written on Dec 19, 2017

However, wakeboarding lessons start on land. This is where they are taught safety rules such as hand signaling.

They quickly move into the water where they begin challenging themselves to learn new skills.

During a summer at camp, your son or daughter can learn these awesome wakeboarding tips that will have them smiling with confidence as they glide across the water.

Crossing the Wake

This is one of the first tricks kids learn. They build upon this skill to begin learning new ones.

This trick begins with the wakeboarder crossing the wake at a slight angle. By bending their knees to absorb the shock, kids practice until they can glide right over the wake without catching air.

Once kids can cross one wake, they then get to increase the challenge by trying to cross both wakes smoothly.

Doing a Surface 180

Surface spins are another fun trick that kids love because it shows off the control that they have on the line.

To perform this trick, kids shift their weight to their heels to turn the board with their hip until they are facing the opposite direction.

This trick can be called a frontside or a backside depending upon which part of the body is facing the boat.

Taking Spins From 180 to 360

Once the half-spin is mastered, it’s only a matter of time before kids start doing a full circle spin. This requires kids to string a frontside and backside spin together until they have created a complete turn. While it looks easy from the shore, this trick requires careful maneuvering to shift the feet correctly while also managing to grab the handle throughout the spin.

Mastering the Ollie

The ollie is one of the most basic jumps. Mastering this skill gives kids the fundamental movement to begin working on other tricks.

The ollie also allows them to be able to perform jumps on all the elements in the water.

To pull the board out of the water, a rider must be able to perform each step fluidly and without hesitation. As the trick becomes automatic, riders are then ready to begin working on increasingly difficult jumps.

Bringing It Together with a Tail Grab

Tail grabs are learned after a novice wakeboarder has been catching air with increasing skill.

This is because kids first begin this trick by performing an ollie or wake jump.

As they begin to soar through the air, they bring the board up to their body by bending their knees up to their chest.

Once the board is close enough, kids then reach down to grab it before releasing it as they fall back to the water.

The Sky's the Limit

Once these awesome first tricks are mastered, the sky is the limit with where a kid may take their wakeboarding lessons.

From flips to awe-inspiring jumps over elements on the wakeboarding park, parents are always amazed at how skillful their kids are in the water.

Since wakeboarding instructors at summer camp know how to carefully stair step each lesson until a kid is comfortable on the board, everyone gets a chance to reach their full potential as a wakeboarder.

Canadian Adventure Camp is a North Ontario coed sleepover summer camp for kids located on a beautiful private island in the wilderness lakes region of Temagami. Founded in 1975, it provides acclaimed programs to children from around the world!