My First Surf Lesson

From the desk of a non-surfing surf school employee… 

Dear not-quite-surfers,

One time in the water and I’ve caught the bug. I’m afraid it’s as fun as all my coworkers say it is, and now I’ll be spending my days in the office gazing lovingly at the pictures on our pamphlets.

For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Julia, and I work with the Summertime Surf Administration team and I do not know how to surf… yet! When I told my parents that I got a job at a surf school (not to mention the best on the Jersey Shore!), they were both confused and surprised. Their beloved daughter has spent her 22 years on this Earth as a sit-under-the-umbrella-and-read kind of beachgoer, and suddenly, she works at a surf school. But there is a first time for everything, so here’s how it went.

To be totally honest, I was very nervous for my very first surf lesson. I have the build of Gumby so I was worried about having to carry my board into the water, getting hit by waves, and what seemed to be the contents of an AI-generated list of everything that could possibly go wrong surfing. Once I forced myself out of my car and onto the boardwalk, I saw that beautiful big yellow umbrella and already felt much better knowing that not only would I have my instructor within arm’s reach, but our Boardwalk Staff would have an eye on me as well.

After I checked in, I moseyed on down to the tent where I met my instructor, Wilson (pictured below). Immediately, my fears of being judged for my athletic ability (or lack thereof) were squashed– Wilson was genuinely excited to be the first person to get me in the water and reassured me that nobody was a bigger baby with cold water than him. We went over The 4 P’s of surfing and he told me what I could expect from my lesson once we were out in the water. In and out of the water, Wilson was the perfect combination of a laid-back friend and a fully capable and attentive instructor.

My number one tip for surfing is to close your mouth. I was smiling and laughing so much throughout my whole lesson that I think I swallowed enough ocean water to fulfill my sodium intake for the next 15 months. I got up on my very first wave and even the subsequent ones that didn’t go so well were still a blast. The high of riding the wave is pretty unmatched, but even just paddling out and chatting with my fellow surfers (how awesome I get to say that now) was a real highlight of my afternoon. 

My second biggest piece of advice is that if you’re thinking about learning to surf, just do it. The hardest part is signing up to try something new and I promise, once you show up to your lesson, you won’t regret that leap of faith for a second. In all seriousness, while I was definitely out of my comfort zone at my first surf lesson, I felt comfortable the whole way through thanks to Wilson and the rest of the team at Summertime. I wish I had faced my fears of failure and judgment sooner and just dived right in earlier. Stay tuned for my next adventures as a non-surfing surf school employee… Grom Team here I come!

Cheers,

Julia