How to wakeboard behind a boat

For complete beginners, getting up on the board can be the hardest and most frustrating part of wakeboarding but there is a little technique that works every time. When you’re learning with family and friends, they will tell you to keep your knees bent and arms straight, but they’re missing out on the most important aspect. Read and next time you’ll stand in no time!

It’s all in the hips 

When the boat starts to pull, you want to get your heels as tight as you can to the back of your legs, almost to your bum. This will let you roll over the top of the board way easier than fighting against it.

Your hips are connected to your feet, and your feet are connected to the board by your bindings. So wherever you aim your front hip is where the nose of your board will point.

So once you are up on the surface of the water the next step is to point your left or right hip (whichever is comfortable) towards the boat, this will keep you following directly behind the boat in a straight line. Try to stay here to find your balance and find an ideal standing position.

Keeping a little flex in your knees, you want to keep your chest up and your hips under your shoulders. This is a strong position and allows you to keep control.

Prevent having your chest down and your hips out behind you, because that way you can’t point your hip where you want to go. As a result you will find yourself always edging on your heelside towards the wake and loosing control!

Exercise: control 

Now that you are getting up on the board, and you are finding a good position, the first thing you want to master is control of the board. You want to be able to go where you want to go, whenever you want to go.

Like I said before, the nose of the board will point wherever your front hip points. So, staying between the wakes, without moving anything else like your chest or arms, just open your hips very slightly to the boat and you will move on your heelside edge. Then, pointing your front hip back to the boat you will move back towards the centre of the wakes. To move on your toeside edge, imagine turning your bum to face the boat, or putting the handle in your back pocket, to point the board where you want to go and then move on your toe edge.

With these tips you should be able to successfully ride your first sessions behind the boat. Good Luck!!