By Kara Patman
Contributing Writer
There is a maverick surf legend in town, a teacher, a friend, a coach, and most of all a surfer. Meet Tracy Geller. Hundreds of kids have been his students and friends and have learned through him what the ocean and surfing is all about.
Many go to the beach to body surf, sunbathe, or to ride the waves. Each morning, at the crack of dawn, Geller goes down to the water’s edge to surf.
“The first time I tried surfing was when my parents were getting married in Hawaii,” Geller said. “As a 14 year old with nothing else to do, I rented a board for a day and I was out there for six hours. I got so sun burnt and I had blisters all over my back, but it was worth it.”
Geller is now in his third year at Mira Costa as the head of the surf team and surf physical education.
“Nowadays, I am inspired by the kids in my class because they are dealing with something so much more powerful than themselves everyday,” Geller said. “They are so amped, and it keeps you like a kid; it keeps you into it.”
Every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning, Geller coaches Surf P.E., a class of 17 students.
“I was in Surf P.E. for three years, and it helped me become a dedicated surfer,” former student Kelly Smith said. “It got us down to the beach early in the morning a few days a week and forced us to surf in every condition. The more you surf, the better you are.”
The Costa surf team currently has 30 members and practices every Monday, Wednesday and Friday. Geller has many ideas on what could be improved that he hopes to see implemented in the surf program in the future.
“We need to be running seperate heats since there are so many good surfers who sporatically seize up,” Geller said. “All of a sudden there is this pressure, so the more you surf in heats the easier it gets to handle that pressure.”
Geller explained that riding a wave is a feeling unlike any other. The waves travel effortlessly along the salt water’s surface and the wind blows over the water, changing little foaming ripples into something much larger.
“Riding energy that was created by wind hundreds or thousands of miles away is a really amazing feeling,” Geller said. “Then it hits a shallow area, jacks up and starts to break and you’re catching it. That energy comes up through you. It is a very freeing feeling, like flying.”
Leave a Reply