About · Since 1983
About Club Ed Surf School
A family-run surf school on the Santa Cruz coast. Four decades of first waves, one coach for every four surfers, and a rule that has not changed: safety, fun, learning — in that order.
01 — The school
Four decades of teaching this coastline.
Club Ed started with Ed Guzman, a stack of longboards and a simple idea: teach people to surf the way you would want your own family taught. Ed has been teaching water sports professionally since 1983, and he has surfed almost every day since he paddled out at San Francisco's Ocean Beach at twelve years old in 1969.
The school is still run by the family, with a team of coaches who grew up surfing these breaks — several of them taught to surf by Club Ed themselves. Lessons run daily, year-round, at five permitted locations around Santa Cruz.
- Teaching since
- 1983
- Coach ratio
- 1 coach per 4 surfers
- Lesson locations
- 5 Santa Cruz breaks
- Coaching team
- 12 instructors
- Lessons run
- Daily, year-round
02 — How we teach
Safety, fun, learning — in that order.
Every Club Ed lesson follows the same three priorities. They are not slogans; they decide how a lesson is run.
Safety first
Certified coaches, a 1:4 ratio, a beach briefing before anyone paddles out, and a break chosen for the group's level — not the day's best photo.
Fun second
If you are not laughing in the water, something is wrong. Coaches keep the session moving, celebrate every stand-up, and never push a surfer past their comfort zone.
Learning third
The skills come when the first two are in place: pop-up, stance, paddling, turning, and reading a wave. Most students are standing within the first hour.
03 — The family
Ed Guzman, founder and head instructor.
Surfing since 1969. Santa Cruz resident since 1986. Teaching since 1983. Still in the water almost every day.
Ed grew up surfing Ocean Beach in San Francisco and Salinas High School in Monterey Bay before settling in Santa Cruz in 1986. He spent seven years as Outdoor Recreation Programs Director at Fort Ord, where he coached the winning Army surf team in Hawaii, and he still surfs big-wave slabs when the North Pacific sends them.
He teaches surfing, stand-up paddleboarding and SUP surfing, and he will happily spend a session talking about wave selection, board design or the swell that is arriving on Thursday.
04 — The coaching team
Taught by people who surf here every day.
Twelve instructors, all lifeguard, CPR and First Aid certified before they teach, including an ISA Level 2 Surf Coach.
05 — Recognition
Voted best surf school in Santa Cruz.
Good Times "Best Of" winners in 2014 and 2017, a Santa Cruz Waves "Swellies" winner in 2015, and featured in The New York Times, Sunset and Surfer Magazine.
Come learn with the family.
Lessons daily, year-round, at five Santa Cruz breaks.