My son's 8 and has been wanting to learn to surf, since I only came to it as an adult I was wondering if anyone has tips on getting kids started (I know not to take him to a spot where he would be in the way etc)? especially what type of board? he's pretty lite weight.
asap!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! And a funboard from the 7-8 ft range is manageable. A longboard is so freakin floaty for a little kid.
I started at 7. Don't take wonton's advice, get him a 5'4" fish or something like that with decent volume--it will still be a boat to him but at least he will have enough mass to control it.
yea man erocks right get the little brotha a small fish cus hes prob pretty damn small. wish i started surfin at 8 thats rad your teachin yo son to surf. Tell the little brotha i say good luck form surfin_nigg!!
I started my 7 year old son on a 6'2" X 20 1/2. This board was also thick. It provided plenty of float and was very stable for him. After 2 (summer) seasons he moved to a 6'0" x 19 1/8 x 2 3/8 Flyer. This board was still stabile and floaty for him but with much less weight he could handle it better. Regardless of what board he starts with, don't push to a smaller/higher perfomane board until he is ready. It needs to be fun for him to keep up with it.
Get him started ASAP... I'd push him into a few on a foamy on a "flat" day for starters. It's kinda like training a dog... you don't want to start off making him gunshy. No bruises, no dings, no crying... all fun. Make sure you take him out for ice cream when you're done!
funboard --> fish ---> groveler ---> HP shortboard FIrst you will want to start him out on a 7'4 funboard for him to get his bearing. give him some land training and padeling tips. onces hes solid catching waves on his own on that and taking them down the line youll want to move him onto a fish for him to start geting more advanced and start doing manuvers. after that id say get a groveler, something like a shortboard but with a little more mass like a CI Dumpster diver or something like 5'4x19x2 1/4 after that go to a shortboard
Asap for sure. Started my son at 5 on a soft board with the hard skin bottom and flexible fins. Made by surftech I think. like LB says, he can't get hurt as easy. I got him the 6 ft shorty that is floaty as heck. I even rode it one day just to see how it was. It rode pretty decent. The 7 ft would be perfect for your son IMO. Here's Dannycito on our local break of sunset beach, Treasure Island. Oh yeah, don't let him watch shark week or Jaws. Scared him out of the water for 6 months lol.
I teach kids every weekend for a local surf shop. Eight is a great age, don't wait any longer since he wants to do it. Take him out the first few times with little ankle slappers. A day its not too cold, etc. Bring him somewhere you can stand and give him a push. Start with a funshape sized foamy, unless he's a real big kid longboards will have too much float and no maneuverability for him. Costco sells some foamys for $99. You have time to get him ripping on a shortboard but its got to start out fun. Its always good to have a foamy in your quiver for first timers so start there...
I've heard of kids surfing as little as 3-4 years old. I plan on getting my daughter in the water around 3 1/2. She has a couple years to go though. Like everyone said, make sure it's fun for the child. If they don't want to surf, don't make them.
http://surfbang.com/videos/2011/12/cory-and-alana.html This is the only link I could find where the vid works. You have to watch a Bell's Pro commercial first, but it's a good vid.
Erock... THAT's the coolest thing I've seen in a long time. You don't get those days back. There's no do-overs. That guy's gonna look at that video when he's 90 and smile.
Thanks so much for the tips. I have a 7'6" funboard I can try out to start and see how it goes, i like the idea of a smaller foam board, especially as he is small and lite, i'll look and see if I can craigslist one. I was actually in south caroline a couple of weeks ago and there was the perfect day and beach clean ankle to knee which you could wade out into. . . i just didn't have a board with me. thanks again.
My theory on this is that it's never to soon and never to late. I started at age 34.....therefore I must believe the never to late part......and I have seen kids as young as 7 years old in hurricane swells. My proof is these pictures taken during hurricane Katia @ northside of the St. Augustine pier. One shows a father and 7 year old son.....the other, the size of the surf @ the time he was in it. Ok....and I felt punked by the fact that the kid made it out on a day that I tried for hours and couldn't. Just sayin'
