The term “surf coaching” is often misused and confused with surf training. Many assume it’s only for advanced surfers, focusing on perfecting maneuvers or tackling bigger waves. But coaching is far more than training or teaching, and this misunderstanding has led to the term being used incorrectly.

At its heart, coaching is a process of guiding and empowering someone to achieve their goals. It’s not just about instruction or performance—it’s a collaborative partnership where the coach works with the individual (the coachee) to define goals, identify challenges, and create strategies for sustained progress.

What is Coaching?

Coaching is the relationship between a coach and a coachee, where the coach helps the coachee define their own goals and set a structured plan to achieve them. It’s not about giving answers but helping the coachee uncover their potential and navigate their path through thoughtful questions and guidance.

A useful way to understand coaching is through the A-B Model:

• A is where you are now—your starting point.
• B is your goal—where you want to go.
• The A-B journey is the path you take to get there.

A coach helps you:

1. Evaluate Your Situation (Point A): Through questions and discussions, they help you understand where you currently stand, including your strengths and areas for improvement.
2. Set Goals (Point B): The coach works with you to define clear, achievable, and meaningful goals.
3. Design a Plan (The Road from A to B): Once your goals are set, the coach helps you create a personalized plan to reach them.

Types of Coaching

Coaching is a versatile practice that can be applied to various aspects of life and work. Here are some common types of coaching:

1. Business Coaching: Focused on helping professionals or business owners develop strategies, improve leadership skills, or solve challenges to grow their business effectively.
2. Career Coaching: Designed to assist individuals in navigating their professional journey, whether it’s finding the right career path, preparing for a transition, or advancing in their current role.
3. Life Coaching: Aimed at personal development, life coaching helps individuals clarify their goals, overcome obstacles, and find fulfillment in areas such as relationships, health, or work-life balance.
4. Sport Coaching: While often associated with teaching techniques, true sport coaching goes deeper. It involves helping athletes set specific goals, develop a personalized training plan, and provide support to achieve success in a sustainable way.

Each type of coaching is centered around helping individuals evaluate their current situation, define meaningful goals, and create a structured plan to achieve those goals.

What is Surf Coaching?

Surf coaching applies the principles of coaching to surfing, making it accessible and valuable for surfers of all levels. It’s not about a coach telling you what to do—it’s about helping you discover your potential and charting a path to your goals.

Surf coaching involves:

• Evaluating your surfing ability to understand your strengths and areas for improvement (Point A).
• Setting realistic, meaningful, and achievable goals, such as improving wave selection or mastering new maneuvers (Point B).
• Designing a personalized training plan to guide your progress toward those goals.

The Benefits of Surf Coaching

The structured approach of surf coaching offers several advantages:

1. Self-Awareness: By evaluating your surfing, you gain a clear understanding of where you are, what’s working, and what needs attention.
2. Goal Setting: You define goals that are specific, achievable, and aligned with your aspirations, giving you direction and motivation.
3. Structured Development: A personalized training plan ensures your progress is organized, making it easier and faster to achieve results.
4. Sustainable Growth: Coaching emphasizes lasting improvement, helping you develop skills that stand the test of time.

With surf coaching, you know where you’re starting, where you want to go, and how to get there. This clarity not only makes the journey smoother but also ensures your development is efficient and enduring.

How We Do Surf Coaching at backYARD

At backYARD Surf Club, we’ve designed our surf programs to combine two essential elements: surf coaching and multidisciplinary sessions. Together, these provide a structured and holistic path for surfers to achieve their goals, progress effectively, and build a lasting connection with the sport.

Surf Coaching

Surf coaching is the foundation of our approach. It begins with an evaluation of your current surfing abilities, helping you gain a clear understanding of where you stand. We take time to assess your strengths, areas for improvement, and overall performance, ensuring a complete picture of your starting point. From there, we work with you to define meaningful and achievable goals. These goals are personal, whether it’s improving your technique, building confidence in the water, or mastering advanced maneuvers.

Once your goals are set, we create a personalized training plan to guide your development. This plan serves as your roadmap, detailing the steps needed to move from where you are now (Point A) to where you want to be (Point B). With ongoing guidance and feedback, we help you stay on track and adjust as needed to ensure consistent progress.

Multidisciplinary Sessions

To support the training plan established through surf coaching, we offer multidisciplinary sessions that provide the tools and practice necessary to achieve your goals. These sessions are designed to address all aspects of your development and include activities like surf training in the water, video analysis to refine technique, strength and conditioning exercises to build physical resilience, and theoretical lessons to deepen your understanding of wave dynamics, surf etiquette, and strategy.

The multidisciplinary approach allows surfers to focus on specific areas of improvement while gaining a broader skill set that supports overall growth. By integrating different types of training, we ensure your development is comprehensive, efficient, and enjoyable.

The backYARD Difference

Surf coaching is a powerful tool for surfers of all levels. It’s about more than teaching or training.—it’s about evaluating where you are, setting meaningful goals, and following a clear, structured path to achieve them. At backYARD Surf Club, we combine this personalized coaching with multidisciplinary sessions to give surfers the support, guidance, and feedback they need to grow holistically.

Our coaching doesn’t stop at the shoreline. Whether you’re with us in Ericeira or on the other side of the world, we can guide you remotely, helping you stay on track and continue progressing no matter where you are.

We want to help surfers structure their progress, offering clear guidance to navigate their surfing journey. Our mission is to make your growth not just faster but also more sustainable.

Let’s redefine surf coaching together.

Start using the term “coaching” the right way, and let us help you set meaningful goals, structure your progress, and make your surfing journey more rewarding—wherever you may be.