Groms of the Waves

Opening image by Karl Liebenberg

It’s not just a sport. It’s a booming career.

I’m sure you have spotted a few surfers in our beautiful Dolphin Coast oceans getting their waves for the day in. Well, maybe a few you’ve seen are part of the younger crowd, and wow, we have a big group of youngsters showing their moves in the surf! Many of these so-called ‘gromies’ in surf lingo have surfed a few contests and are training daily to practice their turns and kicks. Just like a rugby team, you have coaches, right? Well, so do surfers. Here are two you might see on the beach.

Janek from the Ballito Surf School and QJ are two local surf coaches who coach a lot of Ballito surfers, from gromies to adults, either as competitors or just casual surfers who want to improve their sport. Both trainers work at improving their students’ confidence and overall surf technique in the water and work with the students’ goals. Both trainers do one-on-one training and group training. Janek says, “One-on-one is more for the younger students that are starting out and require hands-on attention to improve their confidence in the water to surf by themselves eventually.” QJ explains, “Group sessions are perfect for practising heats and also for the athletes to push each other.”

Commonly when training, the trainers would video their students’ surfing and later get them to analyse the video and look at what they are doing, where they are at, and give them tips based on their performance and how to improve. QJ trains Nate Taylor and Ry Colepeper, two of the five amazing gromies we interviewed. Let’s meet these local gromies who are going places!

Nate Taylor (13)

He is home-schooled and loves Science (especially the experiments). His hobbies include skating and working on his business (he has an e-commerce website), and his dream job is to be a professional surfer.

  1. Tell me about your journey to becoming a surfer. What motivated you?

My dad surfs, and my mom likes to go to the beach a lot. My brother and I were always with them. My dad would put us on his surfboard between surfs, and we’d catch little foams. When I could stand up on my own, we started going out further and further and catching my own waves. I love being at the beach and in the ocean with my family and friends.

  1. What are your goals as a surfer?

I would love to travel the world on the World Surf League and surf big, hollow waves.

  1. What is your favourite post-surf food?

Definitely a smoothie bowl at Mi Açai!

Photo credit: Kody Mcgreggor

Joel Duncan (16)

History is his favourite subject in school, and his hobbies include soccer and reading (he loves reading science fiction and adventure books). His dream job is to become a professional surfer on QS (qualifying series).

  1. Tell me about your journey to becoming a surfer. What motivated you?

I started surfing at a young age, but when we relocated away from the ocean, I definitely missed it. Then we moved back to Ballito, and the first thing I wanted to do was get back into the ocean, and so I needed a board. We went to the G-force factory. As it happened, a board in the rack caught my attention, and Graham noticed. He just handed me the board and said, “Have it”. That filled me with stoke, and my journey of surfing began again.

  1. What are your goals as a surfer?

I’ve always enjoyed surfing in competitions and trials, but my goal this year is to make the team for the SA champs and win a few heats there while having fun.

  1. Where is one place you want to surf? (Anywhere in the world)

If I could go anywhere, I would hands down go and surf Bali Keramas!

Photo credit: SurfYard Media

Catherine Jacob (15)

Her favourite subject at school is Consumer Studies, and she enjoys baking and sewing. Catherine was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 12 years old and is therefore very conscious of food and how it affects her body. Her dream job would be to have a business working with food, particularly focusing on low carb and sugar-free, as she knows how difficult it is to find these food options.

  1. Tell me about your journey to becoming a surfer. What motivated you?

My family enjoys the beach, and we spend most of our free time there. My brother is three years older than I am, and I spent many years when I was younger watching him surf competitions. Last year was my first year of competitive surfing, and I surfed for iLembe in Grom Games, KZN champs and SA champs, and enjoyed surfing in Rookie Rippers as part of the Ballito Pro.

  1. What are your goals as a surfer?

My goal is to keep my fitness levels up to enjoy my surfing whilst constantly working on improving and practising new moves.

  1. Do you have a surf role model? If so, who and why them?

My surfing role model is Carissa Moore. She is a professional surfer from Hawaii who has won five world titles and is the first surfer in history to win Olympic Gold and a world title in the same year. Another record she holds is that at 18, she was the youngest person to win a surfing world title. Carissa Moore has used her fame to promote many good causes, including protecting the sustainability of our oceans and spreading the idea of “protecting where you play”.

Photo Credits: Bevan Ainslie

 

Ry Colepeper (14)

He loves all practical subjects, particularly Geography (maybe because he likes to plot where he will hopefully surf one day). His hobbies include fishing, cray-fishing with his dad and skating. His dream job is to work on the yachts, sticking to his love for the ocean.

  1. Tell me about your journey to becoming a surfer. What motivated you?

I’ve always loved the water, and as a four-month-old baby, my dad would take me into the sea when we lived in Australia (only when it was flat). I first stood up on a surfboard just before my third birthday. My dad would push me on his board onto tiny waves formed by the waves crashing over at high tide, into Granny’s pool tidal pool, at Tiffany’s beach. As I started to get older and more confident, my dad introduced me to Nippers at Durban Surf Lifesaving Club, which set me up for my surfing to bloom as I learnt so much about the ocean. My surfing developed by watching many surfing videos and watching what the older guys do in the surf.

  1. What are your goals as a surfer?

My goals for surfing this year are to get to SA Champs and hopefully win and try and compete in as many competitions as possible to gain more experience. My goal for the future is to get onto the WSL tour.

  1. What’s your favourite board to ride and why?

I am lucky enough to be sponsored by Bilt Surfboards and on the Bilt surfing team. I surf the Lightning 2 model with a Thumb tail. It is a new tail for me, but it is super responsive. Jason Ribbink has been incredible in keeping the best boards under my feet.

Photo credit: SA Surf Hub

 

Cassidy Duncan (14)

Her dream job is to be a surf vlogger and travel the world to document her surfing adventures. Cassidy loves art in school and has hobbies, including beading, baking, and anything crafty!

  1. Tell me about your journey to becoming a surfer. What motivated you?

I started surfing when I was about three years old. We lived inland for a while, and I couldn’t surf, but my journey began when we moved back to Ballito. I started off being pushed onto foamies in the shore break. Once I got better, I started entering competitions, where I made it to Grom Games and started to take surfing seriously by training with Janek from Ballito Surf School to help me get to where I am today. I am very privileged to have a fantastic group of girls, known as Chix on Stix, who constantly motivate me, push my limits, and make me want to do better.

  1. What are your goals as a surfer?

My goals for surfing are to make SA champs again this year, beat some of my biggest competitors, achieve good results in my trials and hopefully one day surf in a WSL event.

  1. Where did you have your best or favourite wave?

It’s hard for me to pick one stop where I have had my best wave because I always have a new best wave. J-Bay helped improve my backhand surfing and had some of the best waves in my life, but my favourite waves have to be when I’m surfing with all my friends at our local beach break in Ballito.

Photo credit: SurfYard Media

 

  • Words by: Kai Coates