Red Bull Riders Cup — Straight Outta the Sports Page
May 11, 2009, 10:00 PM
By: Jon Coen
"Individual commitment to a group effort -- that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work." — Vince Lombardi.
Nick LaVecchia
Coach Matt Keenan whoops it up with Chris Kelly and Pat "Sweats" Westman during OC's very dominating run at the Red Bull Riders Cup.
Ok, so maybe it's a little cheesy to start a post with a quote about teamwork, but after a full week of watching the Red Bull Riders Cup, which uses the National Surf League's Game format, I am feeling the team spirit. Once again, I have to say this is my favorite competition format. "It's not a contest, it's a game!"
The California Cup and the X Games both tried it, but maybe High School is where it belongs. Last week there were four games, in mostly decent surf, for the New Jersey Qualifier of the Riders Cup. Gerlach was out for the semis and finals and man did he seem stoked.
Nick LaVecchia
Middle Township's Michael Ciaramella, blowing up in the finals.
Last Tuesday, the boys I share my local break with — Southern Regional beat Point Pleasant Boro in the Wildcard Game. Then Middle Township whipped Manasquan in the first semi and Ocean City beat Southern.
The final came down to an all out battle between OC and Middle. We're talking Andrew Gesler and Rob Kelly coaching from a jet ski, Matt Keenan and Brian Heritage helping coaches Miedema and Mowery respectively, chess moves, giant slashes, rivalries unfolding, emotions running high, rabid fans, and a bunch of good ol' sports page showdowns.
"It was everything I had envisioned when I thought about bringing high school into it. Every great pro from New Jersey was coaching, reffing, and judging," said Gerr.
Nick LaVecchia
Coach Gesler, barking out the orders.
"Wow, it was intense! Going into the final game we knew it was going to be really close. In our pre-game meeting with the coaches and refs, the tension from both team rubbed off on me and I was like 'ok, this s**t is getting serious," says Shaun Burrell of the National Surf League, "It had all the drama of Game Seven of the NBA finals - coaches from both sides yelling at the Refs, questioning the judging, players having melt-downs, the crowd going nuts for each big off-the-lip. It was great."
Nick LaVecchia
Connor Willem, Southern Regional's stand out.
In the end, Ocean City won for the third year in a row, beating Middle 60.8 — 58.6. They head out to the Riders Cup National Final in June. Middle Township didn't even have a team a few years ago.
They've really been buoyed by senior Chris Eaves since the team was formed. Then this year, they had freshman Michael Ciaramella step up and blow minds. That kid won the MVP of his first game ever and 'Most Radical Maneuver' in the finals.
"There were all these big scores getting thrown out and lead changes. It felt like a great baskeball game," Gerr added, "It was great to see that the coaches knew how to utilize the rule book."
Nick LaVecchia
Gerr was so stoked he went out for a few.
OC has a pure dynasty going on. Not only did they take the New Jersey Qualifier in '07 and '08, but they made the semis of the National Cup both years. Led by senior Chris Kelly, MVP of the semis and finals, they are going to do some damage.
"He's always getting the best waves and he's always where he needs to be," Coach Mark Miedama told me after the victory, "When you have someone who surfs well, but isn't a good leader, it doesn't do any good for the team. But Chris comes up big out of the water and surfs by example."
Zach Kraiser, Pat Westman, and Sean Santiago are all solid as well. Sure I'm a little biased about the New Jersey event, but it really was pretty electrifying and people seem to really get excited to root for a team (and I don't mean 'root' in the Australian sense of the word.)
Nick LaVecchia
Ciaramella is athletic enough to be the quarterback, smart enough to be class president, and cool enough to be Prom king. Thankfully, he rips for the surf team instead.
"That final game had over 150 people watching the entire time...For a high school surfing event on a weekday? Where else does that happen? People were genuinely excited to watch and to see who was going to win, Even people who knew nothing about surfing stopped to watch the Game to its completion," added Burrell.
2009 Red Bull Riders Cup National Championships (With several regional qualifiers remaining.)
Ocean City, NJ
Aptos, CA
Mira Costa, CA
Malibu, CA
New Smyrna, Florida
Satellite, Florida
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Contributors
Jon Coen
Jon is from New Jersey and continues to reside there with his wife and dog—which means occasional empty barrels and the occasional session in the snow.The state isn't as dirty as people might think, but he'll let them keep believing that.
Jake Howard
Jake lives, writes, and surfs in San Clemente, California. He spent his formative gremlin years surfing points north of San Francisco, and for the last 10 years has been contently surviving behind the Orange Curtain.
Kimball Taylor
Author of Return by Water, as well as books on Jeffreys Bay and Pipeline, Kimball drives a red hot Camero, and back in the '70s, he used to party with your Dad.
Daniel Ikaika Ito
Daniel surfs like a hippie, but dresses like a homie. The Native Hawaiian originally hails from Hilo, but now resides in Honolulu. He enjoys twin-fins, new sneakers and being ESPN's "Cuz On The Scene" in the 50th State.
Jason Kenworthy
About as majestic as a turkey vulture, when he's not shlepping his lens around the world or looking for road kill, Jason can be found at home in Dana Point tending to his growing brood.
