Surfing and kids; they’ve got no fear when it comes to waves (mostly). Plus, unlike us adults, they don’t have bad habits when it comes to muscle memory and intuitively doing the right thing. If they’re confident in the water then teaching your kids to surf is usually pretty easy – as long as they’re enthusiastic. Don’t force it and you’ll be good.
Here’s James Parker and son Matthew’s story of how he got into sliding waves.
Give us a quick background to his previous water experience.
We enrolled Matthew in swimming lessons from the age of 2 because we believe it’s a vital life skill, particularly living close to the sea. Initially, he wasn’t the strongest swimmer but he was always enthusiastic. As soon as he was large enough to fit a buoyancy aid, he would tag along with me on the front of my iSUP for trips down the local river. I loved those trips: he would chat non-stop the entire time becoming especially excited if we spotted an otter or a kingfisher. He was always desperate to stand up and try it for himself, so I bought him a small oar to mess around with.
Over the last few summers, and especially due to the pandemic, we’ve had significantly more family time at the local beaches splashing around with a couple of old bodyboards. It’s been great fun and this spring he was pushing me to let him try the paddleboard on his own. It was a good idea and we haven’t looked back since. Most children seem to pick up paddleboarding quickly but I was impressed when he then asked to come surfing with me
Why longboard surfing and not straight to shortboarding?
That’s definitely my influence as a Paddleboarder and SUP surfer. I just love the gracefulness of longboard surfing and longboarding definitely suits the type of waves we get here on the South coast. It suited Matthew too; I showed him a few videos of the various tricks he could pull and the second he carved past me crouching low, giving me a Shaka with a massive smile on his face, I knew he was a longboarder. I’m certain it won’t be long until he grabs his first nose ride!
I also think that the skills of controlling a larger board translate well to flat water SUP. This is another of my favourite pastimes because of the beautiful coastline and natural harbour we have here in Dorset. He’s already using my SUP quite regularly and as his stamina builds up I hope to take him out on longer adventures exploring the area together.
How many sessions has he had to date? And what’s the plan during winter – continue or wait until next spring?
He started learning at the beginning of the summer and I was getting him out a couple of times a week. Lately, it’s been a bit flat so we’ve been exploring the local snorkeling areas while we waited for the waves to return.
Kids & Juniors 5mm Winter Wetsuits (backzip)
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All that time he was constantly asking me when we were next going so I’m particularly glad to see surf returning to the forecasts. I must admit that I wasn’t expecting him to get it so quickly and I suspect that Matthew has the determination now to keep going out until December. I’m not sure about January or February when it gets really cold, but you never know.
Now that summer is over and we’ve got his winter wetsuit, it’s time to start thinking about full winter gear. This week I’ve ordered him gloves and a hood to keep him going as long as he can manage.
What are his long term surfing aspirations?
Admittedly at the moment he’s probably being slightly influenced by my aspirations for him. I’ve always found that being out in the water provides a sense of peace that I want to pass on to him. I think anyone who does this regularly, understands that when you’re concentrating on catching waves or you’re waiting for one while staring at the sunrise over the water it’s a great way to de-stress. That’s something we can all benefit from as we get older.
We’ve had a few chats about the possibility of future competitions and I’d love to help get him there. He definitely has the focus as well as the ability to adapt and improve his technique. I don’t think it’ll be long before his skills far out perform me and we will have to look at other coaching options. There’s also the possibility of SUP racing. He’s had several goes paddling on my Hypr Hawaii 11’6 Gun and his paddle technique was really strong. He was naturally using his whole body to drive the board through the water so perhaps he could become a decent SUP racer too.
In the long term though, my main aspiration is that surfing cements our bond with a common interest and I hope that in 20 years’ time we’ll still be doing this together, chatting and having fun as we wait for the perfect wave to roll in.
Tell us a little about the gear he’s using?
Matthew is pretty lean and even in the summer he was getting very cold when spending prolonged time in the water snorkeling or surfing. Up to now, he’d been using supermarket wetsuits but they just weren’t warm enough once I started dragging him out on dawn patrols.
(To find the full set of kiddy related wetsuits, accessories and products hit the following link – https://www.northcoastwetsuits.co.uk/category/kids-wetsuits/ ).
I came across your website 3 years ago when I was looking for some neoprene trousers (they still perform great, despite many years of hard use). I didn’t want to spend excessively on a wetsuit, knowing that he’s likely to grow again at any minute but I wanted something of very high quality that would help him enjoy going out in colder waters.
The NCW kit has met these needs exactly. Underneath he’s wearing a 1.5mm neoprene Long Sleeve rash vest, while on top is a 5mm winter wetsuit. This has been a great combination. The quality is excellent and both items fit really well. What I like is that there is no real compromise on flexibility while keeping him warm.
The other consideration as a parent is durability, which again seems really good. Regularly we are out snorkelling around Kimmerage and the knee pads hold up easily to the sort of rock hopping a 9 year old put them through – I don’t see any reason why this wetsuit won’t be in great condition to pass down to his younger sisters when they are ready.
For boards, Matthew is currently borrowing, but I am starting to research the best options for him with the aim to purchase very soon.
His first experience was on an iSUP but his second was on a Hypr Hawaii 11’6 Gun (my prize possession). He really utilised the performance of this board with a great paddle technique. When we moved to surfing, I tried him on a Hypr Hawaii 10’6 Kaimana. This is the board I use to SUP Surf and I absolutely love it. Due to its design it picks up speed so quickly and yet remains incredibly stable and responsive at the same time. With its volume, Matthew was catching waves and practicing pop ups almost immediately and most importantly, having fun.
Since then, a friend has lent us a 9’2 longboard and I can see that his technical progression is strong every time we are out. He’s still nailing the pop ups and using weight and positioning to make some pretty nice carves. Now hopefully the autumn waves are incoming, I’ll be pushing him further to start linking turns and attempting some of the trick maneuvers he’s desperate to try.
And specific tips/tricks for teaching kids how to surf that you’ve spotted?
For me, introducing him to SUP first worked well. Getting him standing on a board, moving it around and then switching his feet and body into a surf stance on flat water helped prepare him for doing it in waves. Next was getting him past the fear of falling, so again on a SUP, teaching him the pop up and then jump off in the silliest way we could think of.
Ultimately, once he was repeating movements reliably while having fun if he took a plunge, the rest came fairly quickly. It was then down to him familiarising himself with the feel of the board and where his weight needed to be.
My final tip and most important tip is to get the right wetsuit. The reason he’s able to enjoy everything is because he’s warm and comfortable. He’s able to stay out for much longer which equals more practice. The NCW kit has met all my needs in this department and has been value for money at the same time.
Final thoughts of kiddy surfing?
All I can talk about is my own experiences, and luckily Matthew is reasonably confident in the water. But even so, I’ve noticed a real change in him since he started surfing. It seems to have added maturity and confidence to him that I haven’t seen before.
Also, I’ve noticed an attention to detail that is new. I can see how focused he becomes when he tries to work through a mistake and correct it. He’s really thinking about where his feet need to be, or where he needs to shift his weight to. It’s great to see this level of concentration and all in all, I think that surfing will give him some real life skills as well as being a sport he can really get involved in.
Nice one James. And Matthew, we wish you all the best with your surfing!
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