Getting up on a Wakeboard

Billy Garcia: Hi, I am Billy Garcia, Owner and Coach of Freeride Wakeboard School. I am going to help you get started in wakeboarding and now I am going to show you how to get up on a Wakeboard.

Alright, the proper way to put on your wakeboard is to have it on the back, the ski platform. Set it down, put one foot in at a time and then pull the laces tight. Make sure your boots fit properly, that's probably one of the most important parts about the equipment is you want the boots to be snug.

Also make sure your boots are pretty evened out. You don't want them facing one way or the other, you want them pretty much even on the board. So that when you do ride switch, you are not having to compensate body position for it. Once you have your board on, make sure you grab the handle, and go ahead and get in the water.

Make sure you grab the handle, both palms down, and don't use the baseball grip. You always want your hands, palms on the handle. Also make sure the handle is straight and up over the board facing the boat.

So the correct body position for start up is to have your knees completely bent like you are in a little ball, and have your arms around your knees, almost straight. You don't want your arms bent all the way, or you won't want them inside your knees.

So make sure your arms are on your knees, knees completely bent, and you are in a little ball. Make sure to stay in that ball, stay tucked, weight for the board to pop out of the water, and help yourself up. The boat is going to help you roll up over the front of the board. So don't fight it.

Let's go over correct body position once you are up in riding. Your feet are struggling in the board, so obviously they can't move. You want to have your knees over your toes and your hips over your heels.

The rotation is going to come from your ribcage over and not your hips. You also want to have the handle out by your lead hip and your arms really should be -- the back arm should be straight across your body, and your front arm should be slightly bent. You also want both your knees to be super bent and almost equally weighted. Next, I am going to show you how to edge on your wakeboard.