I made a piss promise ( promise you make when pissed that you later regret) on Xmas day to teach my nephew how to surf.

He is 9 any suggestions or tips on how. I assume dragging him out through 3 foot closeouts and throwing him over the falls is a pretty quick way to put him off.

The kid has no fear, spent a lot of time at the beach and can ride a skatie so hopefully he picks it up quickly.

Any tips etc would be appreciated.

The basic mistake I see every beginner make is to grab the rails to stand up, then the force of the foam always seems to push their hands off. Plus it slows them down.

So just tell him to get his hands nice and flat on the board and close to his chest, not up near his neck.

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obct said...
The basic mistake I see every beginner make is to grab the rails to stand up, then the force of the foam always seems to push their hands off. Plus it slows them down.

So just tell him to get his hands nice and flat on the board and close to his chest, not up near his neck.

Good tip. Thanks.

He rides my longboard skatie and has been practicing popping up on that.

Go out with him a few times then get him to take a few lessons to tweak his technique when he is first starting.

first tip is stay of the piss around kids or anyone else where promises may be involved

Can be hoot when they get a few!!
Wave location is a biggy. Find a slow roller, get a mini mal or even better a soft top and push him into a few unbroken slow ones.
Both my groms started this way and it was a lot less pain for all.
Have fun.

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Sandsy1 said..
Can be hoot when they get a few!!
Wave location is a biggy. Find a slow roller, get a mini mal or even better a soft top and push him into a few unbroken slow ones.
Both my groms started this way and it was a lot less pain for all.
Have fun.

agree with this. have watched a few crew teaching their kids in all different ways. this seems to be the winner imo.
young greom two years later is now catchin waves by himself and is developing a nice style....his dad is a shredder. the kid is now 7yo

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obct said..
The basic mistake I see every beginner make is to grab the rails to stand up, then the force of the foam always seems to push their hands off. Plus it slows them down.

So just tell him to get his hands nice and flat on the board and close to his chest, not up near his neck.

...... and to just wring every last morsel of froth out of it all

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Sandsy1 said..
Can be hoot when they get a few!!
Wave location is a biggy. Find a slow roller, get a mini mal or even better a soft top and push him into a few unbroken slow ones.
Both my groms started this way and it was a lot less pain for all.
Have fun.

This is exactly the technique I use. Newbies tire very quickly and they take forever to pick the board up and get back out.There are lots of little things that you that you probably do not even think about - just little things like lifting your board up as the whitewater approaches and jumping on it as it hits you etc So you need to help them. I make them practise getting up on the sand for a period before hand. Its a lot easier to have them jumping up on land than in the water. Make sure they can do the "pop' 10 times in a row before you take them out. Concentrate on getting them to get their feet in the correct position. Otherwise they will expend all their energy initially stumbling around going from lying down to one knee up to trying get the other knee up falling flat on their face. Drill the 'pop' into them before they hit the water. If you can not find some nice slow green waves white water works fine - just make sure its after the explosion ! Have fun SP - I always find it a great thrill watching their enjoyment levels soar as they ride that wave for the first time all the way into the beach and the fins dig in stopping them.

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Ted the Kiwi said...

Sandsy1 said..
Can be hoot when they get a few!!
Wave location is a biggy. Find a slow roller, get a mini mal or even better a soft top and push him into a few unbroken slow ones.
Both my groms started this way and it was a lot less pain for all.
Have fun.

This is exactly the technique I use. Newbies tire very quickly and they take forever to pick the board up and get back out.There are lots of little things that you that you probably do not even think about - just little things like lifting your board up as the whitewater approaches and jumping on it as it hits you etc So you need to help them. I make them practise getting up on the sand for a period before hand. Its a lot easier to have them jumping up on land than in the water. Make sure they can do the "pop' 10 times in a row before you take them out. Concentrate on getting them to get their feet in the correct position. Otherwise they will expend all their energy initially stumbling around going from lying down to one knee up to trying get the other knee up falling flat on their face. Drill the 'pop' into them before they hit the water. If you can not find some nice slow green waves white water works fine - just make sure its after the explosion ! Have fun SP - I always find it a great thrill watching their enjoyment levels soar as they ride that wave for the first time all the way into the beach and the fins dig in stopping them.

Great stuff ted/simondo. Fully detailed how to surf guideline.

We expect nothing less

I have nearly as much fun helping my kids to surf than i get myself, oh and don't forget to the Go Pro

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jbshack said...
I have nearly as much fun helping my kids to surf than i get myself, oh and don't forget to the Go Pro

thats true until they become way better than you

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Macaha said..

jbshack said...
I have nearly as much fun helping my kids to surf than i get myself, oh and don't forget to the Go Pro

thats true until they become way better than you

yeah but I reckon you could still show him a trick or two riding a mal
backhand at pipe

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laceys lane said..

Macaha said..


thats true until they become way better than you

yeah but I reckon you could still show him a trick or two riding a mal
backhand at pipe

Haha!! My male child blocks for me so I can get a wave!!! Much better than I ever was or will be!!

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Sandsy1 said..

laceys lane said..

Macaha said..


thats true until they become way better than you

yeah but I reckon you could still show him a trick or two riding a mal
backhand at pipe

Haha!! My male child blocks for me !

What a nice child.

Cheers for the responses boys.

local bloke teaches the kids to stand 1st on a board balancing on a large gym ball buried half in the sand , makes a game of it and gets the other kids to throw balls at them trying to knock them off . kids have a laugh and learn balance at same time .

but from experience with my kids the main thing is to make it fun ,

select an easy day ,last thing you want is them getting wiped out and putting the board away for 6 months because it hurts

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Ted the Kiwi said..

Sandsy1 said..
Can be hoot when they get a few!!
Wave location is a biggy. Find a slow roller, get a mini mal or even better a soft top and push him into a few unbroken slow ones.
Both my groms started this way and it was a lot less pain for all.
Have fun.

This is exactly the technique I use. Newbies tire very quickly and they take forever to pick the board up and get back out.There are lots of little things that you that you probably do not even think about - just little things like lifting your board up as the whitewater approaches and jumping on it as it hits you etc So you need to help them. I make them practise getting up on the sand for a period before hand. Its a lot easier to have them jumping up on land than in the water. Make sure they can do the "pop' 10 times in a row before you take them out. Concentrate on getting them to get their feet in the correct position. Otherwise they will expend all their energy initially stumbling around going from lying down to one knee up to trying get the other knee up falling flat on their face. Drill the 'pop' into them before they hit the water. If you can not find some nice slow green waves white water works fine - just make sure its after the explosion ! Have fun SP - I always find it a great thrill watching their enjoyment levels soar as they ride that wave for the first time all the way into the beach and the fins dig in stopping them.

What they said and after the first couple of lessons just stand in one spot and make them work there way back out to you...my little blokes are three and five and they get out the back without my help now....only problem is getting the 3 year old to stop when the water is over his head

Thanks for all the tips boys
I took him for a go the other day. Wasn't the best day to take him but it was a nice day and he was very keen. Surf was 2ft on the bigger ones, onshore and breaking in not much water but as i said the kid has no fear and was keen So he got thrown into a few closeouts.

I was freaking every time I came up after pushing him in that the board has nailed him but he didn't get hit, stood up second wave, had a great time and has already asked his mum for a board.

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SP said..
had a great time and has already asked his mum for a board.

This sounds to me like you have done too good a job to me

Well done. Hope you enjoyed putting a smile on his dial.