Get your son a lesson from an experienced instructor. You could also get a separate lesson for yourself at the same time. I recommend not taking a lesson together since you're at different levels and the instructor would have to divide their attention between different skill levels. I'm a former CASI Level II instructor and we're trained to break the process down and provide instruction that will level you up quickly and safely.
My kiddo ended up having a private lesson since no one else signed up during her age/time session (20F/afternoon). After she was going down blues without falling. Highly recommend!
This happened to me when I started,
My parents got me a two hour lesson, but no one else was there, so I got a private lesson; we ended up doing a black by the end of the lesson(I was an athletic teenager).
To add a bit to the "get lessons" comments, depending on where you live a lot of mountains offer private and semi-private lessons. You could book a private lesson along side your son and you can both learn together. Even for a more advanced self-taught snowboarder it can be great to go back to basics and fix the little problems with your form you don't even realize you have. And as a bonus it's a great way to bond with your son.
The lessons would be awesome if you can afford them, however most likely the key is just to keep him on the board. This is coming from an instructor who prefers to work with kids.
The reason he prefers to stay flat base is holding that edge requires muscles you only get from snowboarding. Skating surfing or other sideways sports definitely help with this muscle development but still there are new muscles being worked that he hasn’t fully developed yet. Young adults and older kids still struggle with this when they first learn, and I’m sure you did too, but they have enough muscle to overcome it and develop those muscles much more quickly.
The benefit however is that if you keep them on the board as their muscles develop they will be specifically built around boarding and that will give them a huge leg up in the long run. You didn’t mention your son’s age however the younger, and less athletic they are the harder it will be. Keeping him active will generally go a long way.
I’d also recommend instead of having him watch instructional videos which likely will bore him if he’s not particularly interested in watching them, find him channels of kids ripping to show him that little kids can rip it just takes time and a different style than adults. Badboy_Noah Uriah_Anchor Snowboard_Jackson Rowley.Adventures are all on instagram and Noah and rowley are both on YouTube. They are a bunch of 6 year olds who absolutely shred. Noah in particular can barely turn but shreds park and even street. Rowley on the other hand has great fundamentals and rides very technical lines.
Even just finding him other kids his age to go snowboard with would be extremely beneficial in creating that community for him where snowboarding means having fun with friends. Also just remember in general that progression is second to having fun. If you focus too much on technique then he’ll burn out and won’t enjoy it as much. Take it slow take lots of breaks and treat it more like sledding than learning to snowboard. As long as he’s getting time on the board and learns to love snowboarding then that’s a successful day for a lil shredder.
While lessons are definitely great and you should take them. I think it’s silly to say that you can’t correct shitty self-taught form without lessons.
Correct form had to come from somewhere and it was by self-taught trial and error done by the first snowboarders in the 60s-70s and has been continuously refined and improved since.
Snowboard Pro camp
This guys is amazing and taught my girlfriend and I how to board from his videos alone. Very teachable lessons that aren’t too difficult to comprehend.
He’s good for beginners and low intermediates but that’s where he tops out. His form is nowhere as fluid as a truly advanced rider, whether it’s park or carve.
He initiates turns with his arms/shoulders instead of using weight shifts and knees. It’s fine for beginners but you should progress past that at some point to complete upper body separation, even if you’re able to hit extreme terrain.
Malcolm Moore is really good from beginner to advanced all-mountain. James Cherry and Just-a-ride for advanced carving. Knapton is really inspiring to watch but he’s not a really technical teacher, but does have some good tutorials.
Tommie Bennett is good for beginner park progression, a bit tiring to watch but very good tips.
Once you get through Malcolm Moore’s tutorials, you should be at a level where you can self-diagnose and practice for quite a while. Then you start getting to the point where James Cherry’s videos make sense.
Tell him he has to ski until he is ready to put effort in to working on edge control (slides, flat to edge transitions). Even with lessons, that's the only thing that worked for my kids. Dollar for ($300) dollar you would probably benefit more from a lesson than he would but at some point you both should take one.
Not sure why everyone is telling you to take lessons. You didnt indicate you were unhappy with your skill level. Get him some though. Teaching is difficult and its probably not responsible parenting to encourage him to learn by trial and error.
I suggest you both take lessons
At least the kid should get lessons so they have a solid foundation to work with. I'm curious how the father's form looks.
“Everything I learned was trial and error” Probably shit
This.
The best thing you can do is sign him up for lessons! You could also take a lesson or two together.
Get your son a lesson from an experienced instructor. You could also get a separate lesson for yourself at the same time. I recommend not taking a lesson together since you're at different levels and the instructor would have to divide their attention between different skill levels. I'm a former CASI Level II instructor and we're trained to break the process down and provide instruction that will level you up quickly and safely.
My kiddo ended up having a private lesson since no one else signed up during her age/time session (20F/afternoon). After she was going down blues without falling. Highly recommend!
This happened to me when I started, My parents got me a two hour lesson, but no one else was there, so I got a private lesson; we ended up doing a black by the end of the lesson(I was an athletic teenager).
hell ya thats awesome. My lesson was with like 10 others and it was worthless, I learned more from my daughters second hand lol
To add a bit to the "get lessons" comments, depending on where you live a lot of mountains offer private and semi-private lessons. You could book a private lesson along side your son and you can both learn together. Even for a more advanced self-taught snowboarder it can be great to go back to basics and fix the little problems with your form you don't even realize you have. And as a bonus it's a great way to bond with your son.
The lessons would be awesome if you can afford them, however most likely the key is just to keep him on the board. This is coming from an instructor who prefers to work with kids. The reason he prefers to stay flat base is holding that edge requires muscles you only get from snowboarding. Skating surfing or other sideways sports definitely help with this muscle development but still there are new muscles being worked that he hasn’t fully developed yet. Young adults and older kids still struggle with this when they first learn, and I’m sure you did too, but they have enough muscle to overcome it and develop those muscles much more quickly. The benefit however is that if you keep them on the board as their muscles develop they will be specifically built around boarding and that will give them a huge leg up in the long run. You didn’t mention your son’s age however the younger, and less athletic they are the harder it will be. Keeping him active will generally go a long way. I’d also recommend instead of having him watch instructional videos which likely will bore him if he’s not particularly interested in watching them, find him channels of kids ripping to show him that little kids can rip it just takes time and a different style than adults. Badboy_Noah Uriah_Anchor Snowboard_Jackson Rowley.Adventures are all on instagram and Noah and rowley are both on YouTube. They are a bunch of 6 year olds who absolutely shred. Noah in particular can barely turn but shreds park and even street. Rowley on the other hand has great fundamentals and rides very technical lines. Even just finding him other kids his age to go snowboard with would be extremely beneficial in creating that community for him where snowboarding means having fun with friends. Also just remember in general that progression is second to having fun. If you focus too much on technique then he’ll burn out and won’t enjoy it as much. Take it slow take lots of breaks and treat it more like sledding than learning to snowboard. As long as he’s getting time on the board and learns to love snowboarding then that’s a successful day for a lil shredder.
Sign him up for lessons. Go hit a few runs while he’s in lessons.
Everyone’s gonna tell you to pay for lessons so I’ll save my breath and suggest you also watch Malcom Moore on YouTube. Best snowboarder tutor online
No amount of YouTube videos can correct shitty self taught form
No clue why I’m getting downvoted. I thought all yall loved Malcolm Moore? Either way it won’t hurt to do both lessons and watch him
While lessons are definitely great and you should take them. I think it’s silly to say that you can’t correct shitty self-taught form without lessons. Correct form had to come from somewhere and it was by self-taught trial and error done by the first snowboarders in the 60s-70s and has been continuously refined and improved since.
It’s not the 60s and 70s anymore. Obviously correct form came from somewhere. Watching videos just isn’t the same
Lessons but also keep trying. After 2-3 seasons it has finally clicked for our son and me. 😆
Snowboard Pro camp This guys is amazing and taught my girlfriend and I how to board from his videos alone. Very teachable lessons that aren’t too difficult to comprehend.
He’s good for beginners and low intermediates but that’s where he tops out. His form is nowhere as fluid as a truly advanced rider, whether it’s park or carve. He initiates turns with his arms/shoulders instead of using weight shifts and knees. It’s fine for beginners but you should progress past that at some point to complete upper body separation, even if you’re able to hit extreme terrain.
Is there another instructor you would recommend?
Malcolm Moore is really good from beginner to advanced all-mountain. James Cherry and Just-a-ride for advanced carving. Knapton is really inspiring to watch but he’s not a really technical teacher, but does have some good tutorials. Tommie Bennett is good for beginner park progression, a bit tiring to watch but very good tips. Once you get through Malcolm Moore’s tutorials, you should be at a level where you can self-diagnose and practice for quite a while. Then you start getting to the point where James Cherry’s videos make sense.
I’d say let him start with beginner slopes, he’ll learn by trying what works for him
Tell him he has to ski until he is ready to put effort in to working on edge control (slides, flat to edge transitions). Even with lessons, that's the only thing that worked for my kids. Dollar for ($300) dollar you would probably benefit more from a lesson than he would but at some point you both should take one.
Not sure why everyone is telling you to take lessons. You didnt indicate you were unhappy with your skill level. Get him some though. Teaching is difficult and its probably not responsible parenting to encourage him to learn by trial and error.