Baller WBLskier Posted August 24, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 24, 2011 My just turned five year old daughter is ready to learn how to slalom and I'm looking for some advice. She skis well on two skis in and out of the wake and has no trouble getting up, etc. She has slalomed on the boom without trouble. When we've tried the short line only briefly the ski tends to shoot to one side or the other when the boat starts going. I've seen others get kids up behind the boat on one ski rather than dropping a ski by starting the kid in both boots, holding them up a bit and helping the ski go straight from shallow water while the boat gets going. I'm thinking about running her off a fairly short line off our high fly initially and trying this method. Any thoughts on what the best method is to aid in her success? Any suggestions on what size ski she should be learning on? How about once she gets the hang of it. All the pictures of girls 1 skiers seem to be on pretty big skis, but it is hard to tell since they tend to be so little themselves. She is about 42 inches and 42 lbs. She just asked me how soon she can start skiing tournaments, so I want to help her get on a slalom ASAP. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 I haven't tried anyone that young yet, but we've had lots of success with the deep-V handles for people just learning their deep water starts; you might try one of those to start with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller PBD Posted August 24, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 24, 2011 The deep v handle combined with instruction to keep weight on her back foot should do a lot to keep the ski from shooting to the side. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller A_B Posted August 24, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 24, 2011 Look for Junior Amigos. They are a combo pair but the slalom ski is Suoer easy to get up on and not very long so easily maneuvered. You can put the boat in gear and she will almost pop out of the water. Builds a ton of confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller WBLskier Posted August 24, 2011 Author Baller Share Posted August 24, 2011 I found some O'Brien Jr. Vortex combo skis that look like a similar concept. Have you had experience with someone slaloming on the Junior Amigos (vs. just learning to get up). Can it be turned okay for learning to cut? Thank you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Chef23 Posted August 24, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 24, 2011 The deep V or ez-up handle is the key. Get one of those and she will be skiing on one in no time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller rayn Posted August 24, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 24, 2011 I agree, The deep V or ez up or Right up rope(call it what you want) is the key to success. 'My kids never dropped a ski and we used this and if I remember correctly they both were up the first or second day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Kelvin Posted August 24, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 24, 2011 The O'Brien Jr. Vortex is a great slalom ski for kids just starting out. One of my ski partners replaced the flimsy bindings with small HO double boots and a real fin for his kid. He can get into a 23 mph slalom pass on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Chuck_Dickey Posted August 24, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 24, 2011 The combo skis have the boots too far back on the slalom half of the pair. You need to move the forward a couple inches. Be very careful whe using some of the real wide forebode skis with the deep V handles. As the rope comes tight the ski can get stuck in the V. Get her doing deep water starts off the boom with a handle. Starts and stops as you go down the lake will help her get use to balancing and steering the ski during he start. All this is from personal experience as my daughter is now 13 years old Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Chuck_Dickey Posted August 24, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 24, 2011 The combo skis have the boots too far back on the slalom half of the pair. You need to move them forward a couple inches. Be very careful whe using some of the real wide forebody skis with the deep V handles. As the rope comes tight the ski can get stuck in the V. Get her doing deep water starts off the boom with a handle. Starts and stops as you go down the lake will help her get use to balancing and steering the ski during her starts. All this is from personal experience as my daughter is now 13 years old and ripping it up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller WBLskier Posted August 24, 2011 Author Baller Share Posted August 24, 2011 Kelvin, Do you know if the existing bindings can be moved forward or does the ski need to be modified somehow to do so? Thanks everyone for the tips. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller Kelvin Posted August 24, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 24, 2011 The stock bindings are screwed directly to the ski without a binding plate. Moving the bindings or adding new bindings with a plate is going to require new screw holes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller 6balls Posted August 24, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 24, 2011 Both my kids did a single Amigo after using the combo at 5 y.o. My son got up first try behind the boat after boom, shortline from boom. Seems long ago now! We did transition shortly thereafter to my wife's old Jobe 1600 (old school!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller_ Bruce_Butterfield Posted August 24, 2011 Baller_ Share Posted August 24, 2011 I'm going to offer a different perspective. I think kids will advance more rapidly if they spend more time on 2 skis before attempting to slalom. They can learn the course on 2 and learn the concepts of running buoys and making a LOT of passes with much less frustration than moving to 1 ski too soon. They can start at 10-12 mph and easily run through 16-18 mph. Once they are running 16-18 on 2, the transition to 1 will be a snap. She can even go to tournaments on 2 skis and start below max speed (unscored until 15.5mph) to get a feel for it. You would be surprised how many kids start like that. A pair of wide shaped skis like the Amigos are definitely the way to go. When she is ready to slalom, stick with one of them. I saw a Girls 1 run a pass at 25mph on one of the wide shaped skis at Nationals last year. Next step is a 64-65" regular slalom until she gets to max speed of 30mph, then a 62". I'm a fan of D3s for kids since they are so stable and easy to ride. Also use a light weight 60 strand rope, or get 1/4" nylon rope from Home Depot and cut to 75'. The regular slalom lines will drag in the water at slow speeds. The best time to transistion to 1 ski is when the kid REALLY wants to, not when the parents want to. My $0.02 If it was easy, they would call it Wakeboarding Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cookie Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 My son started to slalom last year at age 6 after moving off trainers and skiing well on some old 57 inch ski master combo skis that I actually learned to slalom on. I started him off directly on the boom with a slalom and he got right up. I tried to get him up with a 5 foot extension and it just wasnt working. He insisted he could do it behind the boat and I was hesitent but couldnt talk him out of it so i put him on the tower with about a 55 foot roop and after 2 trys he popped up much to my suprise. He did it a few times but wasn't consistant and always wanted to go back to his wakeboard. This year he had a hard time getting up on one and after a few times with someone holding and steading him in the water for the start he has pretty much got it down. I moved the rope down this weekend to the pylon and he has only gotten better. He's crossing both wakes and wants to put up a rooster tail and hasn't used the wakeboard much which I am not against. He does have a bit of a wakeboard style and stance on the slalom and as much as I don't want to admit it really seems to have helped him. It has been a blast having him ask me to take him out and it takes me back to the days when I was like him and I could have skiied forever without getting tired. Does anyone have a slalom to recommend as I want to get him on a better ski but he is only about 55 pounds and most of the jr skis i see are quite a bit bigger? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 We went the "wide ride" on the little guys...no boom, just long lines, slow speeds and a lot of patience. This was about 6 years ago.Just like was mentioned above, proceed when they are ready and really want to..it is all worth it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller WBLskier Posted August 25, 2011 Author Baller Share Posted August 25, 2011 Thanks--I'm with you on letting them do what is fun and slalom when they want to. She is pushing much faster than I would have thought to push her. She asked to barefoot on the boom when she was 4 and actually gets prett close. Falls at 24 or so mph without a fuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Baller elr Posted August 25, 2011 Baller Share Posted August 25, 2011 Re-read Bruce Butterfield's post . . .. Two ski slalom is fine for tournaments Rhoni Barton did it at Nationals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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