Maddie Lomonaco: riding the wave

Julia GerhardtStaff WriterThe shallow waves create a challenge for the surfers as the Scholastic Surf Series State Championship (SSSSC) reaches its apogee. As freshman Maddie Lomonaco swims into the ocean, she is confronted with a wave nearly six feet tall. She begins paddling and as she feels herself rise, she knows she has caught it. This trick is known as a “top turn,” a feat of fancy footwork in which the surfer makes a quick drop, which emits a large mist of ocean spray. This move was Lomonaco’s last chance to impress the judges at the competition.Lomonaco has been surfing for eleven years and participating in state competitions for two, [one of these competitions included the two-day SSSSC, which took place in Southern California and included nearly two hundred competitors.] Lomonaco proved her skills when she ranked fourth in the state.“Maddie’s greatest strength is her willingness to drop into any wave with commitment.  Even if it’s a kamikaze mission she’ll still go for it,” Clark said.Lomonaco is thankful to her cousins who inspired her to learn to surf.“My cousins are all big-time surfers who have been traveling the world – I just followed in their footsteps,” Lomonaco said.After learning valuable skills from her cousins and receiving a surfing lesson from a family friend, Lomonaco took her passion to the next level and started attending lessons at a surf camp called Surf Academy at Santa Monica Beach. It was here that Lomonaco met her surfing coach, Marion Clark.“Maddie showed up for summer surf camp and she was very stand-offish,” Clark said. “She wasn’t willing to socialize with the other kids. She came with a potato chip of a surfboard, she had no idea how to ride it, and she presented it to me saying, ‘I only want to ride this,’ and she sucked.  She was a terrible surfer, but she was willing to drop into anything.”On the road to becoming the accomplished surfer Lomonaco is today, there was one defining event that Clark recalls as if it were yesterday.“First, the surfboard that she was riding had to break, she broke the nose of the potato chip and that’s when she and I bonded,” Clark said. “I bought a ding repair kit and she and I fixed the board together. After that, she was willing to listen to me.”Lomonaco progressively improved and began learning more tricks and strategies to manage the waves. Now she is practicing lengthier nose rides (hang tens) and attempting grander maneuvers.It seems likely that most surfers would have incurred major injuries when first starting out, however Lomonaco has had what some might consider to be beginner’s luck.“I’ve had a couple of cuts and bruises every now and then, but nothing serious,” Lomonaco said.Surfing however, isn’t the only aquatic activity that Lomonaco pursues. In addition to her passion for surfing, Lomonaco also plays on the junior varsity water polo team at Samo and can often be found scuba diving in her free time.“I do [these] both because they’re water activities,” said Lomonaco. “Water polo is a contact sport that involves strategy and I like it because it mentally and physically pushes me.  I like scuba diving because it allows me to see marine life. I see some of that surfing, but I see much more of it scuba diving.”Clearly, her love for water in general fuels her passion for all these aquatic hobbies.“There is a certain feeling that water gives me. It’s this welcoming feeing that let’s me escape from all the drama that’s going on,” Lomonaco said.Lomonaco has dedicated years to her passion, which was reflected when she was placed fourth in the SSSSC. Her coach seems to already see what is ahead for her future in surfing.“As a coach, what you’re always looking for is athletes that are teachable, kids that are willing to admit they don’t know everything,” Clark said. “Maddie knows she’ll never know everything about the ocean.  She doesn’t have an ego about surfing, it’s one of the reasons her talent continues to blossom.”jgerhardt@thesamohi.com