Congrats to the Ocean City HS Surf Team- RedBull Riders Cup winners! (Again!)

[SeaCliff]

It's been going on for years, and it continues again - quite an impressive track record. And having had the great chance to watch Team captain and MVP Rob Kelly surf up close, it's really no surprise..such a great talent..! Good luck in California, guys!

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Article by Jon Coen, Press of Atlantic City

Ocean City surf team wins regional Riders Cup


(Published: Friday, May 16, 2008)

OCEAN CITY - Once again, the state's most successful high school surf team ever will be heading to California to represent New Jersey in the Red Bull Riders Cup National Championship next month.

Ocean City High School, with its entire starting team returning from last year, handled Manasquan High 65.70-53.40 to win the cup's Eastern Regional on Thursday.

To the amazement of fans and competitors alike, the storm that wreaked such havoc on the southern New Jersey shore on Monday, regenerated swell in the Atlantic Ocean to deliver chest to overhead wedges and lines at Ocean City's 1st Street Beach.

The Red Bull Riders Cup presents a series of eight regional events, five in California, two in Florida and one in New Jersey.

The Cup uses the National Surf League's Game format. Each team surfs as one unit for half of each period, similar to an inning in baseball.

The dugouts, jerseys, referee, time outs, coaches, and overall format make it more understandable to fans than a traditional surf contest and very popular with competitors. Surfers communicate and work together to build a cumulative score.

Ocean City, which has won the last fifteen New Jersey High School Surfing Championships and the 2007 Red Bull Riders Cup, showed their experience with the Game format.

"We learned how to use time outs well. And we were really communicating when a set would come through to make sure who ever needed points took the wave," said senior Brian Leiss.

"And we spread out, getting the regular footers (left foot forward) on the rights and the goofy footers (right foot foward) on the lefts."

The game presented a classic matchup between Ocean City senior Rob Kelly (Tuesday's MVP against Southern Regional) vs. Manasquan senior Brendan Buckley (Wednesday's MVP against Middle Township.)

In the first period, they each posted scores of 8.5, Kelly for multiple flawless frontside gouges and Buckley for a stylish air reverse.

But Ocean City showed incredible depth. Rob Kelly's brother, Chris, hacked huge turns for high 6s, while senior Brian Leiss added a 5.2 and Pat Westman a 4.3.

This proved imperative. After the first period, when Manasquan junior Jeff Keating found an overhead wall and threw a solid fan for a 5.3, aside from Buckley's big numbers, Manasquan could barely muster a 3-point wave. Ocean City just had too much depth.

Buckley did however, manage to nail a 7, collecting the Most Radical Maneuver Award when he busted an air, grabbed his board with both hands and spun it beneath his feet to land backwards (superman varial) for a 7. It was the most progressive move of the week.

The Ocean City squad, coached by Mark Mediema for the last 22 years, will travel to California to surf in the national championship on June 13 and 14.

In 2007, they won the first game at the nationals, but lost to Huntington Beach High (Calif.) missing the final by just a few points.

"This was a good way to end my high school career in New Jersey, but it isn't complete," said MVP Rob Kelly.

"We're really looking forward to California. I think we're prepared and we want to win."

For Rob Kelly, the team captain, the Riders Cup presents more opportunity than just another of the dozens of pro and amateur contests he surfs each year. Most juniors at his level are home-schooled to pursue surfing full time.

He chose to finish public high school first before his surfing career, and subsequently leading the school to multiple championships.

He has the full support of his sponsors to attack the Association of Surfing Professional's World Qualifying Series when he graduates in June.

But where surfing will be an individual pursuit for the rest of his life, the New Jersey Cup and nationals have given him Kelly a chance to exercise leadership like a captain of a more traditional sport team.

"We've surfed three years as a team. The guys know that I have surfed in the U.S. vs. Australia Game, (in the summer of 2007) and they really trust my decisions with timeouts and wave selection," Kelly said. "It makes me really think about the whole team. It's a great experience to have in my senior year."

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