Would you like to be a better surfer? We asked a pro (who would like to remain anonymous) for a few tips beyond the obvious ‘surfing more’. So here are his three tips to improve your surfing, that don’t directly involve surfing every second you can.
How to be a better surfer
I grew up on the Gulf coast of Florida, where much of my youth was spent at the beach or on the water. Florida’s west shore is perfect for activities such as beach volleyball, sunbathing, jet skiing, fishing, and skimming, but it’s not really known for decent surf.
Despite the small (or in many cases, non-existent) waves, I tried my hardest to become the surfing pro that, since age 13, I felt I was destined to be. Imagine my surprise when I moved to the east coast of Florida and found that my skills weren’t quite up to it when faced with the Atlantic.
Sure, it’s not Hawaii or California, but it was a vast improvement over the kind of action I had previously seen. So, equipped with my board and an ego of steel, I practiced. And then I practiced some more in order to become a better surfer. I also learn there are other ways to improve your surfing.
Eventually I made it as a pro surfer. I only competed at the bottom rung of the ladder for a short time, unfortunately as a ‘pro’ I barely made any money and had to work other jobs to pay the bills. But I still love to surf and want to share my tips on how to be a better surfer.
Three tips to improve your surfing
Obviously being in good physical shape, a strong swimmer with great cardio fitness helps. As does hitting surfing every moment you can. I know it’s been said more than a million times, but it’s the truth—practice makes perfect.
There’s a popular theory, made famous by Malcolm Gladwell, which suggests 10,000 hours of deliberate practice is the “magic number” to become an expert at a specific skill. While that may be a little extreme, at least a couple hours every day or two will definitely boost your surfing abilities.
But this article is not about practicing more. It is about the things you can do to be a better surfer that fall outside of the obvious. So here are my three tips to improve your surfing.
It’s all in the head
It’s safe to say I was pretty good at riding a wave when I exclusively surfed on the Gulf Coast. I mean, not to sound like an arrogant jerk, but I was leaps and bounds ahead of my friends. After my move? Not even close to what one would consider ‘good’.
There’s always going to be a bigger, better wave that takes more skill, finesse, and gumption to conquer than the ones before. And while you may feel like you’re top of the totem pole at your hometown beach (like I did), you may not even make the cut somewhere else.
So you need to get your head right and understand that we all have to start somewhere. I nearly gave up when I was no longer top dog, I made excuses, had mysterious injuries and got busy doing other things. Once I accepted within myself that I was no longer the best, I then had my head in the right place to improve and become a better surfer.
Always use the right gear
As mentioned before, what my Florida Gulf Coast town didn’t often have was an ideal surfing setup. However, what it did have was water temperatures that stayed fairly warm year-round. Usually board shorts did the trick as far as wardrobe went, maybe a rash guard every now and then.
However, I realise that this isn’t the case everywhere, so make sure you get yourself outfitted with the proper gear for the spot you surf. Whether that means a shorty or a head-to-toe, hooded wetsuit.
Regardless of where you spend most of your time surfing, investing in quality equipment is just as important to becoming a better surfer as spending time in the water is. If you’re using the wrong gear for what you’re trying to accomplish, you can bet it’ll be a lot harder to meet your goals.
As far as your board goes, they come in styles galore to suit personal tastes and preferences. But again, pay attention to your particular needs when choosing. You might be tempted to go with the best-looking board in the shop, but if it doesn’t fit your needs, it’s useless.
Consider length, thickness, and width of the board, and ask for a couple of recommendations from the guys running the shop if you’re unsure. Ultimately if you have the right gear it is easier to improve your surfing. But a quick warning, the best gear does not make automatically make you a better surfer.
Use surf apps
When I was trying to become a better surfer mobile phones were just hitting the market. Tides, conditions, weather forecasts had to be sourced and understood so you knew when to head to the beach. Even with that there was still a lot of guesswork.
However, the technology-filled era we now live in, there are many online resources to help you get surfing. There are apps for your smartphone that are made to help you find out when and where to go surfing.
Many of these handy apps let you monitor the tides, see what the current weather conditions are like, and view wave patterns. Some, even allow you to check out the surf from the comfort of your own couch with high-definition cameras at breaks all over the world.
Load up on surfing apps such as Beachsafe, Tide Graph and Surfline. With these you’ll have access to live-streaming, as well as other important info like wave height, wind graphs, and forecasts. By finding the right conditions you’ll improve your surfing by being in the right place at the right time.
Even if you don’t use Apps daily (but seriously, why wouldn’t you?), they are a must-have when on holiday or branching out to a new spot you’ve never tried before. It just makes finding waves easier by sending location-specific swell alerts right to your phone.
More information means more waves, and more waves means more practice, and more practice makes you a better surfer. With this in mind you will quickly improve your surfing.
We hope you have found this article about how to be a better surfer useful. If you want to put the 3 tips to improve your surfing into practice then check out our surfing holidays.
