An epic wave goodbye for beloved surf coach Andy Verdone, retiring after nearly 40 years

Stay in school, because your chances of making it to the big leagues of pro surfing are very, very slim. Work hard. Stay off drugs. And keep surfing.

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There are many life lessons surf coach Andy Verdone has taught the thousands of students who have gone through his program at Huntington Beach High, but those simple mantras have stayed consistent throughout his nearly four decades helping young surfers navigate the turbulent waters of their teenage years.

After 38 years of showing up on the south side of the pier at dawn, the beloved teacher and surf coach is riding into retirement. And the community was out Thursday morning to celebrate his final day at his office: the beach.

“I have mixed emotions about leaving the perfect job,” Verdone said, waves pumping in the backdrop as well-wishers flooded onto the sand armed with donuts, flowers and gifts, their cameras out to snap selfies with the Surf City icon. Even the Oilers school mascot, Derrick, made an appearance, the school band showing up to do a performance from the pier.

Students clutching surfboards under their arms stopped to give hugs and thanks before hitting the water on their final day of surf class, while alumni reminisced about yesteryear.

“He teaches us to show up every day, paddle for the wave, even if you don’t get it — just go for it,” said Miku Rogaski, who drew a homemade card for Verdone’s farewell. “He always makes us laugh, even on the freezing cold mornings.”

Jock surfer

Verdone first got his feet wet surfing when a neighbor down the street gave him an old longboard. Growing up in Lakewood, about 20 minutes from the coast, he would tag along with his older brother to the Seal Beach Jetty, later making his way down to Bolsa Chica, then further south to the infamous Huntington Beach Pier.

“It was a million miles away when you’re young,” Verdone said of his inland upbringing as a jock who played baseball and football.

“I came from an era of coaches being very strict,” he said. “I’d go surfing and there were no coaches. I’m just enjoying the freedom of going with my friends, getting away from yelling and screaming coaches grabbing your football mask.”

He remembers standing on the football field watching the wind whip the trees, knowing the offshores were blowing and the swell was brewing.

“I was all in,” he said of the surf lifestyle. “I was an athletic jock who surfed.”

He ended up going to San Francisco State to play college football, trying out for the United Football League but not making the cut. So he decided to come back to Orange County to get a teaching degree from Long Beach State.

He landed his first teaching job at Westminster High, and the following year was hired at Huntington Beach High.

He taught special education for 30 years and PE for the past 12, a total of 42 years. Naturally, for the first few years, he also coached the football team.

But in his soul, he was a surfer.

Huntington Beach had an established surf team; formed in 1967, it was one of the first to pop up in the state. By the time Verdone got to the school in the mid-1980s, it was led by Chuck Allen, who was getting ready to retire in the 1987-88 school year.

Verdone would make his plea: “I’m the only guy on staff who surfs. I want this.”

“I need this job.”

No cheerleaders

Verdone had to get the nod first from surf team members, including Nea Post, who would later earn a spot alongside her future surf coach on the Surfing Walk of Fame.

“Are you going to bring cheerleaders from football down to the beach?” Post asked during the student interview. “Because we don’t want that.”

No cheerleaders, Verdone promised.

The team had strong personalities, the likes of Casey Wheat and Joey Hawkins and other standout surfers who would eventually help Verdone find his footing in the sand as their coach.

The surf team has always been a force in the competition arena, clinching 12 NSSA national titles through the years. On June 13 and 14, the team will go for another during the NSSA championships at Salt Creek, giving Verdone one last shot at a title.

One of the most successful pro surfers to graduate from his program is Brett Simpson, a captain who would go on to win the US Open of Surfing two times. The World Tour surfer would become a celebrity in Surf City and beyond and later coached the first Olympic team.

“Coach Verdone will always have a special place in my heart. From a young high school kid who didn’t know much, I got put in such a great situation being able to learn from him and meet some great people and lifelong friends along the way,” said Simpson, one of many who showed up Thursday to wish him well in retirement.

Verdone didn’t just put an emphasis on classroom education, but each year would take young surfers around the world — Australia, Hawaii, South Africa, South America and more — to pursue waves and learn about different cultures.

“Something will go wrong. But it’s how you deal with it — it can ruin a trip or be part of the story,” he would tell each group, year after year. “Let it be part of the story.”

He recalled one time they had to take a surf team member to the veterinarian to get stitched up following a surf accident, a lesson that life doesn’t always go as planned.

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“Education by travel is just awesome,” Verdone said. “It teaches you things you can’t get out of a book. It teaches us the experiences you can only get out there on the road.”

Verdone’s impact is generational.

Well-known Huntington Beach surfer Ryan Turner, who like Verdone has been inducted into the Surfers’ Hall of Fame, was on the surf team from 1996 through 1999. He’s been watching his 17-year-old daughter, Bailey, take her surfing to new heights under Verdone’s guidance.

“It’s just crazy what he’s done. He’s such a legend and he’s done it for so long, and won so many national championships,” Ryan Turner said. “What a rad person, amazing coach.”

Charlotte Palmer transferred from Oklahoma, a far cry from the beach, in her freshman year. She decided to give it a shot when she learned she could take surfing as her PE class and be on the surf team.

Her mother, Michelle Palmer, would drop her off early in the morning and watch the class, marveling at the camaraderie and friendships formed.

“They all came from different places, and surfing was what connected them,” she said of her daughter’s group of friends, now seniors. “He knew her name, knew who she was, knew her story.

“He made her feel a part of something.”

Nina Staros is a 15-year-old freshman who recently won second place at a state championship, another one of the team’s surfers destined for greatness, Verdone said.

“He just taught me to believe in myself,” Staros said. “He always tells me, ‘If you don’t believe in yourself, then who will?’ He just puts so much confidence in me and allows me to not feel stressed about surfing and makes it feel so fun.”

In an era where young surfers are increasingly opting out of school to pursue their pro dreams, he urges them to continue their education. At the end of each school year, scholarships are handed out at an annual banquet.

On his concrete plaque across from the pier at the Surfers’ Hall of Fame, where he was inducted in 2012, he wrote the words: “Chase your dream but stay in school.”

Brett Barnes, his assistant coach for 20 years, has heard Verdone tell countless kids the same message. Ironically, the two were born in the same hospital, on the same day on Sept. 11, 1959, an hour apart from one another.

“We were meant to be alongside each other,” Barnes joked.

Barnes said he admired the way Verdone pushed the kids, sometimes in a very straightforward, honest way: “You’re not going to be the next Kelly Slater.”

Verdone’s replacement, science teacher Ian Dominelli, has been training with Verdone through the past year, also a ball sport surfer.

“I’m just telling him: It’s not football, and you’re not bringing cheerleaders down to the beach,” Verdone warns. “We learned that a long time ago.”

Dominelli knows he has some big beach flip-flops to fill.

“There’s no way to fill that legacy he’s created,” he said. “His message to me is: Make it about the kids, promote the kids and community.”

It’s that philosophy that makes the school’s surf team unique. Most schools require tryouts, and only top surfers make the cut. But at Huntington Beach High, anyone can join the surf team, with about 100 students participating each year.

“He is so inclusive. As long as they pass the swim test, they are on,” Principal Danny Morris said. “There’s kids with no boards, kids that have never surfed before, they are coming out on the south side as their first experience surfing. That’s pretty special.”

The model is a point of pride for the school.

“It’s more than just a surf team,” he said. “It’s like a surf family.”

There’s no one more important than family, both your own family and your community, said Verdone, whose children, Andrew and Bella, along with wife Shannon, were among the dozens who gathered for a group photo near Tower 1, where Verdone spent so many years on the sand.

“You don’t lose when you have a family,” Verdone said. “It’s more than the competition — we are ‘ohana,’ we are family.”

As Verdone walked toward the Sugar Shack on Main Street for a celebratory breakfast Thursday morning, a voice on the loudspeaker from the lifeguard tower on the pier gave a final farewell.

“We’re wishing you a very happy retirement,” the lifeguard said for all the beach to hear, Verdone flashing a peace sign and a smile back at the tower. “Thank you for all that you do for the Huntington Beach community, we wish you the best of luck.”

A gathering will be held at Duke’s Restaurant at the base on the pier from 3-6 p.m. on June 18 for people who want to congratulate Verdone on his accomplishments and retirement.

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