Our goals
How Club Ed teaches
Safety, fun, learning — in that order. It is how every Club Ed lesson is run, from a first group lesson on a soft-top to a private session in overhead surf.
01 — Safety
Every coach is certified before they get in the water with you.
Club Ed instructors are lifeguard, CPR and First Aid certified, and the team includes an ISA Level 2 Surf Coach. Lessons run at a maximum of one coach for every four surfers, which keeps your coach close enough to see what you are doing and to get to you quickly if you need help.
Every lesson starts with a beach briefing: where the rips are, where to paddle out, how to fall away from the board, and where to meet if you get separated from the group. Your coach picks the break for the day based on your group's level, not on what looks best.
02 — Fun
If nobody is laughing, the lesson is going wrong.
Surfing should feel like play. Coaches keep the session moving, celebrate every stand-up, and never push a surfer into water they are not ready for. If you need a break, take one — the ocean is not going anywhere.
03 — Learning
Skills come once you are safe and having fun.
That is when the learning sticks: how to lie on the board, how to paddle without burning your shoulders, where to put your feet for the pop-up, how to steer with your eyes and your hips, and how to read a set before it arrives.
Most first-timers stand up in their first lesson. What they remember is not the technique — it is the moment the wave picked them up.
Excellent locations, chosen for the day.
Club Ed holds permits at five Santa Cruz breaks. The spot that suits your group is decided by the tide, the swell and the wind — usually the evening before.
Read the forecast
Tide, swell direction, period and wind, checked the evening before your lesson.
Match it to your group
First-timers get the softest water. Returning surfers get shape and length.
Text you the spot
Break, meeting point, parking and what to bring, by 6pm the night before.
The bottom line
We want you to have a fantastic time learning to surf.
That is the whole goal. Everything else — the ratio, the certifications, the break selection — exists to make that happen.
See what a difference professional instruction makes.
Lessons run daily, year-round, in Santa Cruz.