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My name is Luke Johnson and I am a 17 year old competitive surfer from Nantucket, Massachusetts. Being from a small island 30 miles out to sea surfing has always been a part of my life.
In the summer I work five days a week at Nantucket Island Surf School where I work with people of all ages teaching them how to surf. I also founded the Nantucket High School Surf Club, an eco-minded club with goals to preserve our island and instill the surfing spirit for future generations. I surf as often as possible, and train year round to maintain my peak performance level.
In 2013 I signed up for a local competition, the Nantucket Ozone, where I placed 1st in Boys U16 shortboard. I discovered that though free surfing is my passion, competitive surfing has become my goal. I fell in love with that aspect of the sport, and devoted myself to trying to pursue that goal. Unfortunately by the time I learned about the Eastern Surf Association , and signed up, I had missed all of the qualifiers for the 2014 season. But I didn’t give up.
I started competing officially in 2015 and with no coaching and no knowledge of the specific skill set needed for competitive surfing I managed to qualify for the Northeast regionals and East Coast Championships. My very first year of competing I managed to place 1st in New England and 8th in the Northeast. But, this is where I learned that I could only get so far on raw talent and determination. All of the athletes going into the East coast championships had a competitive edge above me that I could not match. I was essentially competing against professional athletes , and I quickly learned that without coaching I could only make it so far.
On a recent family trip to Costa Rica I discovered Initiative Surf School. They run an elite surf program that prepares qualified athletes for pro junior events. I was fortunate enough to train with them for 4 days while they were in between sessions. After assessing my skills, they amazingly invited me to join their program. This would be fulfilling a life long dream. I would be able to train with professional junior surfers and bring my surfing to the next level. This type of training is imperative for the upcoming 2017 season where I am currently ranked 2nd in New England hoping to qualify for pro junior events and possibly pick up a sponsor.
Initiative Surf School is an elite level boarding program located in Playa Guiones Costa Rica. The school offers 5 hours of surf coaching combined with Yoga, dry land training and private tutoring daily. Not only will I be able to greatly improve my competitive surfing skills, but I will also be completely immersed in a foreign culture. I will learn the ways of the Costa Rican lifestyle and vastly improve my foreign language skills.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, to study, travel, and train abroad. My family is on board and very supportive of my surfing career . But unfortunately all of the travel and fees associated with the sport are very high, especially when you live 30 miles at sea. This program is currently out of our budget, but I am looking for help to reach my goal of $5,500. This would cover, the program fees, my travel expenses and all associated contest fees. Please give what you can and help me reach my goal.
In the summer I work five days a week at Nantucket Island Surf School where I work with people of all ages teaching them how to surf. I also founded the Nantucket High School Surf Club, an eco-minded club with goals to preserve our island and instill the surfing spirit for future generations. I surf as often as possible, and train year round to maintain my peak performance level.
In 2013 I signed up for a local competition, the Nantucket Ozone, where I placed 1st in Boys U16 shortboard. I discovered that though free surfing is my passion, competitive surfing has become my goal. I fell in love with that aspect of the sport, and devoted myself to trying to pursue that goal. Unfortunately by the time I learned about the Eastern Surf Association , and signed up, I had missed all of the qualifiers for the 2014 season. But I didn’t give up.
I started competing officially in 2015 and with no coaching and no knowledge of the specific skill set needed for competitive surfing I managed to qualify for the Northeast regionals and East Coast Championships. My very first year of competing I managed to place 1st in New England and 8th in the Northeast. But, this is where I learned that I could only get so far on raw talent and determination. All of the athletes going into the East coast championships had a competitive edge above me that I could not match. I was essentially competing against professional athletes , and I quickly learned that without coaching I could only make it so far.
On a recent family trip to Costa Rica I discovered Initiative Surf School. They run an elite surf program that prepares qualified athletes for pro junior events. I was fortunate enough to train with them for 4 days while they were in between sessions. After assessing my skills, they amazingly invited me to join their program. This would be fulfilling a life long dream. I would be able to train with professional junior surfers and bring my surfing to the next level. This type of training is imperative for the upcoming 2017 season where I am currently ranked 2nd in New England hoping to qualify for pro junior events and possibly pick up a sponsor.
Initiative Surf School is an elite level boarding program located in Playa Guiones Costa Rica. The school offers 5 hours of surf coaching combined with Yoga, dry land training and private tutoring daily. Not only will I be able to greatly improve my competitive surfing skills, but I will also be completely immersed in a foreign culture. I will learn the ways of the Costa Rican lifestyle and vastly improve my foreign language skills.
This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, to study, travel, and train abroad. My family is on board and very supportive of my surfing career . But unfortunately all of the travel and fees associated with the sport are very high, especially when you live 30 miles at sea. This program is currently out of our budget, but I am looking for help to reach my goal of $5,500. This would cover, the program fees, my travel expenses and all associated contest fees. Please give what you can and help me reach my goal.
Organizer
Luke Johnson
Organizer
Nantucket, MA