Coaching Mentor's

The Go Pro Camera is a great coaching tool.

Coaching has come a long way over the last few years. If you needed an edge in the competitive arena you may have sourced a coach. These days more and more people are just trying to get more fun out of their surfing. Equipment, paddling, manoeuvres, surf travel are just some aspects covered in my programs. For me surfing is about fun, getting frustrated in the water because of a technique flaw is certainly not fun. Coaching makes a difference.

Roti Grommet's

The coaching fraternity is quite small and we all share our information. Martin Dunn, Surfing Australia's coaching director has been a great source of information for me and we often talk about different strategies to improve a surfer’s technique. I use surfcoach.com and attend Surfing Australia's Green Room Coaching conference to keep me at the forefront of coaching techniques. I regularly mentor a couple of South American coaches and enjoy that challenge, including the Spanish lessons. 

A good friend and work colleague at Island Surf School is Simon Chipper we collaborate on many coaching programs. Simon’s extensive travel in Indonesia as well as other exotic locations with world famous photographer Ted Grambeau on RipCurl photo shoots enhances my knowledge base not only in coaching delivery but in video and photographic technology as well.

Simon Chipper - Going native at Nembrala, Roti

So if you think you could use a tune up or need a coach on your next surf trip check out my website,

''get on board and enjoy the ride''

http://www.surfcoaching.biz/

http://www.surfingaustralia.com/surfcoach/

Surfboard Quiver 2011

Surfboard Quiver

The famous coolite 1963

For me my surfing equipment is really important. I started on a finless coolite in the 60's, my first fibre glass board was a 9'6" second hand Dale D fin, it weighed a ton.

These days I have a whole bunch of different boards for different conditions.

I also feel the surfing progression in Australia is in part due to the innovation of our shapers over the years, I am not that keen on imported copies with no R&D behind them so I support the locally made product. I weigh around 80 kg and surf nothing narrower than 19". 

Simon Anderson XFC

My stock board is a Simon Anderson 6'3" XFC. The XFC changed the way I surf, I use big fins and love this model.

I do have a Simon Anderson 6'6" SXE pintail for those longer clean waves. 

Reef Swallow

My Indo quiver includes a few Murray Bourton models. My go to board in the Ments is 6’5” reef swallow. Basically a mini gun type design, awesome speed and great sticking power on late drops. I do have a 6'10" version as well. 

The ledge Tamer

I have worked with Muzz developing a new model The Ledge Tamer. Mine is a 6'2" and is based on the Reef swallow. Excellent paddling power and sticks the super later drops and doesn't out run the barell. I use it at home on one of my favourite shallow ledges as well. It has a multi fin setup which I normally don't use but like the options between four and three fins when I am travelling. 

SXE Pintail

I do have a chambered Balsa Mal I picked up in Ecuador during the World Surfing Games. Don't surf the mal that much because of the variety of short board options that are around. Having said that I have an order in at Island Surfboards for a triple stringer, wooden nose and tail block Mal shaped by Terry Klemm of Klemm-Bell Surfboards fame.  Greg Hogan collaborates with Terry and apart from being a work of art these single fin long boards surf really well. 

One of my short board options when I need some paddle power is a Bourton Fat Bullet. This thing paddles like the Queen Mary but at 6'2" manoeuvres easily. It has a revolutionary hull design and four fins. 

An extravagance is a yellow 8' gun Simon Anderson shaped for me about seven yeras ago. Guns don't really date.The harsh reality is I am never going to use it at 15 foot plus Sunset where it would be perfect. I get to use it a couple of times a year here on the Island, it has an awesome sweet spot but just having a classic Simon Anderson hanging on the wall proves my theory for supporting Australian Shapers. 

Island Surfboard Soft Boards

If you have anything to do with learn to surf I use the Island Surfboards Soft board. Designed by Glyndyn Ringrose, a gun shaper/surfer this soft board is hands down the best I have ever used teaching people to surf. 

Haven't had that much time to give SUP's a real go yet. My feeling is the variety of board designs around today keeps me in the water most days having fun.

My tip for board designs is most guys are surfing too short and too narrow boards. As a coach this is usually where my coaching advice starts. If you would any other advice on boards for Australia or around the world please contact me. mal@surfcoaching.biz 
All you really need to remember is:

                       ENJOY THE RIDE

http://www.surfcoaching.biz/

http://www.simonandersonsurfboards.com/

http://www.bourtonshapes.com/

http://www.islandsurfboards.com.au/

Sumba December 2011

West Sumba

29th November

Surf coaching program with Alena, Artom, Anna and Andre with a few Bali warmup days.

Garuda flight from Tullamarine to Denpassar.  Arrive at 2.00pm and after meeting Alena at the airport a quick drive to Villa Cara on top of Jimbarin Bay Hill. Awesome view of Airport rights from the Villa.Still have time for a surf at Balangan. Only small quick clean lefts with a few guys out.Big family dinner tonight with Russian cuisine. Alena's sister Olga and her friend Anastasia are staying along with Artom.

30th November

Swell looks a touch bigger this morning so we surf Airport lefts. Wind is still offshore with 3-4ft inconsistent lefts. We surf for a couple of hours and I get fried by the sun.We have lunch back at the Villa and then I take Olga to Kuta for her first surf lesson. Olga gets up at her first attempt and is styling. We have borrowed a soft board from Endless Summer, a Russian Surf School owned by Andre, Anna and Dimma.We all have dinner at one of Bali's best Japanese restaurants called 'Take' in Kuta. 

1st December

Lazy morning then a quick trip to Ulu's. It is pretty small but we find a few waves up at temples. The arvo session is back at Kuta with Olga. Perfect 2ft lefts and Olga is sliding left across the wave face. Alena doesn't believe Olga when tells her what happened.

Dinner tonight at Sardines, one of Bali's top restaurants in Seminak. Surprise surprise the smoked sardines were excellent. Finished off the night with some good music and fun at the Champagne Bar.

2nd December

Flying to Sumba this morning from the domestic terminal. Only 55 minutes to West Sumba. The crew from the Nihiwatu Resort are there to pick us up.

We drive through the hills for an hour and it reminds me go the Bali Bukit from days gone by. The last half hour we drop down to the coast and the terrain becomes dryer.

All the homes look similar. On poles with corrugated iron roofs. The roofs have a tall hat like structure in the centre. Apparently the locals store their prize possessions there. There is always a cooking fire alight inside and usually a concrete tombstone in the front yard to bury the family.Down on the coast we arrive at Nihiwatu Resort and are greeted by Ernst, Ben and the team. We sort our rooms, have some lunch and wait until the tide drops a tad for a sunset surf.The resort is pretty special, only 10 surfers. It is set in 400 plus acres and is connected with the Sumba foundation.

3rd December

Up early for a boat ride around the corner to the hole. 3-4ft A Frames.  Only wind swell so pretty messy but the potential is obvious.Back in time for the hobbits second buffet breakfast.Plenty of snooze time in between three course lunch and dinner. We do manage a couple more surfs on the left at our front doorstep. 

4th December

Still small wind swell. Alena, Anna and I surf the left while the boys take the rubber Ducky to the hole. Nothing special in the way of waves but we did take a look at the local village that more African than Indonesian. Really hot weather and while these villages are better off because of the resort they are still really poor. Health issues must be a problem.

Back to Nihiwatu for a three course lunch pulls on the guilt string a tad.

Boys have crack on the Jet Ski while the rest of us just kick back. 

5th December

Up for our early surf as usual, still really small. Anna decides we all need to trek to the waterfall. After a mini Kokoda hike in really hot humid conditions we arrive at the water fall. We have had bets how high it would be, ranging from 3 to 8 meters. The falls are actually 93 meters and stunning to look at. We swim in the cold water to cool off and have lunch in front of the falls. Pretty spectacular. Long drive back but in time for a late surf. 

6th December

Ground hog day as far as waves go. After the early surf we take the speed boat out for some snorkelling on the coral reef. Plenty of fish around. Lazy arvo with a late surf. We have met an interesting character called Claus Bogh who heads up the malaria prevention program for the Sumba foundation here. He dispels some of the malaria myth and explains with a coordinated approach how to begin to eradicate this disease.  

7th December

Some swell this morning, squeaked a quick surf before the wind came up. Tried a right north of Nihiwatu that picked up more swell but pretty fat. The rubber ducky takes us there but the resorts surf guide, a WA lad called Ben takes us back on the Jet Ski. Not a bad long board wave. Back out in front before dark with an onshore wind. Some size but not much quality. The wave here works best on mid tide. An evening slide show of Nihiwatu, red bull snowboarding and a coaching video.  

8th December

Still some swell. Up before 6am as usual. The wind is offshore and waves are pretty good. The swell direction is important here, needs to have some south in it to line up OK.

Breakfast, the buffet breakfast bar has disappeared for some reason today. We must be eating too much. Still a choice of eggs pancakes etc and the Sumatran plunger coffee blend is the best. Road trip a right south of Nihiwatu. Cross shore and too small. Check out a cliff top village on the way home. Really cool. Lunch and then a surf at 3.43 pm. A little onshore but fun swell is picking up.

9th December

Good waves this morning finally Nihiwatu shows us her potential. Clean offshore waves with an occasional 5ft set. Tricky wave to surf certainly needs a SW swell so you don't get pinched on the end section.

We need to do all the last minute billing etc. Drinks, board and boat hire are all extra.

Pile into the Nihiwatu bus for the ride back to the airport. Need to stop at the antique store for Alena to pick up some world famous Sumba Ikat (specially woven and dyed material).

The west Sumba airport is being renovated from the tin shed it has been. Plane arrives at 4.15 and takes off 20 minutes later.

All in All a really different trip, we didn't get epic waves in Sumba in fact I think everything has to be exactly right for the surf - swell, swell direction, wind and tides but I really enjoyed the Sumba experience, such different place than any other I have visited in Indonesia.