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Newly minted ISA-certified surf instructors |
Save the best for last, they say. And indeed it was. For me, the final two weeks of the Sōleïa Surf Academy program were the best 2 weeks of my 2-month course at Sōleïa Surf's surf instructor academy (SSA) in Canggu, Bali. It wasn't that the waves were particularly good compared to other weeks. What made these two weeks stand out was that I fell in love with teaching.
Internship
While the other SSA students attended the ISA course, I interned as a surf instructor at the surf camp side of Sōleïa Surf House. I taught beginners how to warmup/stretch, pop-up, paddle, turtle roll, manage their boards, ride the waves in prone or standing position, turn, and eventually catch their own waves - whitewater or green. With a 1:1 student to teacher ratio, students benefited from the individual attention, prompting one student to remark, "Wow, this feels like a real surf lesson! It's more than just getting pushed into waves. I'm actually learning to surf."
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My last batch of students. Legends, all. |
I even did a conscious board rescue (which I learned from the ISA course I took last year). One day, Seminyak was closing out and producing strong currents. A student got stuck in the undertow after he lost his board when his leash ripped off in the barreling outside break. I recovered the board then paddled over and rescued him. We paddled and rode the board together back to the shore, where I inspected the equipment and re-attached his leash, which looked to be in good condition but was probably attached incorrectly.
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Surf check at Seminyak |
Though I am not a morning person, I woke up looking forward to each day of teaching. Seeing my students progress - such as hitting the proper stance or catching their first green wave on their own - filled me with compersion, pride, and a heartwarming satisfaction like no other job. I knew my previous job at Riot Games impacted hundreds of millions of players per month, but I could not feel it. I could not see their faces, their reactions, their smiles. It was emotionally detached work where you measured your performance through numbers and KPIs then got a bonus at the end of the year. Surf coaching, on the other hand, is more visceral and immediately rewarding.
Moreover, the social connections forged inside and outside the water made this such a fun and fulfilling experience that was more than about surfing. It was helping people, including myself, feel seen, heard, and supported while frolicking through life together with surfing, karaoke, massage, meals out, yoga, margaritas, working out at the gym and chilling by the pool.
ISA Course
Meanwhile, the other SSA students attended the ISA course, which is actually 2 courses rolled into one: the ISA/ILS Water Safety course and the Level 1 Surf Instructor Certification course. With 80% of students passing despite the injuries and illnesses that plagued our cohort, the Sōleïa Surf Academy performed reasonably well in preparing its students for the ISA exams, which included a lifesaving test, a fitness test, and a surfing test. Students who did not pass have up to a year to train and re-test.
There were some coordination issues with the final day of the ISA course falling on a Sunday, which is the Sōleïa Surf rest day. Hopefully, that will be noted and prevented in future courses so that there is logistical support from Sōleïa Surf with regards to transporting boards to/from the beach.
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Time for that run-swim-run fitness test |
Special Guests
The ISA course was taught by the jolly Dean Gough, who brought his wife, Gemma Harris, also a surf instructor and ISA/ILS trainer. Both have had illustrious careers in surfing and I had the pleasure of surfing with and learning more about them:
Dean
Dean has been developing surfers of all ages and abilities for 25 years as an international coach and ISA presenter and assessor. He owns the Outer Reef Surf School in Pembrokeshire, Wales where he works during the northern hemisphere summers then travels abroad in the winter to run courses in Morocco, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka.
His proudest achievement as a competitive surfer was getting the wild card to a big wave event in Madeira, Portugal where 16 people all over the world were invited. At the time, it was too expensive for the event organizers to bring jetskis, so competitors had to sign a waiver and paddle into waves that were meant to be tow-ins. "You had to go big or go home," as Dean described it.
Dean started surfing at the tender age of 7. His mother bodyboarded and his father surfed. He also skateboarded and competed in gymnastics - particularly floor and vault - until the age of 17, when his mentor Pete taught him how to be a true waterman at a local water sports center. Dean learned to surf, sail, windsurf, kayak, wakeboard, and snorkel* then started working as an assistant coach there.
Dean's favorite surf spot is back home in Wales: "You can't beat surfing at the beach you grew up in." He recommends surfing Freshwater Beach, a tan sand beach surrounded by verdant hills dotted with seaweed drying huts (the seaweed is used in commercial products such as shampoo).
Gemma
Gemma is an ISA L2 surf coach and ILS surf lifesaving trainer and assessor at Outer Reef who was one of the top 10 bodyboarders in the world. She has a twin brother with whom she had an intense sibling rivalry. Her parents would only let her brother surf, so she was determined to get good at what she was allowed do (bodyboarding) and became a Welsh, British, and European bodyboarding champion.
Growing up, she took surf trips down the coast of Europe with her father, a pioneer who discovered spots in Ireland, France, Spain, and Portugal in the 80s. They shaped boards and sold them off the family van to fund the trip as they travelled and slept on beaches. She later went on to become an accomplished surfer, sponsored by Voodoo Dolls and Reef from age 13 to 30, then coached the junior UK team to multiple British and world championships.
Before she met Dean and moved to Outer Reef, she ran her own surf school in Cornwall, which was the first school to work with The Wave Project, a nonprofit that uses the ocean to help youth overcome trauma. The project was started by Jamie Marshall, who did his PhD research on how surfing can support mental health. The Wave Project grew and now practices surf therapy all over the UK. Yes, surf therapy is a thing now.
Inspired by the mothers who take their kids to surf lessons and watch wistfully as their kids play in the water, Gemma created the Salty Sisters Surf Club for mothers to enjoy water sports themselves and take surf trips abroad. Gemma continues to shred to this day.
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Meanwhile, I continue to shred my back on the reef |
Conclusion
I had a fantastic journey improving my surfing and surf coaching at Sōleïa Surf. My bottom turn mechanics improved to the point that I can return all the way back to the lip and start attempting snaps and reentries (landing them remains a work in progress). I learned to teach beginners and discovered a love for teaching. The SSA students had a high pass rate in the ISA course at the end, so I stand by my observation from the first post in this series that Sōleïa provides great value for surfers who want to improve their surfing and/or become surf instructors.
If you're not currently working full-time** and you've got 2-3 months to spare for an extended surf trip, try the Sōleïa Surf Academy (SSA) instead of paying 60-70 euros per night for the surf camp. Starting at 5350 euros per 3 months, you get so much more at the SSA - more in-depth instruction, free trips to other islands, surf skate sessions at Amplitude, scooter rentals, ISA training and assessment - on top of all the other things that come with the surf camp package. Just note that rainy season can be tricky with regards to disease and less consistent surf conditions.
If you want to learn more about the SSA, here is the entire series of posts about the Sōleïa Surf House surf instructor academy 8-week course (there are also 12-week and 4-week versions).
Or read about a particular week through these links:
And that's a wrap, folks!
Kudos
Thank you, Sōleïa Surf House, for inviting me. I never thought this blog would get me anywhere. I felt vulnerable writing a weekly account of my personal experience, but it was a good exercise in reflecting on my adventures sooner and more regularly. I had a good time in Bali even though it's not my first choice for a surf trip during rainy season. Even rainy season has its perks: cooler weather and fewer tourists. Thank you for showing me that not all surf spots in Bali are the crowded nightmares I see on YouTube. You can still find some quality gems here and there, especially on the east side.
To the SSA staff, thank you for making Sōleïa Surf House happen.
To the SSA students, thank you for not dropping in on me so much.
To my L1 students, thank you for making my internship so easy and fun. I miss you already.
To my regular readers, thank you for bearing with me through such an in-depth series. I will return to my normal content: notes on surf spots around the world for beginner/intermediates.
Footnotes
*Yes, Wales has good snorkeling. There are 1100 shipwrecks to explore with 12-14 meter visibility.
**I wouldn't recommend the SSA to digital nomads with full-time jobs unless your work schedule is very flexible or you don't need to eat, sleep, or socialize much. It will be hard to plan your work and meetings around the intense training schedule that shifts with the traffic and surf conditions. Unless you skip some sessions, SSA will take up your entire morning and half the afternoon, leaving you with little time and energy to work a full 8 hours a day. If I had my old job, with work meetings between 12am to 4am (due to the time difference from LA), I would not have been able to study surfing at the SSA. Even with just the occasional 3am or 4am job interview, I had a difficult time waking up and functioning for our morning surf sessions... let alone the job interview. Womp womp.
