TUBE RIDING DRILL

NOTES TO THE COACH

Obviously the situations when this type of training can be considered are limited, unless the coach lives in an area with good quality surfing breaks. But again, areas of tube riding techniques can be addressed and taught successfully.

Tube riding can be broken into two distinct phases, the entry and riding the tube. There are four different entry techniques that a coach can ask their surfers to practice in hollow surf:

  • At take-off, the surfer can stick their arm into the wave face to stall their forward motion, allowing the tube to pitch over them. To exit, the surfer takes their arm out of the wave face to allow the surfboard to pick up speed.
  • The surfer can put all their weight onto their back foot to stall the surfboard, before transferring their weight onto their front foot once the lip has pitched over their head to pick up speed again.
  • Taking off deep, behind the peak allows the surfer to drive into the tube from the beginning of the ride.
  • The most difficult technique to master is to fade at take-off into the tube. The difficulty comes from the timing needed to execute the bottom turn at just the right moment to successfully enter and exit the tube.

Riding the tube is in reality the easy part. In the forehand tube stance, the legs and body are bent to fit to the tube’s shape.

The surfers head is held up looking for the exit. In backhand tubes, the “pigdog” stance is the most successful.

Here the surfer lowers their body, while simultaneously twisting their chest to a“front-on” position, with their chest over their front knee.

In this position, the surfer’s outside hand can grab the outside rail for stability.

 Mark lesson complete