Teaching a 9 year old

Which lake would be the least intimidating lake to teach my 9 year old (girl) to wakeboard? (Nor-Cal)

Mark: I wouldnt worry so much about "what" lake. Go to any of them at a time when it wont be crowded with boats. The Delta even. Thats where my son rode last year at age 8. Of course, we had to drive around for awhile to a "No Fish Allowed" zone of the Delta, but we found a slough outta the way, and only saw one other boat in an hour.

If you hit up the lakes, go during the week, really early mornings, etc. Just avoid the crowd. That will make her and you, both, more comfortable and not feeling so rushed.

There is Lake Hogan out in Valley Springs Lakes a good size so you can always find a place were there are not to many people. Don't know about the Delta havn't been there yet.

Just keep the whole thing light and positive and she will have a blast.

Use the "I'm not actually going to pull you up, just drag you a little so you get the feel" line, then as you do that they aren't nervous or scared and when you give it a little extra and they without thinking are standing up and riding, you have won the diplomatic side of teaching wakeboarding. Keep her knees inside her elbows and in her ball. Have fun!

The technique I used for my 8 year old was to get in the water with her.

I got right behind her and made sure she was in the right position. Then I had the boat start slowly and I pushed her up and out of the water. It doesn't take much to get them out of the water at that age. Three tries and I was by myself in the cove watching. A proud moment indeed.

Having me in the water made her very comfortable and made it easier to show her what to do.

She's 10 now and can't get enough.

Good Luck it's a great feeling when they do it!

I did close the the same thing for my daughter (she started at 8). I also used a very short (30') rope (tied it short) so she felt closer to me for the first couple of times till she was comfortable.

After the first couple of tries she was getting up by herself @ 60' and goes around 14mph (just fast enough to clean the wake up).

The most important part is to keep it fun. If shes not having fun, let her get out and try again later.

Guys, I have trained about 20 kids under 10 using a barefoot boom. If you have kids or anyone that wants to learn to ski, board or even barefoot(yikes!) the boom is the best. My routine is pull them up on the boom 2-3 times going 10mph or less depending on weight, then go to a handle only rope off the boom, it gives them the feel of coming out of the water but close to the boat and safe- then finally move them back behind the boat on a 60-65' line. easy out of the hole and away you go. I am batting 1000 so far and everyone loves it. Even my dad ( 63yrs old) got out of the water on a board doing this. good luck!

BTW- there is a great boom for V-drives which I have, from Barefoot International. I spoke to Mike ( the owner) a couple of years ago and he recommended the extension for the boom- which I don't have- but it works fine without it. Later!

Thanks for the input so far!

I have taught a few youngsters also and have a different approach. Kids will typically fear being left behind, along with fearing the whole experience. So getting in the water with them always makes them feel better. If they fall and get a face full of water (We know that is going to happen) then a hug is just moments away. You are right there to flip them back over and reassure them everything is ok. We run two ropes, with mine or whoever gets in the water being the shorter rope, by a few feet. Just get up on your board the opposite of the direction they are. This also allows you to push their board into position as they are getting up. At the slow speeds necessary to pull a child the adult will be getting a decent workout hanging on, but it is always worth it when the child talks about their experience the rest of the day and longer...

Once they are more comfortable getting up and can do it on their own, it is now a great time to bust out the tube! Set the tube up shorter then their line and you can easily hold a conversation with them. This will keep them feeling comfortable and is a great way to coach them, as they start smiling and enjoying themselves. Before you know it, you will be asking them for a chance to ride.

One more suggestion to help teach the youngsters I picked up off Wakeworld a year or so ago that worked really well for me.

Forget the lake. Go for the swiming pool and human pull start. It takes nothing to pull up youngsters and the pool takes away so many distractions/concerns that kids have. I taught my daughter (8 at the time) to get up this way and after a dozen or so "pulls" across the pool she was ready for the lake. I would get in the pool with her, coach her on position and have a friend run with the rope. Worked like a charm.

My baby cousin started @ 5. She has no fear of the water (sometimes she scares me, she's a dare devil) But now at 7 we cant get her off the water...she cries when we bring her in so someone else can do a set.


She's the one on the left.

All above mentioned are great, another thing to try if you can start close to a beach is using a tube turned over so the young rider can sit on it, using a short rope 30 to 40 ft. start pulling the rider siting on the tube with the board facing the boat, at about 7 to 10 MPH the rider stands up (almost standing anyway from a seated postion in the tube) The boom is still the best way if you have one. Have fun and enjoy the smiles.

Here's another.....with the many young "trainees" I've worked with, being left in the lake while the boat turns around is the biggest deal. We use two ropes one about 1' shorter than the other. I use the short rope on a knee board (belly start) with an aqua hook. One hand on the knee board and the other holding the wakeboard to steady it. As they start to get up you just lean away from them and ride along side. When they crash just pull your rope from the hook and you're floating in the water with them. At the slower speeds this is way easier than the double wakeboard.