The sport is in session

“All right, down to the tower and back. Let’s go!” barks Newport Harbor High School surfing Coach Scott Morlan. His words come in puffs of mist that glow in the first light of dawn. A few groans and half-hearted complaints later, the group of wetsuit-clad teenagers is off and running to the lifeguard tower a couple hundred yards north of 56th Street. When they return, they pick up their surfboards and jog the other direction to the 54th Street jetty, where they jump in the water and paddle back down the beach to where they started.

Morlan takes surfing seriously, instilling in his team a sense of purpose and discipline in much the same way a basketball or football coach would. It’s necessary in order to forge a team mentality in an activity that is, by its nature, individualistic and generally free of the kinds of rules that define other sports. Requiring a mix of fitness, grace and athleticism, it develops styles that are unique to each person and often difficult to compare.

One of the problems is just getting the kids to hold back enough to finish their rides instead of falling while attempting a spectacular but risky maneuver. Despite the difficulties, the kids have come together and done well, compiling a 6-2 record so far in meets with other coastal schools from Huntington Beach to San Clemente.

The warm-up is followed by mock heats to fine-tune contest strategies. Practice finishes with a free surf. The water temperature is in the mid-50s, and the air another 10 degrees cooler, but nobody cares. The surf team members happily flop right back into the water and do what they would be doing on any other morning before school. Surfing for the joy of it, because it’s just so much fun.