My Son's First Wakeboarding!!

Ok, so I'm a bit proud of my son here, but....

My son decided he wanted to give wakeboarding a shot. He's never done it, and only got up on training skis for the first time last week. He's 7 years old and was a little weary of giving it a go, but he paid close attention on some basic instruction, and on his 3rd pull, he was up and riding. (If only it were that easy for so many adults that try it for the first time!)

Being the eager learner he is, he wanted to go out over the wakes, which scared him at first but after doing it once and understanding a little about toeside and heelside edging (and two pretty good faceplants), he decided he was ready to jump by his 5th or 6th pull. Here is a video of one of those pulls where he decides to give it a go:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l_JXYQnnnX8

Needless to say, I'm pretty proud of him and wondered how many other parents out there have gotten their kids out boarding or skiing? I believe my son is for sure hooked now and can't wait to go again.

How fast and at what length do you pull the kids? I was pulling him around 16-18mph and at 60' with no ballast of course for now.

Awesome! Speed sounds about right. Next time, shift more people weight to the passenger side to clean up that wake for him!

That is awesome. Got the chance last week to teach a 7 year old how to kneeboard. We pulled him for probably good 30 mins straight till it got dark and we had to call it quits. He talked about it all the way home.

Awesome, he's a natural!

That is great. He will be a pro in no time.

Congrats! It's a great feeling, isn't it?

Todd - Outstanding! - Deerfield

Todd, that is awesome! I felt the same way when my son first started wakeboarding, and then surfing. My daughter is 6 and we are getting pretty close to getting her started. Probably not this summer but next summer.

Like someone else said, shift a little weight to the side that is white washy to clean it up. Also, encourage your son to go all the way across and work on his toeside cuts/jumps so he is not wasting half the set :)

Al

Thanks for the replies.....as far as the wake goes, i knew it was washed pretty bad, but I only had my wife and 5-year-old daughter on board and they were already sitting on that side...I should try moving the cooler over there as well since it was sitting behind me.

Kane - Yes, incredible feeling....I get a huge rush when I ride and land stuff, but it doesn't even compare when your kid does it for the first time and even exceeds what I taught him on just getting up. I asked how he knew how to try to jump and go out like that on his toes, and he said he just was watching me! I thought that was really cool that he pays that close attention on his own. Only bad thing (or is it??) is that he'll want to go ALL the time now!

The more kids that ride, the less you get to ride. Oh well. My knees hurt all the time now so I try to enjoy the kids riding.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Todd_Droz

Thanks for the replies.....as far as the wake goes, i knew it was washed pretty bad, but I only had my wife and 5-year-old daughter on board and they were already sitting on that side...I should try moving the cooler over there as well since it was sitting behind me.

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If you have the rear bags just add a little water to the passenger side - probably only need a couple of gallons to clean it up!

Congrats Todd!!! i'm hoping to get there with my daughter next summer.... my step son got up on his 2nd or 3rd try (can't remember) it's a great feeling!!

geoff

That is great. I cant wait for my daughter to be old enough to board. I will caution you about one thing. The board and bindings look pretty big for him. The board is not so much of an issue however oversized bindings can lead to injury. Just a heads up.