Most of the time when I surf at Velzyland I sit more in the inside and catch the smaller easier waves and leave the death barrels to the pros. The surfers in my area are typically 8-10 year groms, maybe younger. It blows my mind that these tiny kids are so fearless, competitive, and so frickin good.
So what the heck is a “grom?” The term grom or grommet isn’t a beginner surfer, but a younger surfer, usually under the age of 15. And most of the time kids that are called groms rip, aka surf way better than I do.
I was out yesterday at Vland and saw a dad pushing his little grom into the set waves (over head death barrels), and this kid could not have been more than 6 years old! He looked invincible, had a smile on his face, made the drop, held the line, and came back wanting more! Impressively scary!! Would I push my 5 year old into waves I wouldn’t even drop in on?
These groms like to taunt me in the surf, do circles around me, and take all my waves. They make me feel like an out of shape old lady. These kids never tire out, and when I do steal a wave from them I feel so stoked until 30 seconds pass and another kid comes in and gets a quick barrel right in front of me. I can’t wait to see what these groms will be doing when they turn 15.
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