The school bell rings, finally time for students to go home. Some students go straight to their homes, to tutoring, or to practice somewhere on campus. But these students rush straight to the beach to beat the quickening sun from going down, starving for every bit of sunshine to get in a couple more waves. Typically, this particular group of students keep surfing the waves until the sun is no longer visible along the horizon line. This is the surf team of San Marcos High School.
The SMHS Surf Team hurries after school, or even wakes up at 5 a.m. to do the best and most fun part of their day. “The sun is our timer,” said junior AJ Stevens “We catch as many [waves] as we can and are grateful for all the time [we receive]. We chase every minute we can.”
Riding the waves together creates a thread of community and support while each member contributes their progressive skill set. “What comes with surfing is the people you’re going to be around,” said junior Nate Shinn. “Community will naturally fall into teamwork.” Although teamwork is essential to the surf team, a prime factor is one’s own individual work. “There’s only one round of teamwork, but the rest is [essentially] individualistic,” said Shinn. He also explains how while one’s own self growth and progress will take time, one can apply the progress to the team in both surf practice and competitions.
Victoria Stewart, senior and co-captain of the surf team, loves how surfing helped her find herself, and because of surfing, she is also able to express who she really is. She also says highs of surfing include being able to connect with nature and meeting so many people who enjoy the same thing. However, Stewart cautions, “When you really love something you naturally have a tendency of choosing it over everything. It takes priority over a lot once [you’re] addicted which should not happen.”
Many team members agree surfing is time consuming, yet it’s a great gateway to staying fit and healthy. Team members also experience mental and spiritual benefits as well. Junior Hunter Schultz said, “Not only your fitness is getting a lot better, it’s a lot of cardio, and doctors actually diagnose former people in the military [or] people with high stress to just let go. For me, it’s a place to help you mentally and physically.” He continues to explain how connecting to a higher power such as the ocean, makes him feel like he can achieve anything because the ocean is uplifting.
Let’s not forget about the sheer fun of riding the waves and showcasing tricks learned in practice. Shinn illustrates, “There’s variety and different [various] types of maneuvers. But tricks are different for longboarding and shortboarding.” Shinn continues, “[In] longboarding you sort of do stuff like walking and turns while on a wave which is cool. But shortboarding allows you to be more critical in techniques and tricks.” It’s all solely based on preference.
While the surf team is not quite a traditional high school sports team, these athletes are dedicated to their sport, and practice and compete like any other sports team. They reap the benefits both together and individually. The only difference is they are at the mercy of Mother Nature as they surf in her playground.
