PowderKeg

I have a 12 year old son who wants (and needs) to learn more in the park. Being a 43 year old (old guy) who breaks too easily (I've taught him all i can, at least about park riding), what do you recommend for him? Should he:

a. Take a couple of 'park lessons' from an instructor or
b. Just hang out in the park and try to learn from his peers?

Lemme know what you all think!

(FYI, he's quite advanced at other aspects of riding...pow, steeps, etc)

__________________
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
-Benjamin Franklin

rgrwilco

if you take park lessons, make sure its an actual freestyle coaching session. quite a few resorts have these. look into and ask questions to make sure its going to be something worthwhile. learning on his own though is always fun. if he rides the park with respect, fellow riders will point things out and help him learn.

invadesaturn

well i guess it depends on how confident he is. he is definately wearing a helmet right? if he feels comfortable i would let him go on his own, just because i feel thats what park riding is all about.

__________________
grab sky touch rail.

djcuba908

When I started riding in the park I learned from a friend who was a seasoned rider with lots of park experience. Watching other people who actually know what they're doing in the park is a great way to learn. It's all about starting small, landing a simple trick a hundred times, then moving onto something slightly more challenging. I'm sure if the lesson that is offered is taught by someone who rides park and actually takes them through it would be worthwhile, but if he has a friend that knows what he's doing and has the patience to take him through the ropes then that is also a great option.


Oh, just out of curiosity, how old was your son when he started riding? It must be so cool to be able to ride with your kid. I'm a new Dad myself, and I get so pumped at the thought of being able to ride with my daughter someday if she gets into the sport.

__________________
Gnu Carbon Hi-Beam 156
Burton Mission LTD "Pancho Villa" Bindings
Burton Ruler Boots

Shredding the gnar Jersey style...

PowderKeg

He started skiing at 2 1/2, snowboarding at 6. Thanks for the tips!

__________________
"Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy."
-Benjamin Franklin

N~R~G

if you don't think he's ready just to go in himself without someone else there giving a lil instruction i'd say go for the lesson. don't they have those camps you could put him in? maybe that'd be a good way to go...

and yeah, my daughter will be 8 this december & it will be her 3rd season now, but she's only been out a few times so far...maybe 5 times. her first time out i got her a private lesson & then the rest of the time i've just tried working with her myself. she goes ballsout & isn't really practicing the technical part of it (connecting turns), so i may put her in another lesson this year or one of those camps. she seems to do better learning from other people...when i try to teach her something she already knows it all

__________________

"Drugs don't make you a grown up.
A job in computing does."

Dcp584

Dude just let him run with it. Personally I think the best way to learn is to do which is how I learned to do anything on a snowboard. I also think that you don't need to get him a lesson most people in the parks are more than willing to give you tips on how the feature is gunna throw you, what the landings are like, etc. And he doesn't sound like he has actual riding issues so for him it should just be making the steps toward freestyle riding. How fast he progresses is totally up to him and will be based on how comfortable he is with what he is trying to do.

Snowolf

Well, I am going to say that a lesson with a freestyle certified instructor would be a great foundation to build upon. Learning from friends and other park rats is great in many ways, but most of these riders all have some bad habits that they as an experienced park rider manage, but when they try to teach a new rider, those passed on habits work against progression. I would say that learning the basics with an instructor will in the end make his progression faster and safer. Once he has those basics down and understands proper stance techniques for park riding, he can pick up new tricks from other park rats, but not pick up the bad habits because he will already know the correct form.

__________________

Dcp584

PARK RATS!?!?!?!? Thats not very nice mister. Just cause someone likes jumps and rails over groomers and pow turns doesn't make them bad people, SNOW BIGGOT!!!!!!Personally I like both which is why I have more than one setup.

Dcp584

I really hope no one is taking that last comment seriously casue I'm just messing around.