No pier pressure

Mike Sciacca

Timmy Reyes certainly was going places in his second season of the

current World Qualifying Series tour. The upcoming U.S. Open of

Surfing was looming on the horizon.

He had traveled afar during the tour season to display his

considerable talents, competing in some of the most sought-after

surfing waters around the world.

He was getting his already-known name further out there among the

champions of the surfing world, his seventh-place finish in April’s

Newcastle Pro event in Australia an indication that he, indeed, could

contend with the best.

Yet for all the venues Reyes had tested, the one place he figured

he’d never have to compete in was the hospital.

But again, he succeeded.

“It was really a strange to go through that,” said the Huntington

Beach resident. “It set me back a bit, but it hasn’t stopped me from

moving on.”

The day after he celebrated his 20th birthday in early June,

Reyes, an Edison High School graduate, suffered a severe hernia.

A few days later, he was in an operating room.

“The only thing I could think of was when I’d be able to surf

again,” he said.

A successful surgical procedure followed, and then came what

doctors said would be a four to six week period of “down time.”

Reyes obeyed -- for the most part.

Huntington Beach High surf coach Andy Verdone, who has seen Reyes

mature through the years into an outstanding surfer, recalled surfing

with Reyes the first day he was back in the water, following his

recuperation.

“I was sorry to hear about his setback and knew it’d be tough for

him to stay out of the water. But Timmy’s on a mission,” Verdone

said. “I asked him if he was completely healed and he told me he

almost was. He wasn’t quite there, but he was raring to go back in

the water. That’s Timmy’s drive.”

The time between his injury, and the ensuing mending period, has

brought Reyes, who says he has been injury-prone, to the brink of

America’s largest professional surfing competition.

Verdone feels that the talented Reyes, one of the area’s top,

young surfers, can make his mark in the Philips Fusion 2002 U.S. Open

of Surfing, which opens full swing on Monday at the Huntington Beach

Pier.

“He’s so loaded with natural talent and he has such a bright

future in the sport,” Verdone said. “He’s very focused and has tunnel

vision, and that’s what you need to succeed in this sport.”

Reyes, who has surfed Huntington Beach waters since his was a very

young child, grew through the ranks of local competition, starred at

Edison High and won several individual National Scholastic Surf Assn.

high school championships.

This season marks his second competing with the pros on the World

Championship Series tour.

His injury in June had him wondering if his current World

Qualifying Series tour would come to an abrupt end.

The setback forced him to miss a six-star event in South Africa.

He’s dropped nearly 20 spots on the tour, he said, and the U.S. Open

affords him the chance to gain back some lost ground.

“It has always a dream of mine to tour, and then the injury

happened,” he said. “But I’ll be ready for the U.S. Open. I’m almost

at 100% -- I’d say I’m about 98% healed.”

Bron Heussenstamn, who also will compete in next week’s U.S. Open,

thinks Reyes definitely will be ready for the challenge.

“Timmy’s a really good talent and one of the best surfers to come

from Huntington Beach,” the 22-year-old said. “I know he won’t let

his recent injury keep him down.”

The Philips Fusion 2002 U.S. Open is set to draw the sport’s top

major stars, including current world champions C.J. Hobgood and

former world champions Kelly Slater, Sunny Garcia and Lisa Andersen.

The U.S. Open Men’s Division, a six-star rated event, offers a

$100,000 total prize package, $10,000 winner’s

purse and offers competitors the largest points allocation of

any Mainland event this year.

“The caliber of men competitors in the U.S. Open is phenomenal,”

said James Leitz, vice president of Image Marketing Group, which is

staging the 2002 Philips Fusion. “We have 39 of the world’s top

44-ranked surfers in this event. We have last year’s champ, Rob

Machado, back on hand to defend his title.