Getting a little one started...
 

Hey guys,
My little girl is ready to go solo, but I need some advice on how to get her started. She's 7, weighs about 45 lbs. We are riding a nice wave and she has ridden plenty with me behind the boat. She can kneeboard as well.

I'm ready to get her started solo. I tried a couple pulls at the end of last year but it was just too soon. Do you know if I need something super floaty for her like an IS? Seems like she would be too light to ger her heels to dig in, but maybe I could hold her standing for a start? OR...something a little less bouyant like a Phase 5 where she could possibly dig it in to start and actually get a rail in the water? We have an oogle and a prop on board, so I am thinking of starting off with the oogle for her. Otherwise I am stuck buying something for experimentation.

I guess I am looking for board suggestions and technique suggestions. Any help would be awesome.

Charles

I've noticed that our bigger more buoyant boards are much harder for kids to stand on than our lighter boards. Try hanging out with her in the water and giving her a hand balancing back there standing. Just means you're left to fend for yourself once she's up and going...

The number one priority is getting her on a small board that fits. She will not be able to put the "brakes" on when accelerating towards the back of the boat on an adult size board. The "scamp" is probably the best choice.

The Grom from The Walker Project is the first board made especially for kids a couple of years ago. The smaller size 4' makes it easy to flip and control.

Sounds like my daughter Jesse. There is only one board I know of that works well, and will work for several years for her, and that is the same Dennis just mentioned. There really is nothing from IS, and the Nano from SS is a bit too big for her.

The only thing I would add is make sure you get arch bars on the board. I have found with little guys, the hardest thing is getting them to put their feet in the right place. Those bars help a ton. Here is a video we did, aimed at this. The board we are using is a Grom, but not the newest one, which is even lighter and easier.

http://wake9.com/community/content.php?191

The video below is my 9 yr old over Memorial Day weekend in some real choppy water. She really liked the LakeWakes GROM board! It was fast and carved easily for her. She weighs just around 65 lbs.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UqGn-ZS5N40

I posted before that I worked with LakeWakes to set up an early season deal and they have nos added the GROM to program. For US customers you can get this board for your kiddos for only $315 DELIVERED. This is an awesome price to get a great board for your little ones to learn on.

Little grom's killing it! I love it.

Thanks for the info thus far. The arch bar idea is a fantastic one and I will definitely try to work that out.

It seems like the TWP Grom is a board of choice and I respectfully appreciate your opinion. BUT good god...I wont buy a TWP for myself no matter how awesome they are at that price, let alone a board for my 7 year old. Are they really $500 to the market? My general thoughts on most of the high end surf boards screams "overpriced", and I am sure that will ruffle some feathers. Its part of the reason we stick with my half price phase 5 models and have a blast. I may be missing out, but I'll suffer the consequences:) It does seem that the general consensus is to make sure the board is small enough. I may but my oogle fin on the prop for her and see what happens. If it WONT work, then I may have to try something else to keep her from getting frustrated.

Looks like I need to get in the water to help her out. I'll have some lake time this next week to give it a shot. I'll report back!

I could not buy a $500 board for my 6 yr old son as well. Just way to much money. I did pick up a PH 5 Scamp for $200 and put a 2 inch fin on it to make it more stable. I have not had a chance to try it out yet, but it is well made.

Like I posted earlier, the Scamp is the best choice. Here is new ones for $220:

http://www.towanza.com/product/scamp

The Scamp is a nice board and the price point is great for the kiddos as you're trying to gauge their interest, but keep in mind that it's a skim-style board vs the LakeWakes is a surf-style board for $100 more. My girls ride both, but prefer the surf-style. Also, I've found that getting new riders up (and riding) on a surf-style board is easier with the proper technique.

Both are good choices and values. Happy surfin'!

Thanks! They are really enjoying it this season and working on some tricks. I'm normally not a big proponent of equipment being the thing that restricts progress, but they have progressed exponenentially since moving from a "wakeboard company" board to the LakeWakes. Guess that's why I'm a big fan of these boards.

Yes, they are expensive. The one good thing is that at that age, it will last a few years, easy. We haven't tried the scamp, but I have heard good things. Lakewakes has there grom also that is cheaper. But the important thing, is get that kid riding!

The scamp is a great kids board. It is cheap, and you can easily resell it without losing much once the kids are bigger.

Robert, Thomas tried out the scamp at the event. He said he liked it. Maddie wasnt a fan though

oh yeah, I forgot about that. Maddie didn't like it, just because she wasn't used to the "looseness" of the skim. Thomas said he had fun, and I asked if he liked it better, he said it was fun, but liked his Nano better. I think that's just preference, they are used to surf, even though mitch would like to make them skimmers. ;-)

So I would just say, as long as you can stabilize that scamp for a little one to start, probably would work well.

Ragboy: I have been told that if you ride it with the 2 inch fin (vs the fin that comes on the board) it will be a lot more stable. If you have a chance, have your kids try it out. I am curious to what they think. I have this set up for my 5 yr old but have not tried it out yet (just hoping to get him up by the end of the summer, so it will be a while before I can give a real opinion).

$450 for the TWP board is not that bad if you know your kids are really into surfing and will ride it a long time. But it is a lot of $ for a board that you are just trying to get your kids interested in surfing. They will have plenty of time to figure out skim vs surf.

Next time I am at CMS, I will see about that.