How did you get your kids started surfing?

[Jetter]

Hey Johnny. We have a Zup. It is great for kids because as it says "everybody gets zup". It is great for guests and for kids to overcome fear of being behind boat. It is nothing like surfing through. It is also big and heavy and a pain in the *** to store in the boat.

I get kids up by holding the surf rope in hand (boat not moving) and repeatedly pulling them up by hand. It's surprisingly easy to pull them out of the water. They just need to practice standing on the board a half second before you pull. The board I use is a Phase 5 icon. Nice and light. It is hard for them to push down and submerge anything so lighter the better.

I'll be coming out to join you on the 11th.

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[nmriordan]

We have used the tube technique to get the 5 and 6 year old up on the surf board. Super easy. If the youngster is a bit scared set mom in the water to encourage and stabilize the tube. But be sure to send her with a cold beverage. She floats in our tube with a beer and orange skirt down flag until we return.


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[nmriordan]

Re: tandem surfing... just place the kiddos feet slightly inside your stance and have them wrap their arms around your thighs. First few times will be exploratory as it takes a handful of attempts to figure out where to shift your feet and junior's feet so you can ride the wave and toss the rope.


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[macteacher2]

I've seen the tube approach before. Nothing short of brilliant. I also have a small wake surfer I bought on the cheap many years ago that I think would work. However my concern is putting him behind the boat all alone the first time. The last thing I want to do is scare the life out of him. It's a lot to handle the first time. The good news is he is just starting to go off diving boards and water slides on his own. So he is used to going underwater.

Going tandem is possible, however I think that might be even more scary. I think he needs to learn how to "fall off" a few times and realize he's still okay before I put him on something real. The EZ Ski is nice because it is inflatable. He is used to inflatable things. And if he falls and hits it, it won't leave a mark.

Does anyone have a video of getting up tandem? Any tips?

Johnnie - been surfing tandem with my daughter since she was young (and still doing it with her at 12). Super easy. Wide stance and float him in between your legs. He holds onto your legs (arms under and around each leg) and feet in between yours. You stand up just like usual and he comes long for the ride. You can hold onto him with one hand while you surf on the rope if he wants you too. As he gets comfortable you can do all kinds of fun stuff (front and back, piggy back, sitting between your legs, getting on your shoulders....).

[Dandy]

Johnnie - been surfing tandem with my daughter since she was young (and still doing it with her at 12). Super easy. Wide stance and float him in between your legs. He holds onto your legs (arms under and around each leg) and feet in between yours. You stand up just like usual and he comes long for the ride. You can hold onto him with one hand while you surf on the rope if he wants you too. As he gets comfortable you can do all kinds of fun stuff (front and back, piggy back, sitting between your legs, getting on your shoulders....).

Mac,
What do you use for a board with you and your 12 year old? Unless you are both tiny people it must be a pretty good sized board. The reason I ask is the my 13 year old is struggling a bit and I know that if I can ride tandem once or twice with her she will understand and catch on quick. Admittedly I am not a good coach, especially with my family. I think they should catch on as quick as I did, you know get up and drop the road your first time. What's so hard about that? [emoji14]

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[macteacher2]

Mac,
What do you use for a board with you and your 12 year old? Unless you are both tiny people it must be a pretty good sized board. The reason I ask is the my 13 year old is struggling a bit and I know that if I can ride tandem once or twice with her she will understand and catch on quick. Admittedly I am not a good coach, especially with my family. I think they should catch on as quick as I did, you know get up and drop the road your first time. What's so hard about that? [emoji14]

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If you can believe it we use my Inland Surfer Tako most of the time. It probably isn't rated for that weight but it is the board that I teach everyone on. We don't surf double without the rope much though (she likes to climb up on my shoulders and do back flips). My Ronix Koal Fish is good too, but there is a gap in the traction pad where she needs to stand and we have had some very funny wipeouts due to the slipperiness.

[007]

WE do the same at Dan C. We find a quiet cove and one of us gets in the water near shore with the kid (or adult). It seems the biggest issue anyone has is how to dig the board down in on launching. So sometime we hold the board to their feet a time or two as the boat pulls them up. Once they get that, it seems to come easier for them. In the case of Jax here, poor kid has no core strength, I had to give him a shove to get his butt outa the water!

https://www.facebook.com/jane.richte...2983647731089/

I'm sure the tube idea is awesome, I just don't own a tube!

One more thing we've learned. Not every kid is good at it. You have to be super positive with them and make sure not to overload them with to many things to work on. One thing at a time. An advantage of being in the water with them is that if they fail to get up on the board right way, they are not alone doubting themselves in their head. You can talk and joke with them about how long it took you to get up, etc.

Friend of mine teaching my daughter's first ride. Empty ballast. No perfect pass. Just start as slow as you can.
6yrs old first ride last year
She now stand up alone. Just need to
Get stronger on her leg and she'll be good to come closer


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[JohnnieMo]

We got the little scamp on the EZ Ski today. It's basically just a tube that you can stand on. He loved it but still wouldn't stand.



A big wave ended up knocking him in to the water and he followed protocol a S swam back to the EZ. He thought the world was ending but still got back on. Pretty proud today.