BUILDING MY SIX YEARS OLD BAG!?!

[ghostkid]

So, my son is the one to get me back into Disc Golf. So, I bought him a disc and gave my old ones. But he is only six throws about 30 to 40 feet, with my disks. He's kind of lanky so not much power but longer arms then most his age. I want to get him a bag soon Fade light probably. Not going to fill it. But wondering what weights and disc might work best for him. Tends to throw hyzer when trying hard, but can get them straight.

Eclipse 170g old
Skeeter 160g new
Shark x-out 168-170 old
Birdie. 172 old

He's not a fan of the Birdie. Hopefully with enough input and testing to
I can make a thread for others to use for getting kids into it.

 

[JR]

Light Wedge. Thin to suit smaller hands and slow enough and not that hard fading that it fall right out of the air while fast for a putter with good glide for a surprisingly long flights. Meaning i've thrown it as far as a Buzzz. The thing is that i haven't thrown the Wedge this year and i made my Buzzz distance record this year after gaining power so last year the Wedge outdistanced the Buzzz for me by 20'+ so not too shabby from a putter

 

[ghostkid]

I heard from a guy that any disc an understable and the more understable the better for kids that are right handed, because kids tend to throw a hyzer more. Which he does. Any suggestions of a midrange that is understable for a kid. Also any suggestions for weight? Thinking lighter for him.

Hoping as gets older my three year could start using his disc, as he evolves.

 

[curt1]

Innova makes some REALLY light Cobras (like down in the 120s). I've seen younger kids use them before and they seem to work out alright. Also, it may be easier and he may have more fun to just give him one disc and let him throw that instead of getting him a bag. I'm guessing you'll be carrying that before long.*

*disclaimer: I don't have kids, definitely haven't met yours, and that last bit of advice may be very far off, but is just what I've seen kids do in the past.

 

[Disc Golf Live1]

Be sure to teach any kid the forehand throw, along with whatever else you show him. Many little ones get far better results this way, owing to small hands. If you look at the Jr field at any world championships, a lot of the successful ones are throwing forehand. A smaller person can successfully get off a good throw this way while their small, weaker fingers can't yet muster enough umph to get a backhand throw spinning well. And do as others suggested above, get some lighter discs to try along with your oldest, most beat up samples.

 

[Working Stiff]

Really any 150 class putter will be OK. I went with Magnets for my kids as they are a little more low profile than an Aviar, but they ended up getting Aviars and Wizards along the way and they both use their Aviars now. For my youth program I got an awesome deal from Gateway on 150ish Wizards. I was a little leery to give little kids on overstable disc like a Wizard, but it has turned out to be a non-issue. At any rate, I think having a putter and teaching them that they use a putter around the basket reinforces good disc selection so having a putter is important.

For a mid we used Sharks in the 130's and they turned out great. We tried a variety of mids, but the 130 Sharks were the most consistent in terms of the kids getting good throws. The discs that were terrible were the small-diameter mids (Spider, Skeeter, Kite.) The large-diameter discs responded to the low-power throws and glide out nicely. The small-diameter discs just seem to fall out.

For a driver to learn backhand drives I used LW Elements. Even though it is technically a mid, Elements have a big driver-like rim so you can get used to the power grip but you still get that low-power glidey flight from one. I have also used 150 class Stingrays and 160g Stratus for this and I would supposed a light Eclipse would be fine as well, but the Elements have a bigger rim and it was pretty easy to find them in really light weights. Again, large-diameter worked better than small-diameter. The old large-diameter drivers are slower and not so power dependent with good glide, so they have worked better than the 150 class Leopards and Cheetahs that I thought were going to be the best discs for this. They just don't make very many of the large-diameter drivers any more.

We so far have run 41 kids through our youth program, and none of them could forehand at all. I was pretty surprised by that, but we had a lot more success with backhands than forehands. I've seen the same videos with tiny kids crushing shots with a baseball slinging motion, so obviously it works really well when they can do it. We just have not had any kids that can do it. I'm not sure what discs would work best for teaching this. I'm assuming your basic small-diameter driver like an Eagle or something like that is fine, but I don't really know.

So for me the best four disc bag for young kids (we are working with the 7-10 year old range) would be:
1. Putter: 150 class Magnet or Aviar P & A
2. Mid: LW Shark.
3. Driver: LW Element.
4. Some small-diameter driver to work on forehands.

 

[ghostkid]

Thanks for all the advice. Lighter weight will be the one thing I will do for his bag.
I don't mind spending the money on a Fade light bag. The nice thing or really great thing about Disc Golf is the cost is low. Golf with balls and clubs cost so much before you include fees. I don't mind the cost of picking a disc every so often, I waste the cost of disc a weekat fast food or gas stations. Now, he will have to earn his bag and discs. And I will keep his bag small three to four discs when we go out, but he usually carries his three now with out a bag.

So far then a after looking up and reviewing the suggestions these are what I am interested in so far still want to get some other ones to consider. Hope to find at local store so he can hold and compare in his hand the feel.
Putter- Magnet or Aviar
Midrange - Shark or???
Driver - Element sounds nice, but not sure if local shop carries them.
Sidearm and utility- Skeeter ( His first disc he picked it out.)

Keep the info coming. Really like all the input.
Thanks

 

[ghostkid]

Alright, I took my son to The Basket Case Saturday, since he helped me out and kept his room clean and picked up around the house. After he threw some at the basket and store clerk had his bag to try some. He seemed to be comfortable with a Cobra 150. He also saw a Fade Light Bag and said he really needs, but I said you'll have to earn that one.

So, for Fathers Day my wife took us out to play a round. I found him a backpack and he threw these in.
Cobra 150
Skeeter 133
Birdie 170
Shark 170

I'm so proud of him, he was throwing as far as his Mommy (her Eclispe 172g she hasn't thown since who knows when) with his new Cobra. He got the best distance with the Cobra. He hit the chains from about 35ft out on the 4th whole with that one. I didn't even get one from that distance or farther. His skeeter was okay, he tends to hyzer it, and the shark was okay. He didn't seem to like the Birdie much, but yesterday he was throwing a Wedge really nice at the chains in the store. I'm going to let him use my Soft Magnet and Banger for a little bit to see how he does with those. But the verdict on getting him a bag is out, he carried his and enjoyed switching between discs and thinking which one to use. Also I had to carry his water bottle the whole time. So he needs a bag with a water bottle holder.

So, the Cobra and Skeeter are in his bag, but he Shark and Birdie will be replaced some time in the Future. Going to try and keep his bag down to 4 discs,
Driver, 2 mid-driver to mid-range, and a putter. That way he has some to try and switch up with when we play.

Thanks for your help guys and keep it coming.

 

[JR]

Wedge is fast for a putter but it will help a kid putt from farther without needing to rip as hard as he can so he'll be in controlled power domain. Coyote or Warship are long mids but so is a Star Wedge even though it is a putter. It is the thinnest putter and is thinner than many mids thus it flies very far. So i'd get a 160s Wedge and see how it works before trying out a mid/driver. If the Wedge works for drives too -profit.

 

[pappabearlee]

Hands down lightest stingray you can find. I just took 19 young kids out and gave them all their fist disc, those stingrays fly far... with very little speed, or power.

 

[XCyclone]

stingrays are nice for sure, elements work well too.

 

[ghostkid]

Well, I picked up a Wedge for him its 167g so it slows down for him a little. I have a Cobra at 129g coming in. I might take his cobra at 150g for the woods for me. I'll look into the Stingray as to replace his heavier Cobra.

Skeeter 131g
Cobra 150g
Cobra 129g
Wedge 167g