The state meet is Feb. 24-25 at Oceanside. The national meet is June 23-24 at Dana Point. Over the last decade, Carlsbad has established itself as one of the country's top high school surfing programs. The school's B team took third at one NSSA meet last season, knocking off perennial powers like Huntington Beach and Santa Cruz. Cooper says support from the school's administration and parents enables him to churn out top teams each year.
Students can receive class credit for surfing, which leads to a high turnout.
More than 90 kids tried out for this year's squad before Cooper cut it down to 60. Still, he's not content. Johnson and company plan on changing that. If we don't win it, it would be a huge disappointment.