Straight to the top

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers IT'S COLD OUT, DUDE—Sixthgrader Matthew Tomlinson tries to stay warm after a surf session at Hueneme. Give them cheese and pepperoni, and they will come.

And that's how the surf team at Los Cerritos Middle School in Thousand Oaks got started—a morning announcement over the loudspeaker informing those who were interested about a lunchtime meeting in the classroom of sixthgrade math, science and physical education teacher Steve Sipes.

"We had a pretty large turnout because we said we were going to have pizza, and that always gets them in," said Sipes, who's spent the better part of three decades riding waves.

"A lot of kids showed up to see what was going on."

Several serious surfers and bodyboarders were there, too. Enough stuck around and eventually passed the swim test, in fact, that Los Cerritos was able to become the first middle school from the Conejo Valley to join the Interscholastic Surfing Federation for the 2008-09 season.

Thousand Oaks and Agoura both have teams in the high school division of the ISF's Channel Section. Los Cerritos competes in the middle school division against boys and girls in sixth, seventh and eighth grades.

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers SMALL, BUT FUN—Kyle Woods, an eight-grader at Los Cerritos Middle School, takes off on a left at Hueneme beach last weekend. The school competes in the Interscholastic Surfing Federation. According to the ISF's website, more than 2,000 studentathletes and 80 teams are competing in various sections throughout the state this season.

Although there's been a ton of work involved for the newly formed team of 16 competitors, Sipes, who also coaches the school's ski and snowboard club, said every ounce of effort put forth by the kids, their parents and several school administrators paid off during the first competition of the season.

Pitted against coastal schools from Santa Monica, Malibu and Santa Barbara, Los Cerritos traveled to Tarpitz at Carpinteria State Beach in late October and finished in first place overall.

ANOTHER DAY AT THE BEACH—Members of the Los Cerritos Middle School surf team include, from left, coach Steve Sipes, Devin Duran, Landon McCloud, Kyle Woods, Lukas Fontanilla, Adam Terrazas, Matthew Van Zandt, Parker Ellman, JJ Kerson, Carley Doyle and Cassie Holmes. Bennet Doyle and Michael Barchilon are kneeling. Annie Enright, Zack Daniels, Ryan Bzoskie and Matthew Tomlinson are not pictured. "When they made the announcement that we came in first, I couldn't get the smile off my face all day at school," Sipes said.

Thirteen-year-old Kyle Woods, an eighth-grader who competes in shortboarding and longboarding events, couldn't believe the Leopards—that's the official team name—were able to pull off a victory in their first competition.

"I didn't think we were really going to have a chance because we're an inland school," Woods said. "But our team has improved a lot, and we're still in first place."

Indeed they are.

In the season's second event, during late November at Santa Monica's Station 22, Los Cerritos finished in second place to Crane Middle School.

IRIS SMOOT/Acorn Newspapers THE WAITING GAME—An unidentified Los Cerritos surfer stays patient during a lull. The Leopards, however, maintain a slim points lead over Crane heading into Event No. 3 on Jan. 18 at Ventura's C Street. The ISF postponed a Dec. 20 contest at Campus Point in Santa Barbara because of water quality concerns following the storms.

Eighth-grader Carley Doyle has been surfing for only two years, but she already looks like a veteran in the water. Through two events, Doyle is rated No. 2 in girls' shortboarding and No. 4 in longboarding.

Doyle is one of three girls on the Los Cerritos team. The others, Cassie Holmes and Annie Enright, are also both rated in the top 10 for longboarders.

"The best thing about this team is sharing tips with everyone and bonding together," Doyle said.

On the boys' side, Landon McCloud, Adam Terrazas, Parker Ellman, Lukas Fontanilla, JJ Kerson, Devin Duran and Woods have all excelled, with McCloud the highest-rated shortboarder of the bunch at No. 3 overall. Woods and Terrazas are third and fourth in longboarding.

Matthew Van Zandt and Bennet Doyle are rated eighth and ninth, respectively, in co-ed bodyboarding.

While collection points and winning events is fine and dandy, several kids on the team are just getting into surfing or bodyboarding. For them, the experience of being in the ocean with friends they've recently met is the most important aspect of all.

"I'm learning how to catch more waves," said 11-year-old sixth-grader Matthew Tomlinson.

"It's so much fun having to go to more practices because I usually don't go out to the beach a lot."

Sipes teaches the kids about more than just riding waves when they head out together to Zuma or Hueneme. They're also gaining wisdom on the importance of respecting the environment and the intricacies of what makes the ocean act the way it does.

"I've taught them a little bit about strategy," Sipes said. "But I want them to know about oceanography, too, like how to read the bottoms so you know where the waves are breaking and where the best places to set yourself up are."

To offset nearly $3,000 in registration fees and insurance costs, the team, which has gained a sponsorship from Revolution Surf Co., has held several fundraisers during the past few months.

On Fri., Jan. 16 at the Thousand Oaks Teen Center, the Leopards will host their biggest event to date from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

For $10, ticket holders will be served pizza and drinks. The surf film "Spout" will be shown, and there will be $1 ticket contests for a wide range of donated items.

For more information, call team representative Laura Woods at (805) 418-7397.