- Make sure that you don’t ask too much of a child. As a teacher, you must keep your students motivated. Try to break down the skills into the fundamental parts, and make the correct execution of the parts (not the whole skill) the goal of the teaching session. Complicated skills should be taught in parts. For example, first teach the correct position, then teach the movement.
- Limit skill-coaching sessions by the time/age rule. That is, "in general", if a boy is 12 years old he can pay attention (and enjoy himself) for about 12 minutes. Girls tend to have a little longer attention span. So if you are teaching a new skill, work on it with him for about 12 minutes and then move on to something else. For four year olds, work with them for about four minutes, then let someone else ski, and go back to working with them later. If the student is having success, and enjoying the session, then you can give him some extra time. Just don’t keep beating a dead horse, that is, when something is not working, move on!
- Try to determine which type of learner that you are working with. Some children learn better by seeing, others by hearing, and others by doing. So. try everything. First demonstrate the skill (dry land demonstration) that you are trying to teach so they can see it. Second, tell them how to do the skill so they hear the explanation. Finally let them demonstrate the skill themselves. Then put them in the water and let them attempt to demonstrate the skill on the water.
- Don’t be intimidated by the idea of seeking help from a professional water-skier. The cost of going to a ski school for a week may seem expensive, but in the long run, learning from professional coaches costs less, and produces better results more quickly than trying to figure out the proper techniques on your own. Sometimes a coach needs some coaching too. So I recommend seeking out a great ski school and having the coach and student attend together. My kids and I go for lessons at the Footers Edge Training Center and I take notes while Lane is coaching my boys. Then the kids get to see dad working on new tricks, and that helps to keep us all motivated. The real value of waterskiing is that it can be a sport for the whole family to enjoy.
- Remember the old adage "too many cooks spoil the broth". Only one person should be coaching. If you have four people in the boat telling the skier what he needs to do, he will not be able to focus on anything. I have at many times had to stop parents from coaching with me. If someone else insists on coaching, then I shut up. This, by the way, is something that other coaches have had to tell me at times. So, knowing the rule and it’s value, I don’t take it personally, I just sit quietly. Anyone who has a comment or advice for the student that the coach may be missing should tell the coach, and then he can tell the skier.
- Everyone likes a coach who is happy, excited, and enthusiastic. Your attitude as a teacher, or coach is the most important way to keep your kids excited about learning something new, and their excitement will motivate them to learn exponentially. Remember this, a happy, and excited attitude is a choice that we as teachers and coaches must make. It is not the result of how our day is going. When you get into the boat, make sure you leave any bad attitudes on the dock.
- When working with kids in cold weather, please give them a break. Hypothermia is a function of body mass, and the lower the body mass, the more quickly a person is affected by cold water. So, keep this in mind. Make sure that kids have good wetsuits, or dry suits to keep them warm. Keep the sessions shorter in the winter and when the kids look like they aren’t having fun, then take them out. I have found that my kids love to ski in a dry suit. Apparently there is something special about the new type of cold weather armor.
- Praise everything, and let the kids have a few runs everyday where they can do whatever they want to do. At our house, we usually do a brother-brother, or father-son ski around the lake at the end of the training session. The boys love this and we always make a big deal out of it. We also practice butt slides to see who can go the farthest. After skiing, I try to do something like go out for ice cream, or in the winter, we have hot chocolate waiting at home.