DOING IT FOR THE KIDS
PETER HART MASTERCLAS
S
HOW TO TEACH YOUR KIDS TO WINDSURF
(This Technique feature originally appeared in the July 2013 issue of Windsurf Magazine. Print and digital subscriptions for readers worldwide are available HERE.)
The summer ‘staycation’ could be the perfect time to introduce the young ones to windsurfing. But is it something you could or should attempt yourself? Peter Hart, who has a couple of ‘little issues’ himself, shares his recent experiences.
Words Peter Hart // Photos Hart Photography
I read an article a few years ago, which explored the question as to why so few offspring of professional surfers take up surfing. All top sporting folk are monomaniacs but surfers, it seems, take it to another level. Their fanaticism is all encompassing. They are locked inextricably and eternally to the ocean. If a good swell rolls into their local beach and they’re not on it, they suffer a systems breakdown and have to book themselves into the nearest anger-management clinic.
Surfing determines where they live, their moods, their daily time-table. So when junior arrives on the scene, it’s a given that he or she will surf. Before they can walk, they are hurled into the shore-break and ordered to rip. “We surf, so you’ll surf. It’s what we do kid. It’s in the genes. You WILL love it.”
And so an irresistible, non-negotiable force permeates the poor child’s life from birth. And guess what? They don’t like it. Most tantrums are about trying to wrestle back a little control of their lives. And one of the ways to do that is to say ‘no!’ to compulsive activities, even if they do look like fun.
Well for ‘surfers’ read windsurfers. How many times have I seen a bullish Dad charging down to the water’s edge dragging a brand new kiddie rig in one hand and a very reluctant shivering 5 year old Cynthia in the other, who you know within minutes will sprinting back up the beach vowing between sobs, never to go near one of those ‘windysuffers’ again? But it needn’t be like that.
I have a couple of kids, 8 and 6. They both now do a bit of windsurfing. I know – you think I’m being modest and that thanks to heritage and opportunity, they can both spock and loop in a force 8. Honestly they can’t. They just pootle around in very light winds. It’s been a gradual process. I nearly blew it on a few occasions, but now they genuinely now seem to enjoy it, as they do a number of other sports.
The trouble with this topic compared to your average technique conundrum is that a new and gargantuan variable has entered the mix – and that’s the people involved.
A coach/pupil relationship can be tricky enough but when they share the same blood, the potential for conflict quadruples. Whether or not your kids are ready to windsurf and whether or not you’re the right person to teach them depends entirely on the relationship you have with them.
Are you their mate or a matriarch? Do you have the patience? Only you can answer that. All I can do is share my journey, reveal what worked and what didn’t and try and answer the commonest questions. The most common of which is …
The Right Age?
I gave both of mine a go when one was 4 and the other 5. It was too young. It’s not that they hated it. It just didn’t mean anything. I ask them about it now and they don’t actually remember doing it. The problem was that it was all my idea. I wanted them to do it and before I knew was being that uber-annoying dad trying to be artificially joyful on everyone’s behalf. “Ooh that was good … well done …isn’t this SO much fun?” which kids see through in a microsecond.
I figured out that for this to work properly, the motivation has to come from them and they somehow have to feel it’s their idea.
So I left it a year and that winter we went skiing. Skiing is my wife and I’s recreational passion and for it to continue our kids had to like it. So I hatched a plan so cunning you could pin a tail on it and call it a fox – as Baldric might say. We went to France, not to go skiing but to ‘stay with friends’ who happen to live near, but not right in, a ski resort. But here’s the devilishly clever bit. Out friends have a son who was just a bit older than our 2, who being a naturalised local, skis like the wind and is pretty cool.
For a couple of days we mucked about in the chalet. Finn, the cool lad, would come back from his ski club dressed in all the gear and sure enough our 2 begged to have a go.
“Are you sure? It’s pretty fast and dangerous? Maybe you’re too small?” Note the wicked child psychology there, which absolutely sealed the deal. The next day we drove up to a very small resort – the type where you just pull off the road, park on the snow and there’s a baby lift in front of you. We taught them ourselves and the rule was that the moment we sensed resistance and misery, we would head back down and get on with our friend-visiting holiday. As a result, they wanted to do it all day and every day and the crying only came when we had to stop.
It was perfect and inspired a new approach to the windsurfing project. Kids are motivated by their peers. Starboard have been clever with their kids’ sponsorship strategy, realising that they are most influenced by those just a little bit older. The 8 year olds will look to the 11 year olds; the 11 year olds to the teenagers etc. Watching adults means very little. We’re from a totally different planet.
The environment was unthreatening and did I mention it was warm and sunny? Kids can’t regulate their own temperature very well. Their core temperature can drop suddenly and that’s when the tears and fighting start. Weather has strong influence on the outcome – good and bad. There was no pressure. They were in charge and could stop whenever they wanted to. And of course the counter argument to that, which I’m sure has worked in some instances, is that, for kids, windsurfing is like learning a musical instrument. The beginning stages can be slow and heavy going but it gets more and more enjoyable the better you get. So there has to be a level of coercion. Make them do it. Then suddenly it’ll click, they’ll get the ‘whoosh’ and be hooked for life.” But I still haven’t really answered the ‘right age?’ question.
STANCE – simply do nothing.
We have a few trigger words, like ‘feet’ and ‘bum’ (don’t forget that any mention of bottoms immediately gets their attention) which are offered if the former is sticking out and the latter are in the wrong place, but there’s a minimum of direct instructions. Just by imitating and feeling, the stance took care of itself.
The next session, all straightened out, hanging off straight arms.
A year later, head forward, rig back sailing upwind – just by imitating.
So What is the Right Age?
My lad plays for a rugby team of eight-year-olds. The difference in size and shape amongst them is astonishing. There are some you want to put in a pram and others a yard taller who you’d have a beer with at the end of the game. Developmentally the range is massive. So, with windsurfing, it’s hard to draw a line in the sand. You just have to suss out when they’re ready physically and emotionally. I started mine at 4, but all we really did was set them up give them a push, get the photo and watch them drift gently downwind. It’s unusual that they can use a sail big enough to have any control of their destiny.
Very young kids are also top heavy. Their heads don’t grow much and so constitute a large percentage of their overall weight, which makes it hard for them to balance. As they creep towards double figures, they even out. Their centre of gravity lowers, their legs become stronger. They have a better strength-to-weight ratio and can balance more effectively. It’s about then they can really feel it and hold down a powered-up rig.
What also happens is that their vision and perspective widens, which is crucial for reading the wind and making smart decisions. With young kids their world happens 6 inches in front of them. (Watch a bunch of 4 year olds play football. It’s hilarious. They all follow and are transfixed by the ball. The idea of spreading out, looking up and passing is totally foreign.) In the original RYA kids teaching manual, 7 was the suggested starting age and it’s still about right. Of course there are exceptions but, from what I’ve seen, the later you leave it, the more quickly they get it and the less vulnerable they are emotionally to a bad moment. My eldest boy has windsurfed a bit every year since the age of 4 but this year, aged 8, was when he could do it properly and independently. That is to say, had the strength to sort things out and get up and going without constant help.
PREPARING – the environment,
the challenge, the danger.
7+ may be a good age to start properly but you can still have a lot of fun before then and prepare the ground. As a junior ski instructor I taught big groups of kids in the 7-10 age range. Especially around the really chilly months of December and January some didn’t do well at all. It had nothing to do with strength or balance. They just weren’t happy in the environment. They’d never spent a whole day outside before. The big outdoors sapped their energy and freaked them out.
Windsurfing is the same. Kids who spend a lot of time outdoors, preferably wet and around water do a lot better than those who haven’t. This almost certainly does not apply to the children of readers of this magazine but I have been asked to teach children who have absolutely NO concept of danger. Such has been the thickness of the cotton wool bubble they have been brought up in, they assume everything is 100% safe. And if something unexpected does happen, e.g., they end up under the sail, they do nothing and just wait for someone to sort it out. Very scary.
If you have the chance, a bit of dinghy sailing introduces them to the wind and what it does. Boogie boarding gets them properly wet and used to being under water. And a bit of junior SUPing is great for their balance and introduces them to the art of falling in. It’s time to give it a go.
“ If you sense reluctance, remember, you’re not taking them windsurfing, specifically, you’re just heading to the beach, where you may do a bit of windsurfing along with beach cricket, ice-cream throwing and other traditional activities. Take the pressure off ”
Creating the First Impression
Never has that old adage “you’ve only got one chance to make a first impression” been so apposite. There are two very good reasons to make it is as easy and safe as possible straight away. Kids tend to have a love or hate instinctive judgement process – i.e., they may not give you a second chance if the first one is traumatic. But secondly, if the playground is benign and controllable, you will feel confident about the event. Kids pick up on your mood. If they get a whiff of panic or unease from their protector, they’ll mirror your mood.
The venue has the most immediate influence. The closest one is usually the popular choice but not always the best. Small inland waterways are good in that whatever happens the rudderless windsurfer will end up on a bank. On the down side, the green slimy water, the mud, the weeds are not so appealing if you’re still struggling to market the project. A day at the seaside on the other hand …
On a lake or ocean the greatest asset of all is flat and shallow water. It takes the sting out of the safety issue. You can stand behind, help them out with the rig, lift them back on and take the stress and strain out of it. You can even wade along with them as they take off. In the earliest stages the younger kids have perhaps 10-15 minutes of physical and mental energy. You don’t want them to waste it all clambering around or struggling with an uphaul.
As for the wind, if it’s less than force one, the tiny rigs produce such a miniscule force that whatever they do with it, it has no bearing on the board and they get no sense of resisting and delivering the force. Above a force 3 and you’ve got a struggle on your hands – although the right ‘gung ho!’ kid may just dig in and go. Flat water and a light (force 2) constant wind are ideal.
The Kit
And this is really where the game is won and lost. I’ve seen parents bellowing instructions to their kids – “head up! Tack for God’s sake!”, which due to inappropriate kit, are impossible to fulfil. Happily the kid’s kit out there these days is formidable. The question is at which point do you invest? The more you spend, the lighter and better it is. Rigs of 1.0 are now setting on carbon masts (well sticks really) and actually breathe like big sails. Personally I bought in at 1.5 sq m. There’s enough power in it to give them a feel. But it was when they could handle a 2 sq m (aged 7) that things really began to happen.The choice of board is tricky because you may not have a choice. You don’t feel like splashing out on a specific kids board so will try to adapt one you have. The key feature is mastfoot position. If it’s too far forward, it’s impossible to make the board turn into wind with a small sail. In most cases locate the mastfoot right at the back.
A lot of adult entry-level adult boards work OK. Go for a smaller fin (less than 30cm) to make it more manoeuvrable and so you can practise in shallow water.
Yes a lot of them are a bit big. The volume-to-sail-size mismatch means they’re painfully slow to manoeuvre – and the kids can stand just about anywhere without causing an upset and so develop shocking habits. With mine I very quickly moved them down to a 130, stable enough to be easy but wobbly enough to force them to put their feet in the right position. A daggerboard or central fin helps them turn and stay upwind but is not essential.SUPs with a mastfoot are also a good option. The waterline length of the
all-rounders (10’ plus) makes them slow to turn but the surfy ones of 9’ and under are great.
Freestyle immediately appeals to the young folk and no matter if they can barely uphaul. Chucking the rig around is great for balance and power control.
No one has told them it’s difficult so before you know it, they’re chucking in a duck gybe.
Time to Teach – The Inner Game
American Tim Galway developed his innovative Inner Game teaching method in the 70s. He started with tennis and then applied it to all manner of sports including golf and skiing. We have two ‘selfs.’ Self one is our thinking, analytical, critical adult self. Self 2 is our spontaneous child-like self.. The premise is that our bodies know instinctively how to do these complex tasks, hit a golf ball, turn a ski, control a rig, we just have to let them get on with and NOT interfere. The aim is to rediscover the child in ourselves. Kids learn by feeling, playing and above all imitating.
I did an Inner Game instructor’s course for skiing. We were taught to teach without giving instructions. It was all about playing games, ‘feeling’, setting tasks that took the mind off the process and allowed the body to perform instinctively. It worked although at times the Californian-esque psychobabble drove you nuts and you were just dying to tell them what to do. (“How does your stance feel Pierre? Where are you feeling the pressure? Oh for God’s sake – will you just stop pratting about and lean forward a bit!!”)
The language we use to describe basic windsurfing is incredibly confusing at the best of times, let alone when you have a 6-year-old head on your shoulders. For example,
“Lean back to get the rig up. Don’t let the board head-up! Keep your feet on the centre-line. Now lean the rig forward, now pull in with your back hand …” What? Where’s ‘back?’ Do you mean back toward my back or the back of the board? Head up? What lift my head up? And forward towards where? What’s a centreline? And we haven’t even mentioned MFP …
You soon learn how useless direct technical instructions are when teaching kids. Words are a bankrupt currency and are only useful to admire and encourage. I once asked the girl child what she remembered of what I told her during the session. ‘Nothing’ came the instant reply. Kids get very good at tuning adults out.
On the Beach
We did a lot on the beach. Whatever your age, windsurfing is all about power control. Give kids a task and an element of competition and all you have to do is stand back.
The first game was to see how long they could support the rig, just on a board on the sand, without falling over. (We talked about ‘opening and closing the door to trap the wind or let it out. But that’s all). The progression was then to see how long they could support it without moving their feet. Ready for the water.
On the Water
The quicker they get a feel for the real thing the better. It takes a little practice but on a biggish board, sit astride the mastfoot (careful now chaps) facing back and sail with them. You’re in a good position to subtly keep the mast upright with a hand or balance it against a leg to stop them being heaved over by a gust. Given a bit of breeze they get to hang out, commit and resist the power. You’re just taking the sting out of it.
For the first solo sessions we used the 2-parent method just like when you’re encouraging them to walk. Start with a gap of about 20 feet and gradually stand further and further apart. As they got better and could uphaul by themselves, I moved to a SUP, paddling alongside or sometimes attaching a rope to their bow and towing. It’s a great way of getting them to tack and making them understand where they can and can’t go. The step from there was to do the same but from my own windsurfer. Then you can get them to imitate your stance, start doing tricks, one hand, one leg, jumping up and down etc. The possibilities are endless.
And What About the ‘Don’ts?’
We’ve mentioned the misuse of words. For goodness sake don’t even think about getting technical until they’re in their forties – and probably not even then.
Apart from that … Don’t get serious. It has to be fun. Everything is a game. Don’t get panicky on their behalf. If they take a Chaplin-esque tumble, they’ll surface and clock your reaction. If you’ve wearing a face like Eduard Munch’s ‘Scream,’ they’ll burst into tears. If you’re guffawing, so will they (as long as they’re not seriously wounded) and will realise it’s part of the game. And here’s the most important technical ‘don’t:’
Don’t try and do it for them. Ok, help lift the sail but the moment you try and hold them in position and sheet in for them, they go limp. They feel nothing and learn even less.
And if it all goes well, you’ve got a wonderful shopping trip to look forward to – carbon pro kids board, a quiver of wave sails, all of which they’ll grow out of annually. Snooker on the other hand …
Harty returns to adult themes next month. Check his website www.peter-hart.com and his Peter Hart Masterclass Facebook page for details of forthcoming clinics both in the UK and abroad. Or email him on harty@peter-hart.com for his monthly newsletter.
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