Breaker surfers claim title

Mike Sciacca

The 2002 season was one of new beginnings for the Laguna Beach

High surf team, and the Breakers used the grace period to ride the

season all the way to the top.

Laguna Beach last week claimed the Sea View League championship,

building up an unbeaten record against some talented league

competition.

Titles came in the form of the team boys’ shortboard championship,

as well as the boys’ individual shortboard crown, scored by junior

Brad Burdick.

Change at the outset of the season began at the top with new coach

Scott Finn.

“I am very impressed with the way our team has responded to the

challenge this year,” he said. “They responded with a lot of maturity

and really grasped the concepts and strategies I was teaching them.”

As for Burdick’s triumph in a competitive field, Finn was

ecstatic.

“To win this title against some very talented individuals in this

league is a huge accomplishment for a junior,” Finn said. “Brad was

solid the entire season, and his winning this title is just amazing.”

The Sea View League finals were held at 56th Street in Newport

Beach.

Burdick’s strategy -- to sit to the south-end of the contest area,

worked to his advantage.

The competition, Finn said, would be won by whichever surfer was

able to “maximize the waves to their potential.”

“I had done pretty well during the season and thought that all was

fair game at finals,” Burdick said. “Some of my teammates had been

eliminated in the competition, so it felt great to win this title for

my team and myself.”

League schools sent their top six surfers to the boys’ shortboard

individual finals, top two girls to the girls’ final, top two

bodyboarders to that event’s final, and top two longboarders to

compete for the longboard title.

A contestant’s four best waves during a 20-minute heat counted

toward each surfer’s final score.

Laguna Beach’s Mike Dick placed second in the boys’ individual

bodyboard competition.

Dick was the only contestant in the event to score a perfect 10.

He did so by coming up with an “El Rollo,” a surfing technique Finn

described as a “spinning roll off the top of a wave,” before landing

back in the water.

Laguna Beach will compete next at the State Championships

scheduled for February in Oceanside.