How to improve your surfing: 7 things a coach would tell you today

Ask any surf coach what they end up saying most often, and you'll hear the same handful of things. If you're plateaued at the 'going down the line but not really turning' stage, one of these is almost certainly the reason.

1. Your pop-up is where the whole wave is decided

Nine times out of ten, the reason a wave goes wrong is that the pop-up put you in the wrong position on the board. Wide, planted feet under your shoulders, chest up, eyes down the line — not at the nose.

2. You're standing too tall

A high stance kills your ability to turn. Compress — knees bent, hips low, weight over the middle of the board. This one change usually gives people an entire level of surfing overnight.

3. You're not really doing a bottom turn

Most improvers ride straight along the wave and then flick a top turn. A real bottom turn — engaging the inside rail, compressing, then releasing up into the top — is where all the power comes from.

4. Your wave selection is doing 80% of the damage

You can't out-technique a closeout. A big part of what a coach fixes on an in-person session is which waves you're paddling for in the first place.

5. You look where you don't want to go

Your board goes where your eyes go. If you're staring at the whitewater about to close on you, that's exactly where you'll end up. Head up, look down the line.

6. You paddle too flat

Most surfers paddle with their chest down and their weight too far back. Chest up, back arched, weight forward until the moment the wave picks you up.

7. You're guessing what's wrong

This is the meta-point. You cannot fix what you can't see, and you almost never see yourself surf. Getting one video review from a coach — even just once — is usually more useful than a season of paddling out and hoping.

Where to go next

If any of these sounds like you, book a single video analysis with a coach on SRCH. Film your next session, upload the clip, and you'll have a proper diagnosis within 48 hours.