So Close!

My son Andrew was "this close" to getting up on his board yesterday. The process has been a slow one. I got him a board over the winter, and he was eager to give it a try on our first outing of the year. That didn't go so well. He didn't like the idea of something strapped to his feet while in the water. The farthest he got was sitting on the platform with his board on. And, he convinced himself that the lake was infested with fresh water sharks. lol. Anyway, the board went into the rack. Every time out, I'd ask him if he wanted to try, but his reply was always "not this time." Well, last night he surprised us by declaring "I'm going to wakeboard today." So, we strapped on his board and he sat down on the platform. We've been this far before, so I wasn't getting my hopes up yet. I told him I would get in with him if he wanted. He took me up on that offer and in we went! This is real progress. I showed him how to turn over if he falls face-first and let him get comfortable with the feel of the board. Then he was ready. I stayed in the water to help him maintain position. After about 10 tries, he almost made it up. If he had stood up instead of crouching, he would've officially been wakeboarding. He had to stop because his feet started to hurt, but he was ready to try again a little later. He was proud of himself for trying and I was super proud of him for giving it a go even though he was a little scared.

We'll have a camera with us next time in hopes of capturing the glory.

NICE SWASS.... I look forward to the continuation of this story and hopefully photos of Andrew wakeboarding as well.

awesome swass! i bet he was almost as stoked as you were. please take pics next time.

nice to see you back here.

Hang in there swass, you are doing the right thing though, they seem to learn at their own pace and will do it when they are good and ready and not before. Having someone in the water with them is a big thing, especially on the comfort level. Keep it fun all the time and cheer them on all the time.

I am thinking about 50 attempts per kid is close to what we went through. My good friend who I will always be indebted too spent hours in there with them, holding them up, getting them set, making them feel comfortable, etc. They are on their own deep water starts now and can handle the rope themselves with very few bad attempts or losing the handle when circling back.

A couple things that helped us. Warm water!!! A cold kid ain't gonna last long in the water!! Idle speed when they are getting set, it seems to kind of pull them along and they can get set. Slow throttle up when they are ready, they pop right up.

Consider the crouch an amazing accomplishment, your kid is on his way.

Swass

How the heck are you? Another generation of boarder I see. I hope that you are getting in a lot of water time and I look forward to seeing the picture of your son and his smile when he gets up.

Swass,

My son is in the same place as your's. I've had him in the water, behind the boat twice now. The first time he didn't like how bulky the board was, and popped the handle getting up. The second time out he actually asked me if he could get in and try. He got up for a second but fell forward and was done for the day.

I'm being patient, and he seems to be getting braver each time he tries. He wants to go again this weekend so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he'll get up.

Hang in there, guys, my daughter FINALLY got the courage up to go this past weekend. She's 13 now and I've been telling her how much fun it is for 7 years now. It was only because our 4 year old neighbor went on Friday that she finally cracked and said "oh no, I gotta go now." She got up her third try and spent about 45 minutes carving after that. Now she's hooked!

Nice job, Swass. Patience is the key and it sounds like you've got plenty of that. The worst thing you can do is pressure them into it because then they'll start to dread it. It's an awesome feeling when they decide on their own that "today I'm going to wakeboard."

My son just recently started getting up. I always tell beginners that there is no rush in standing up and that they can go across the entire lake in the sitting position if they want. My son is the first one to take me literally and stay in the crouched position indefinitely. He gets a little shaky when he stands up, so he quickly returns to his "happy place," the crouched position.

However, what I'm most proud of is the fact that at the end of this video, he had the presence of mind to do the robot as he sank into the water!

http://wakeworld.com/Galleries/GetImage.asp?GalleryID=500&ImageID=99

Swass/David, how old are you boys? We recently got my 7 year old step son to ride and can't keep him out of the water. Wondering if the 2 year old will be ready next year.

Mine just turned 6.

Dang I can't believe that your son is six Dave. I remember winning a shirt for guessing his birth weight or name or something. Anyways whats with the power turning when he let go in the video.

Where were you when you took that video?

Sorry the J/K smiley was supposed to be up above I wasn't winking at you.

It's the Colorado river and the power turn was because it was the end of the inlet.

Dave, that's a better robot than anyone I've seen on the East Coast except Murray. You're a good father.

Congrats swass! He'll get it soon.

My daughter when she was 4 (last yr)had gotten up but didnt like falling. Who does? so she never wanted to board. but she always wanted to tube. Now she got her own board for xmas and we stopped pressuring her to go. we simply asked her once every time all had had a turn. finally the last 2-3 weeks she is the first one to ask to go and wants to go every other rider!(just kidding) Hang in there. Don't pressure and don't baby them either. We had success treating them as everybody else on the boat.
Now its time for our 2yr old on the skis

Bill: Andrew is 8.

Hi Louise - long time no talk to.

Thanks for the encouragement - it's nice to know I'm not the only one waiting for their little ones to show some interest. If he ultimately decides it's not for him, that's OK. I'm just glad he tried it despite his misgivings.

Chris that is awesome!!!!! He has been in the water 1 time more then me in 2 seasons!!!! Big props for that! Glad to hear you are getting to the water this year. Any time you wan't a camera man to take pics of super kid, just give me a ring. !!!!!!!

I'd like to take you up on that. I'll give you a call.

That's awesome!