The First Waves of Summer

It is summer in Valparaiso and we are all feeling the good vibes of getting back into the water and surfing with our students. The weather is warm and breezy, and the waves are shaping up quite nicely. There have recently been some very strong swells at our local beach, so it has been even more important to review our surf safety rules. Otherwise, the students are excited to be going to the beach more often, surfing, swimming, and getting to know the new interns. For those of our returning students, it is fulfilling to reconnect with them and see how their surfing skills have improved. We warmly welcome our new students, teach them all the basics to surfing, and support them as they venture out into the water.

Valpo Surf Project (VSP) is taking each neighborhood to the beach twice a week this summer, so it’s five full beach days a week for the VSP team! We love spending our days at the beach teaching and encouraging our students, as well as just hanging out. We’ve been sure to review dryland surf instruction more than usual this week as it’s the first week of surf sessions. We want our students to be feeling confident, eager, and ready to ‘crush it’ before they enter the water.

There is always something magical that happens when our students catch their first wave. Whether it’s their first wave since the surf sessions last year, or the first wave in their life, the happiness and accomplishment is written across our student’s faces. We celebrate with them and revel in their joy, always! For the new interns, it’s been very rewarding thus far to be a part of these special moments for the first time with our students.

This week during post-surfing lunch and conversation, we asked all of our students to set a goal for themselves to accomplish during the summer. We always emphasize with our students that the most important part of surf sessions is to have fun, and enjoy the ocean and the company of others. Our students shared thoughtful personal goals that included:

Wanting to make more friends during surf sessions

Coming to surf sessions on a more consistent basis

Standing up on the surfboard

Going faster on a wave

Overcoming their fear of big waves

We are so proud of our students for challenging themselves to get out in the waves and just go for it. We’re excited to see how our surfers continue to progress!