How to Teach a Child to Water Ski

Water skiing is one of the most difficult and physically strenuous sports to learn and participate in. A child learning to ski needs balance, muscle strength, good positioning and most importantly, determination and perseverance. Water skiing is not for everyone, but a child who puts his mind to it can master the sport.

Instructions

Difficulty: Challenging

The Basics

1. Purchase short skis. Full-sized skis are harder for children because they are heavy. The best skis for children have a metal loop at the inner tip of each ski. The skis come with a rope, which is used to tie the skis together when the child is first learning. You can untie them later after the child gains balance.
2. Fit the skis so they are snug, but not painful. Let the child wear them on dry land so he grows accustomed to the feeling. You may choose to spend time practicing squatting and holding the ski rope on dry land, but this is not essential, and only some skiers believe dry land exercises can help.
3. Instruct the child to get in the water with skis and a life jacket. Have a parent or trusted mentor get in the water with the child. Have a spotter on the boat and a few other passengers to offer encouragement.

Positioning

4. Ask the child to hold on to the ski rope with two hands, palms down. Encourage a slight bend at their elbows. Warn him that the boat will pull him up hard. Many kids complain about their arms being pulled out of their sockets.
5. Tell the child to assume a sitting position in the water. The knees should be bent slightly, and the skis should stick upright out of the water. Ideally, the life jacket is keeping the child afloat in this position. The ankles should be next to each other with the feet facing upward toward the sky; this will keep the skis tall and close together. Smaller children will need help from the person in the water to keep their skis straight up in the air until the boat takes off.
6. Check the child's body position as she floats in the water. Elbows and knees should be bent and hands tight on the rope, palms down. The skis should be straight and close together. The child's bottom should stay low in the water. She should resemble someone doing a cannonball just before hugging her knees to the chest.
7. Discuss a code word. Many drivers like to hear "Okay" or "Hit it!" when the skier is ready to go. Drive the boat out slowly until the ski rope is taut. Make sure the person in the water with the child is ready. Listen for the child's okay. Accelerate forward with enough speed to drag the child for a second or two and then force him to pop out of the water.
8. Try again. Only in the rarest of circumstances will a child get up the first time. Be patient. If the child fell, she did one of three things: 1. Held on too hard, which caused the top half of her body to thrust forward and be dragged. 2. Held on correctly but lost her balance when popping out of the water. Or, 3. Tried to stand up immediately instead of using her knees as shock absorbers to pop out of the water. Help the child adjust her position based on how she fell. Then try it again and again until the child has mastered water skiing.

Tips & Warnings

• The younger the better. Six is an average starting age, but some kids as young as four can get up on skis. On the other hand, some kids take longer to build up the muscle mass. You may need to wait until children are nine or ten.
• Common advice for new skiers is the old adage, "Let the boat pull you!" Kids try to stand up in the water before they have the full force of the boat supporting them. This will cause them to lose their balance and fall to one side. This can be avoided. Explain that the boat will do all the hard work; children just have to hold on and keep their bodies tight.
• The most crucial part of teaching a child to water ski is safety. On a busy lake, boaters have a hard time seeing children. When children are learning to ski, the boat may have to circle back around dozens of times. Each time children fall, demand that they place their arms or ski high in the air immediately as a warning to other boats.