we didn't get to ride a ton but Madden got several good runs in; usually the first and/or last run of the day. He's really starting to get it and is continuing to push himself to see what he can and cannot do so far.

I've sped the boat up now to around 17.4mph and added some weight to the port side in order to clean up the wake on that side, which has helped. The only problem with doing that is that now the starboard side is washed and messy but my boat just won't clean up both sides at that speed.

I hate to go much faster, especially this late in the season. I don't want him to take a bad fall and for some reason call it quits and end the season on a bad note. I don't think he will because he really loves it. He already busted his lip once and had a little blood coming out of his mouth but wanted to keep riding.

This video from Labor Day is a little long but he's progressed so much that I just couldn't cut much more out. It's pretty funny to watch his reaction to his favorite song. You can see him start to really get aggressive in his riding.

Is there not a way to embed Vimeo videos?

https://vimeo.com/49288476

[Duncan]

Great stuff! Way to go Madden

Hand in the wake 3-3:30 pretty awesome. Wipeout out 3:46 shows increasing edge control when he is trying to recover.

He loves that heel edge but 0:18 and 4:00 shows he has some toe edge. Maybe a reflection of messy sb wake?

[houstonshark]

Great stuff! Way to go Madden

Hand in the wake 3-3:30 pretty awesome. Wipeout out 3:46 shows increasing edge control when he is trying to recover.

He loves that heel edge but 0:18 and 4:00 shows he has some toe edge. Maybe a reflection of messy sb wake?

He's definitely starting to get it. I wish I could get both sides to clean up but my boat just won't do it at that speed. I've had him up to 18mph and it didn't phase him at all but it still just wasn't enough. I'm running the bow ballast full and TAPS at 1. Maybe this weekend I'll fill the starboard side instead to clean it up and kinda force him to ride over there and ride switched.