SURF COACHING
BACKYARD ERICEIRA
Develop your surf potential in a more efficient and sustainable way with a personal surf coach in Ericeira.
The programs are tailored by a personal surf coach to guide and structure your development as a surfer by evaluating your strengths & development needs, establish realistic goals and design a training strategy.
During the program the coach will use a 4 co-active model to ensure a complete development and supervise multi disciplinary trainings and sessions to make your practice more effective.
The coach will also share knowledge and give you tools to help you improve independently in order to help you be more self reliable and to make your development more sustainable.
STRUCTURED DEVELOPMENT
We don’t learn to run until we know how to walk. If that happens our running technique will be disastrous and we will have a lot of problems in the future.
One of the biggest problems with surfers these days is that they skip many stages and techniques in their development. This leads to slower progress and to serious problems at more advanced stages.
It is crucial for the surfer’s development to have solid foundations and not go to a more advanced stage without having certain techniques and skills consolidated.
Our coaches will carry out an analysis of your development to assess your strengths & development needs, helping you establish achievable goals and map out a structured development plan.
IMPROVE MORE EFFICIENTLY
To master any art or sport it takes thousands of hours of practice and training. There are no shortcuts, however, the way in which practice is done can speed up or delay the process.
In surfing, it is difficult to have time to practice, not only because of the conditions but also because most of the time we spend in the water is paddling or waiting for waves. That’s why it’s even more important how we use our practice time.
As surf coaches we often witness poorly performed practices that bring many problems, including the internalization of bad habits that are later much more difficult to correct.
That is why its essential that training sessions are prepared and guided by specialised and competent coaches to ensure you are using the proper practice methods for your level.
In backYARD surf coaching programs, our surf coaches use a multidisciplinary approach to help you maximise your practice time and also make it more efficient using the appropriate exercises and techniques for your development stage.
PROGRESS SUSTAINABLY
As in all sports, having a coach responsible for your development is essential. Especially in surfing which is a difficult sport to master.
However, having a coach guide every session is unsustainable for most of us.
That’s why during our surf coaching programs we help you develop skills, knowledge and tools that allow you to practise more easily and productively to become more self reliant and more capable to progress your surfing in a sustainable way.

PERSONAL COACH
To assess your strengths & development needs, establish achievable goals and tailor a strategy to meet your needs.
Get a detailed analysis of your surf performance in order to help you become aware of your strengths & development needs and have a clear idea of what needs to be worked on.
Establish together with the coach realistic and measurable goals to ensure your training is focussed.
The coach will develop a training plan to maximise your practice and make you improve efficiently.
Training sessions and lessons supervised by the coach to pass on knowledge and ensure that you get the most out of the activities while providing factual and objective feedback
FOUR CO-ACTIVE MODEL
A broader approach that encompasses the four elements of surfer preparation—tactical, technical, psychological, and physical—these elements complement each other and together are responsible for the surfer’s performance.
We go beyond the technical aspects. Our coaches will analyse and help you working trough the 4 elements – they are crucial for a more complete development.


MULTIDISCIPLINARY APpROACH
Multi-disciplinary sessions allow you to maximise your practice and master knowledge and skills in a more efficient way.
Sessions are prepared according to the needs and goals of each surfer.
ATTENDED SURF TRAINING
A surf session with a coach in the water will help you navigate the line up, catch more and better waves and get more comfortable in the water while getting instant feedback after each wave.
RECORD SURF TRAINING
The coach will not only record the session to create content to be analysed, he will also guide the training setting goals and exercises to maximize your practice. The session is divided into periods to create the opportunity for feedback, reflections and re adjustments.
Surf-skate training allows you to imitate the surf movements. As you can make a lot of repetitions on the skate, movements can be internalised and then be transferred into the water on your surfboard.
Video analysis provides you the opportunity to watch and analyse your style and technique and can have a huge impact in your surf improvements.
There is knowledge and information that are more easily transmitted through the use of graphic elements such as videos and images.
It is much easier for a coach to explain how to catch waves or how to execute a technique through the use of videos.
Conditional training help you to be fit for surfing and to reduce physical limitations that hold back your performance surfing.
ESPECIALLY DESIGN FOR SURFERS WHO ARE LIVING IN ERICEIRA AND WANT TO HAVE THEIR DEVELOPMENT FOLLOW BY A PROFESSIONAL SURF COACH.
backYARD Surf Coaching Programs were developed to give you the opportunity to have a surf coach monitor your development as a surfer in Ericeira. The coach is not only responsible for training sessions, but also for helping you to define your goals and create personalized training plans according to your stages of development.
Our coaching programs are designed to provide a balance between your training sessions and self-practice in order to help you have a sustained and structured development.
IF YOU WANT TO BE A BETTER SURFER THINK HOW COACHING CAN BE EFFECTIVE
COME COACH WITH US
FAQ
Most frequent questions and answers
If you live in Ericeira and want to be better surfer then the backYARD surf coaching programs are for you.
Because each person is unique our programs are adjusted to the needs and objectives of each surfer – making them suitable for anyone.
Our surf coaching programs are designed for intermediate and advanced surfers.
Find your personal surf coach in Ericeira with us and start developing your surfing in a more efficient and sustainable way.
The training schedules are flexible and are managed mostly according to the conditions of the ocean and the tides.
However, our coaches always try to adjust the training schedules to the surfers’ work schedule and the ocean conditions.
Most of our coaches like early mornings and always try, as much as possible, to look for times and spots with less crowds.
The surf sessions take place from the beach of São Juliao to the beach of São Lourenço.
The spot for the sessions are chosen according to the session’s objectives, your experience and the ocean conditions.
The out-of-water sessions take place within the parish of Ericeira and surroundings.
Transport is included within the ericeira area.
If you want, there is the possibility to carry out sessions outside Ericeira area to search for better conditions or to have access to another type of infrastructure. However, in that case, travel cost will be added to the program price according to time and distance to the spot.
The equipment needed will depend on the type of session participated.
For surf training you need a wetsuit (preferably 4/3) a board suitable for your level and experience, leash and wax.
(if you do not have the necessary equipment, you can rent it with us or with our partners for an extra cost)
For skating training, just bring comfortable clothes and preferably sports shoes. The skateboard board is provided by us.
For fitness training, sports clothes and shoes are recommended.
For theory sessions and video analysis sessions you don’t need any equipment, however something you can take notes on can be a good idea.
It is also important to have a device with internet access such as a mobile phone or a computer to be able to access the files that the coach provides.
Although the coaching programs are tailored by a personal surf coach according to each surfer needs and goals the trainning sessions are in groups of maximum 3 persons.
This means that the goals and training plans defined by the coach are specific for each surfer, however, the training sessions will be shared by surfers with similar goals or capable of surfing similar conditions.
This way, we are able to keep the programs customized according to the needs and goals of each surfer while giving surfers the opportunity to have surf partners who help them push their limits.
Because the programs are customized according to your goals, needs and availability, program prices are not fixed.
The price of the programs will depend on the number and type of sessions provide.
You can personalize your own program with the help of our coaches after you complete the pre coaching surf course. Together you can evaluate what is more important to work on and choose the most suitable training sessions to achieve your goals.
In order for the coach to customize a example program specifically for your needs and availability, it is important that you fill out our form about your surf experience.
Once you have the form filled in, contact us to get a quote.
To get started just fill out our surf experience form and send us a message.
According to your availability and surfing level, a coach will be appointed responsible for your surf coaching program.
The coach will schedule the Introduction Course with you in order to introduce you to our training methods, assess your surfing and customize a training program suited to your level and goals.
Once you have completed the Introduction Course and have your goals and training plan defined, you can start the first period of your program and join our training.
Use any of the contacts shown on the next page to send us a message and let´s start.
The Introduction Course is specially designed to pass on knowledge and prepare surfers for the backYARD surf coaching programs.
The course aims to make an assessment of surfers through a detail analysis of their strengths and weaknesses. With this information the coach will be able to set goals and creates a specific training plan for each surfer for the period of the coaching program.
In the course the surfer will also learn the main movements and mechanics of surfing, consolidate their knowledge about the ocean, equipment and surf spots.
The surfer will also be introduced to the training methods and tools that backyard coaches use in developing the coaching programs.
The course includes 2 surfing sessions, 2 surf skate sessions and 1 video analysis session. All sessions are 1 vs 1.
In order to be able to customize the backyard surf coaching program to the your goals and needs, our team has built a form that will provide us with information about the your experience and level.
The form takes less than 5 minutes to complete and can be accessed through the link below.
Surf Experience Form:
https://forms.gle/4KrBRdTE5AxRMy9AA
Once you have the form filled in, please let us know.