Practice on Land:
Draw a surfboard outline in the sand with your finger and encourage your child to lie down, pretend to paddle and then pop-up as many times as possible. Make it a game. “Let’s see how many times you can pop up while I count to twenty.”What is a pop-up you ask? It’s simply the most important factor in learning to surf. It’s basically a fast push-up that keeps going up into a standing position.
Here’s how it goes. With both of his hands on the top of the board (or beach sand facsimile), your child will do a quick push up. Only once his arms are at full extension, he should pull both knees toward his stomach and hop to his feet.
Be sure to tell your child, “DO NOT GO TO YOUR KNEES FIRST!” But don’t yell like that. Staying on your knees too long will only lead to difficulty keeping balance and make falling more possible. This move from stomach to feet is called a “pop up”. It should be one smooth motion straight to the standing position. Repeating your beach “pop up” will program your child’s subconscious to be ready for what will happen in the water.
