My 5YO on the Slopes for the First Time! - Page 2 - Snowboarding Forum

pencap75 · 02-10-2011, 02:13 PM

In the last pic, it looks like she would be more comfortable in a foward stance.
I think beginners are better served learning to snowboard with foward angles.
Duck does have the advantage if they want to learn switch early, however.

whiskaz · 02-10-2011, 02:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pencap75

In the last pic, it looks like she would be more comfortable in a foward stance.
I think beginners are better served learning to snowboard with foward angles.
Duck does have the advantage if they want to learn switch early, however.

As in 0/0? I may adjust them.

I talked to her a little bit about how she was turning her shoulders to face down the mountain. She didn't listen this time

whiskaz · 02-10-2011, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by herzogone

I can relate to the concern, I took my almost 5YO son out twice now and had similar concerns about just letting him go, but he has been good at following my instructions to lift his toes and sit on his butt if necessary. He seems to grasp going heelside pretty readily, although he struggles much more with toeside. I think this is common for a lot of people. I'm sure the instructors on here can provide better insight, but in my case getting my son to the point where he could follow my instructions to do a heelside turn (even if he falls on his butt) has allowed him to have fun going down the gentle greens with me following. He is totally stoked! I was really skeptical about even starting him at first since he gets frustrated easily, but he kept begging to go and now I can't believe how much he loves it!

Anyhow, congrats, I think it's awesome you got your daughter into it already!

Here's some video from his third or fourth run down the beginner trail (apologies for the quality and length, it was really aimed at family members viewing).

Thanks! I'll have to watch the video when I get home. Did you do anything special with your little guy to get him turning healside/stopping?

herzogone · 02-10-2011, 06:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiskaz

Thanks! I'll have to watch the video when I get home. Did you do anything special with your little guy to get him turning healside/stopping?

Nothing much really, all I had to do was basically demonstrate the concept and tell him to "lift his toes up". If he had a lot of speed I would sometimes just tell him to lean back a bit after lifting his toes, just to ensure he at least fell on his butt rather than risk a faceplant in case he dropped his toeside edge. It actually surprised me that he got the concept! He did catch an edge a couple times on his earlier runs (when I forgot the camera) and fell a little hard, but he seemed largely unphased by it. I know I fell similarly when I was first starting out and ended up with mild whiplash. Reminds you how much more resilient kids are.

Good luck, have fun out there!

pencap75 · 02-10-2011, 07:20 PM

No, 0,0 is duck.

Foward is when both angles are positive, facing foward. Something like +12,+3. She is twisting her body in that photo, like she is fighting her duck stance and wants to be more foward.

The alternative is to keep her current duck setting, but teach her to not turn her body foward like she is doing in the photo and keep her shoulders aligned parallel to the board.

My wife use to have a hard time carving, but when I changed her to a foward stance, she is an expert carver now. She can't do any switch riding or park stuff, but she carves great. One reason why I ended up marrying her.

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiskaz

As in 0/0? I may adjust them.

I talked to her a little bit about how she was turning her shoulders to face down the mountain. She didn't listen this time

whiskaz · 02-10-2011, 07:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pencap75

No, 0,0 is duck.

Foward is when both angles are positive, facing foward. Something like +12,+3. She is twisting her body in that photo, like she is fighting her duck stance and wants to be more foward.

The alternative is to keep her current duck setting, but teach her to not turn her body foward like she is doing in the photo and keep her shoulders aligned parallel to the board.

My wife use to have a hard time carving, but when I changed her to a foward stance, she is an expert carver now. She can't do any switch riding or park stuff, but she carves great. One reason why I ended up marrying her.

Gotcha. Yea, like I said, I noticed here doing it right off (of course when she turned to look back at me, he shoulders would become more parallel to the board, but when she turned to look back down the hill, her shoulders would rotate too). I tried to get her to put that arm back but she wasn't listening. Maybe I'll try adjusting her stance for next time.

How about her stance width, in the pic with the instructor. Does it look too wide? I wasn't sure. The instructor said it was OK.

Toecutter · 02-10-2011, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by whiskaz

Gotcha. Yea, like I said, I noticed here doing it right off (of course when she turned to look back at me, he shoulders would become more parallel to the board, but when she turned to look back down the hill, her shoulders would rotate too). I tried to get her to put that arm back but she wasn't listening. Maybe I'll try adjusting her stance for next time.

How about her stance width, in the pic with the instructor. Does it look too wide? I wasn't sure. The instructor said it was OK.

Her stance looks maybe a little wide but not necessarily too wide.

Does she know if she's regular or goofy yet? If not, why not keep her ducked? That way she learns to be comfortable with either foot forward rather than favoring one foot then having to relearn switch later?

Catman · 02-10-2011, 11:10 PM

That is awesome! I am glad you both had fun.She is cute as a button too.

As with the stance I would try it 0 front and rear just so it feels the same both ways. Remember this is a totally new feeling to her and she could ride switch as good as regular right now so why not teach it.

The harness is a great tool on the open slopes it is a must until you feel she can turn and or stop to avoid getting hurt.Better safe and ride everyday than all out for one

Again glad it went well!

gjsnowboarder · 02-11-2011, 08:43 AM

Do not go 0,0(neutral stance is neither duck nor forward) for her stance. It limits the range of movement a person has because it blocks the hips. When I teach beginners typically a good stance is roughly shoulder width to a little wider for the stance width, and +12,-6 for the back. I would probably take an inch of her width judging from the pictures.

Catman · 02-11-2011, 01:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gjsnowboarder

Do not go 0,0(neutral stance is neither duck nor forward) for her stance. It limits the range of movement a person has because it blocks the hips. When I teach beginners typically a good stance is roughly shoulder width to a little wider for the stance width, and +12,-6 for the back. I would probably take an inch of her width judging from the pictures.

That is NOT a good for a 5 year old that is way too much angle for their developing knees. At the max they should be 3+ to 3- after they get the feel for riding.

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02-10-2011, 02:13 PM	#11 (permalink)
pencap75 Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: ny Posts: 130	In the last pic, it looks like she would be more comfortable in a foward stance. I think beginners are better served learning to snowboard with foward angles. Duck does have the advantage if they want to learn switch early, however.

02-10-2011, 11:10 PM	#18 (permalink)
Catman Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Posts: 295	That is awesome! I am glad you both had fun.She is cute as a button too. As with the stance I would try it 0 front and rear just so it feels the same both ways. Remember this is a totally new feeling to her and she could ride switch as good as regular right now so why not teach it. The harness is a great tool on the open slopes it is a must until you feel she can turn and or stop to avoid getting hurt.Better safe and ride everyday than all out for one Again glad it went well!

02-11-2011, 08:43 AM	#19 (permalink)
gjsnowboarder Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Grand Junction, CO Posts: 539	Do not go 0,0(neutral stance is neither duck nor forward) for her stance. It limits the range of movement a person has because it blocks the hips. When I teach beginners typically a good stance is roughly shoulder width to a little wider for the stance width, and +12,-6 for the back. I would probably take an inch of her width judging from the pictures.