Teaching Lifelong Surfers
At Beach Break Surf Camp, our goal is not merely to provide our clients with quality surf camp lessons during their stay in Panama, instead, our goal is to turn our clients into lifelong surfers. If you’ve stayed with us, or follow us on Instagram, you know that all the staff here surf. Everyone from the owner to the manager, and to the restaurant employees; we are all surfers. Being a surfer and taking a surf lesson is not the same thing. Learning to pop up and understanding surf culture are not equivalents, being taught to bottom turn and feeling at home in the lineup are totally different. Our goal as a surf camp is to create a fun and safe environment where our clients can learn the do’s and don’ts of surfing, surf etiquette, and surf culture, all while having a great time. Here are just five simple ways we teach lifelong surfers.
1. Teaching surf etiquette and safety
Our primary responsibility to our clients is to keep them safe in the water. We are lucky to have a perfect learning break right in front of our surf resort. Even when the main peak is large and offshore, the sides of our cove offer beginner friendly waves. We place a large emphasis on surf etiquette, which includes understanding the lineup and board safety. This allows our clients to return home or to travel to any other surf destination and pick up just where they left off.
2. Going above and beyond in the water
If you’ve traveled to any popular surf tourism destination, you’ve seen bad surf instructors. You’ve seen instructors take their clients out and rather than coach them, catch their own waves and use their job as an excuse to surf. At Beach Break Surf Camp, our instructors are professionals, who genuinely want to see our guests progress. In the water, they are 100% focused on teaching them to pop up, ride down the face of the wave (not the whitewater), and to trim.
3. Taking lessons to dry land
Surf lessons are accompanied by surf theory classes, which cover the basis of catching waves, lineup behavior, and paddle technique. In addition to our Surf Theory classroom session, we offer video analysis to all of our surf camp lessons. Every session you paddle out with one of our instructors our talented photographer and videographer will be on the beach filming every wave you catch. Once your session is finished, you and your instructor will analyze the footage to see what you’re doing well and what you need to improve. Video analysis has sped up the progression of our clients surfing exponentially.
4. Giving guests access to our extensive quiver
An integral part of surf progression is riding new boards. Once you graduate from a soft top longboard, you can move onto a classic single fin log, then you advance to a mini Malibu, and even a shortboard. Here at Beach Break Surf Camp, we are proud to give guests access to our extensive quiver of boards.
5. Creating a welcoming vibe for surfers of all levels
It is difficult to put to words the way a place makes you feel. All we can say is that everyone at this Panama surf camp, from our head surf instructor Brent and our manager John, to our owner and restaurant staff want you here and take pleasure in getting to know you and making you feel welcome. We love surfing, and we want to share it with as many people as possible.