View Full Version : Correct Speed for 10 year old
JohnE
07-25-2007, 08:15 PM
Wondering if anyone can offer some advice. Teaching my twin 10 year old neices to ski. What is a good speed once they are up? They are getting up but are then falling because they are a little scared. I'm getting up to about 15 - 17 mph, but they are not staying up enough for me to gauge anything. I've never taught a child to ski, so I'm winging it. Any advice will be appreciated.
p.s. We're only into our 2nd day of it, and we have them for another week and a half. I'm confident they'll get it, but again, will take any suggestions.
Thanks,
John
Sodar
07-25-2007, 08:20 PM
Wondering if anyone can offer some advice. Teaching my twin 10 year old neices to ski. What is a good speed once they are up? They are getting up but are then falling because they are a little scared. I'm getting up to about 15 - 17 mph, but they are not staying up enough for me to gauge anything. I've never taught a child to ski, so I'm winging it. Any advice will be appreciated.
p.s. We're only into our 2nd day of it, and we have them for another week and a half. I'm confident they'll get it, but again, will take any suggestions.
Thanks,
John
I try to keep a speed that is just enough to keep them on top of the water and not causing a horrible amount of drag/resistance. My line of thought is that if I keep them a little deeper in the water, they will have a little more control.
Sodar
07-25-2007, 08:20 PM
Wondering if anyone can offer some advice. Teaching my twin 10 year old neices to ski. What is a good speed once they are up? They are getting up but are then falling because they are a little scared. I'm getting up to about 15 - 17 mph, but they are not staying up enough for me to gauge anything. I've never taught a child to ski, so I'm winging it. Any advice will be appreciated.
p.s. We're only into our 2nd day of it, and we have them for another week and a half. I'm confident they'll get it, but again, will take any suggestions.
Thanks,
John
I try to keep a speed that is just enough to keep them on top of the water and not causing a horrible amount of drag/resistance. My line of thought is that if I keep them a little deeper in the water, they will have a little more control.
Slinkyredfoot
07-25-2007, 08:22 PM
Wondering if anyone can offer some advice. Teaching my twin 10 year old neices to ski. What is a good speed once they are up? They are getting up but are then falling because they are a little scared. I'm getting up to about 15 - 17 mph, but they are not staying up enough for me to gauge anything. I've never taught a child to ski, so I'm winging it. Any advice will be appreciated.
p.s. We're only into our 2nd day of it, and we have them for another week and a half. I'm confident they'll get it, but again, will take any suggestions.
Thanks,
John
It seems to me your are in the right speed range. I always taught in the 18-20mph range, much like the speed if you were trick skiing. It also depends on their age and weight and you want it to be a good experience so it motivates them to want to do more...
Good luck, I always love to teach young ones to ski......
vogelm1
07-25-2007, 08:56 PM
You're at the right speed. The balance and technique will come quickly as they get more time on the water - kids pick it up fast. You'll notice after a few more outings they will look more stable and comfortable; they you may want to ramp up the speed a little more if they wish. My 10 yo daughter is on a set of O'brien Celebrity Jr's and she likes 20-22 mph unless it's a little choppy, then back off to the range you're talking. Hopefully they are having fun - that's what it's all about.
Workin' 4 Toys
07-25-2007, 09:51 PM
15 is good for the start, 20 by next week.
They are on combos correct?
Jorski
07-26-2007, 11:54 AM
FWIW, my 10 year old daughter is in the same speed range...15mph on 2 and now about 18mph on one ski.
I have always watched how the water is breaking on the ski. clearly, there will be differences due to the weight of the skier, the size and shape of the ski(s); so I try keep the speed where the water is breaking around the front of the boot. A little more towards the middle of the boot as they improve.
Dan K
07-26-2007, 12:47 PM
FWIW, my 10 year old daughter is in the same speed range...15mph on 2 and now about 18mph on one ski.
I have always watched how the water is breaking on the ski. clearly, there will be differences due to the weight of the skier, the size and shape of the ski(s); so I try keep the speed where the water is breaking around the front of the boot. A little more towards the middle of the boot as they improve.
I think your right on with your observations. I have taught a lot of kids to ski, all ages and sizes and the best thing to do is watch the break. It takes a minute or two to get to the point you can observe the break so you need a target starting speed, in this case 17-18 allows you to range up or down a bit without being too far off one way or the other.
JohnE
07-26-2007, 01:50 PM
Thanks for all the replies. They are having a lot of fun. They are pretty big and strong for 10 year olds. I forget their weight. Either 66 or 86 lbs. I know that's a big discrepancy, but I don't remember. I'll check tonight. Whatever sounds a little more than average. They're not fat, though.
And they are on combo's.
pilot02
07-26-2007, 02:09 PM
Kids that light I normally try to start them out around 14-15 and then usually pull them at 18 once they're comfortable. As the weight goes up, speed does too with a max on combos typically in the 22-23 range until they start lifting a ski up to get ready for slalom at which point I'm pulling at 27.
kjohnson
07-26-2007, 02:53 PM
36 mph all the way
woody
07-26-2007, 03:12 PM
Kids that age when they're starting out for the first time I tow just enough so they are up as it take the sting out of the falls, then move it up to 14-15 when they're comfortable. But depends hugely on the size of the ski's. There's one kid at the club who's 6 or 7 that gets a bigger wake skiing at 10mph than I do wakeboarding at 21mph, but he just don't want to go faster yet.
JohnE
07-29-2007, 10:23 PM
Got both girls up for a few trips around the small part of the lake today!! They had so much fun and were so proud. Thanks for all the advice. Will post pic's soon.
JohnE
07-29-2007, 10:23 PM
Sorry, duplicate post.
Leroy
07-29-2007, 10:40 PM
Again depending on weight, our 11 yr old daughter I pull at 26-27, but she is 5' 7" and 130 pounds and pretty athletic. Couple years ago I pulled her at 20-22MPH.
Sounds like you have it under control! At this age if they are getting up they are learning and gaining confidence.
BeavenX5
08-01-2007, 02:38 PM
I would like to share one trick I once got:
One thing that help kids and adults a lot on their first run ever is to use a short rope (22off or 28off) hooked from the tower. It helps them on deep water starts and with their initial balance. Once they are up and have mastered their first ride behind the boat, I move them back to full rope (or 15off) on their second ride to give them more room in between the wakes. Keeping the rope hooked to the tower.
This technique also works well on teaching people how to deep water start with only a slalom a little later in their carreer.