Teaching a Teenager to SUP Surf

Teaching a teenager to SUP surf takes a few tricks. For one thing, it’s a good idea to get them out of the surf and take them on a long paddle outside the break so they can get used to standing on the board. There’s no critter more impatient than a teenage boy, and they’ll just keep making the same mistakes over and over if you keep them in the surf. You might consider this is a sexist generalization, but girls are much easier to teach in general. They’ll listen and try to do what you tell them. They don’t have their ego as engaged.

In either case, teach them how to stand on the board, how to paddle it straight, how to change to a surfing stance and turn the board. It won’t take long teach them the basics if they’re a good distance from shore. And being out away from “safety” will eventually give them some confidence. But as any experienced surfer knows, the safe place in the water is out past the break.

Once you think they are comfortable on the board, bring them to the break, but keep them away from everyone else. You have to remind them again and again to stay away from other people–they get drawn in like a magnet, especially if there’s any attractive members of the opposite sex.