by Andrea Swayne
Conner Dand
Age: 14, San Clemente High School
Conner Dand capped off last season with an individual second-place finish at the NSSA Interscholastic Nationals, helping his Shorecliffs Middle School team to a second place result. With middle school behind him, Conner is focusing his summer practice on preparing to try out for the San Clemente High School team in the fall. He also has plans to surf both the WSA and the NSSA Open series next season and is working toward earning an invitation into the Surfing America Prime series. Surfing since age six, Conner has had plenty of opportunity to develop his skills at home and on trips to Indonesia and Hawaii. He likes traveling but actually favors staying local to surf the great breaks right here—especially Lower Trestles. In school, Conner ended the year with an impressive 3.9 GPA and intends to keep his grades up in high school and go to college. Conner also enjoys beach volleyball and baseball and will try out for the San Clemente High baseball team as well. He tries to surf every day and said it’s a discipline that’s not hard to maintain. “It’s fun and I love it so much that it never seems like work,” he said. Because in surf competition, it only takes two good rides to win a heat, he is working on improving his contest strategy and wave selection. “I’m working on lowering my wave count in contest heats,” he said. “Better scores on fewer waves. That’s what it’s all about.”—Andrea Swayne
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