Any recommendations for surf instructors on Maui for young children? The age range is 6-8, and the skill level is “can swim”.
Thoughts on group vs. private or semi-private lessons? I know my son likes to do activities with his little friends! Also, since we live on Maui, we’re looking for something ongoing, not a one-time tourist style lesson.
Safety, fun, and learning are the key goals.
@kazuma, @Matt_Brown, @doug, any thoughts?
The groms are ready!
Yes, in the case with children safety is first and foremost as is the case for anyone taking a surfing lesson…
I usually take children on tandem boards. This way they are never away from me at any given time yet they can still have a wonderful experience paddling and surfing as we share the tandem board. It is a great teaching tool as well to share the same board with a student…
If a tandem board is not available and or it is not the right situation I will usually have an extra instructor on the inside to be certain that the child student is totally safe.
Hi @justin: @riverstothesurf (Kiva) and @Buzzykerbox, have been teaching our kids since they were 5 years old (they are now 9), mostly at guardrails mile marker 19, usually always as private family lessons where we all go on the water together. I’d say that in regards to safety, Kiva or Buzzy are amazing, they’re awesome instructors. One thing you want to look for is an instructor who is able to connect with kids, whom kids will really enjoy being around. On this note I’d say that Kiva is just fantastic, his high level of optimism and positiveness is contagious, kids just want to be with him. Hope this helps.
I can’t talk about lessons, never took one… but here’s how I see it.
The most important thing is to get comfortable IN the water. That means an aspiring surfer first needs to first be good at swimming underwater, because that’s a huge part of surfing! Next, plenty of playing in the waves at a sandy beachbreak. Bodysurf, dive through, get tumbled, and enjoy it! That’s where confidence and competence come from. Boogie boards and fins are the next step - paddle outside and learn to spot the swells catch the waves, and turn the board. After that, take a real surfboard into the whitewater. Learn to ride it straight in, prone. THEN work on standing up! Here, a lesson on the “pop-up” may be helpful.
When the grom can stand and control the board in the soup, then it’s time to paddle out into the lineup and catch some swells - at a mellow time and spot, of course.
My son Taj, who just turned 6, finally is at the point where its no longer “surfing on television is boring, let’s watch Barney or play XBox”, and, instead, the first thing when he woke up was “I want surf lessons. Daddy, I want surf lessons!”
My son can swim and boogie-board OK.
I’m looking for advice from other parents on the best tips, maximizing:
I’m looking for general advice such as what equipment, where to go, how many lessons to get, things to make it more fun, etc. Basically, if you taught your kids to surf, please share your experiences!
Here’s a related topic:
That’s what we do @MauiSurfClinics :). We will be offering a surf camp for beginners on July 7th , 9th and 11th . I will post the infos in a little bit…
Kat
