The Froth X Fulcrum Surf
By Jake Tellkamp
“We at Fulcrum would love to extend the invitation for an ISPE camper, or any other intermediate to advanced surfer to join the Daily Quest in search for fun surf this Summer. From charging head high Blacks Beach to jamming down the trail to Trestles, The Daily Quest is sure to be an action packed adventure. So sign up today, ask Mom for a packed lunch, and be ready to meet at Del Mar at 8 am for departure, it’s going to be an awesome summer!
On the third day of the Daily Quest Summer Edition, three Fulcrum Frothers paid visit to Surfing America’s USA Championships held at the cobblestone throne of Lower Trestles in San Onofre State park. With our backpacks shouldered with wetsuits, lunches, and sunscreen in tote, we made our way down the trail at 9 in the morning. The kids were excited to see one of the premier waves in Southern California do it’s thing, and kids their age performing incredibly well on them. Brandon, a 9 year old competitive upstart from La Jolla, was rather intrigued by the moves of Jett Schilling and Dane Matsen. The hour we spent watching the competitors fueled our fire before we took to the waves ourselves at the break just down the beach called, “Middles”. Besides a few other competitors, we had the tame 2 to 3 footers to ourselves, and were still able to see the action at the main peak of Lowers.
The other two Fulcrum Frothers on the trip were, Curren and Steven, two brothers that have taken up surfing in the last 2 years. It was cool to see the competitive fire spark between them. Both brothers exhibited some great wave selection and a keen eye for which waves had a good wall to them.
Being the only surfer amongst my siblings, I couldn’t tell you whether it’s a major driving factor to progress, but I do know from watching Brandon, that I could see the gears turning in his head as he watched the best Under 12’s in the nation throw down major combinations of maneuvers, that he wanted in. We set the goal for him today to try and qualify for the USA Championships by the time he was through middle school. Brandon showed major improvement after two consecutive days of surfing Blacks Beach, (where he got the best forehand wave of his life) and today of surfing Middles.
While the three boys all enjoyed themselves, they politely asked if tomorrow they could go back to Blacks Beach. This was a point of realization as their coach, because it apparent watching the USA Championships today made them hungry to go out and do their best rather than spectate from the sidelines. The travel camp is a way for kids to progress at rapid speeds due to the variety of conditions that they get to see. Today, Curren and Steven got to surf waves that were much longer then what they would have seen at Del Mar or D Street, and that proved to be valuable to them as they learned to draw different lines.
Stay tuned for more tales from the ISPE Daily Quest.