5 Tips for Teaching your Child to Wakeboard

Having been a 90s kid who grew up wakeboarding, and now being an aunt to over 30 nieces and nephews who all love the lake, most of which can get up on a wakeboard, I like to think that maybe I’ve got some cred for helping get kids up on the wakeboard.

Not all of the grandkids in our family get to spend as much time at the lake as we do, but we can pretty consistently get them up and wakeboarding around age 5. Some get up younger, some later, but that’s a great age to start trying. Here’s some of what has worked for us to get kids up with no-tears. I am not a big fan of forcing kids to try, I always want them to be doing it willingly and to like wakeboarding (and I’m not above bribing them if that’s what it takes. Milkshakes are a real currency around here).
 

1. Have the Right Set-up: Starting Short and Slow. Over the years, one of the best things we’ve figure out is to start kids off closer to the boat, instead of on a long rope (within a safe distance of course). We’ve found that a landlock rope is the perfect length for their first few rounds. The short rope is easier to pull them up, and much easier to get the handle back to them when they fall. We start by slowly dragging them first, having them get used to the feeling of just being pulled and pushing their board against the water as they drag. Once we see that they can push back against the water while leaning back bending their arms, and squatting, we’ll move on to speeding up a little and pulling them up. They don’t go out on the long rope until they can consistently get up on the short rope.

2. Use Lots of Soap. One of the things that can start your child’s experience wakeboarding off wrong is having a big ordeal over trying to cram their feet into the boots. Everyone knows putting on wakeboarding boots can be hard enough on your own feet, but trying to push your kids feet into them is even harder. Buy a lot of soap, or get the kind of boots that open up and are easier to get their little, wiggly feet into. You want the experience to start off as positive as possible.

3. Let them Know What to Expect. For some kids, simply putting them out there and telling them to let the boat pull them up will be enough, but for most it won’t. If possible, we like to have an adult in a lifejacket sit in the water with the child and we leave them behind when we take off (either we’ll start at the lake property or have a chase boat pick them up). The person in the water or the boat who is giving directions can tell them exactly what will happen- that the boat will start, to go, the rope will get tight and start to drag them a little, but that they should stay sitting back with their arms bent, and then will they yell go, to let the boat pull them up. Having someone in the water helps them relax and remind them what to do (especially reminding them to sit back and not stand up until it’s time) and it is especially helpful when the child falls to have someone who can flip them back over if they get stuck on their front.

4. Only have one person giving directions but lots of people cheering. Nothing is more frustrating then falling over and over and there are 10 people all giving you different advice on what to do differently next time. Designate one person to be the one to give corrections and have everyone else cheer as loudly as they can anytime any progress is made! Generally, the best advice someone can give the kid if they’re not getting up is to remind them to sit like they are in a chair, lean back, and just let the boat pull them up.

 5. Breaks are OK. Wakeboarding is exhausting, especially if you are falling over and over. Kids who haven’t gotten up before are usually only good for about 5 falls before they need a break.

Wakeboarding is so fun and can be a lifelong sport. My husband still likes to get out there and throw a flip or a double up when he’s feeling up to it. Let me know what other questions or tips you need in the comments!