Summer is screeching into view and hopefully this year is going to be the long overdue perfect one. Waves everyday, light winds and endless sunny days. Utopia.
But summers in Cornwall aren’t always like that. The weather and conditions change quickly asking a lot of a surfers technique and motivation. If you want to be a good surfer and live in Cornwall then you’re going to have to take the rough with the smooth.
And that means staying motivated. Put simply the best surfers don’t magically become that good, they do it by practising in all weathers and conditions until they are confident enough to surf well in anything that mother nature throws at them.
So How Do You Do That?
I don’t want to delve into cod psychology too deeply but you gotta stay positive. Rather than focusing on the negatives – ‘I can’t surf small waves’, ‘ too much wind’, ‘I hate surfing in the rain’ – then flip it around to the positives.
‘If I can get speed out of a small wave then I can get speed in any surf’, ‘the wind is holding the right’s open for longer’, ‘I’m gonna get wet anyway’ etc.
And I can guarantee that when the surf quality isn’t as high as it can be it will definitely be less crowded. And that means more waves for you.
Set Small Goals
I’m a big fan of goal-setting. We all need a reason to go in the surf and progressing to the next step. The biggest mistake you can make however is to focus on a vague long term goal (‘I want to rip like Gabriel Medina’) rather than the mundane day to day short term goals that are the stepping stones to get you there.
eg Today I will:
- catch 20 waves
- surf twice
- work on speed generation
Next week I will:
- have 6 surfs regardless of surfing conditions
- cycle to work once (don’t neglect your fitness!)
- etc
The following week I will:
- have 8 surfs regardless of conditions
- cycle to work twice
- and so on
Having a long term goal that’s “I want to rip like Gabriel Medina’ is beyond all but an elite few so make sure your goals are realistic. How about ‘I want to make the final of a surfing competition’ or even ‘I want to surf double overhead waves with confidence’?
Finally set a time frame within which to achieve your goals. Weekly for the short term goals while the long term goals should be either achieved or re-assessed within the year.
Now all you have to do is set yourself a realistic long term goal and think about the short term goals to get you there.
If you would like some Advanced Surf Training and help with goal setting then call 01736 757579 and book a session today.
