The people's choice!
If we’re honest, and I think we can be here on the biggest little surf website in the whole world, very few things are more important than popularity.
Leaving aside moral fortitude, bravery, trustworthiness, selflessness, critical thinking etc., popularity, and/or the pursuit thereof, gives rise to great works of art: Mean Girls, Less than Zero, 10 Things I Hate about You just to name three.
Popularity feels good and/or bad if a person happens to be unpopular and, this morning, I wonder if Rainos Hayes, Shane Beschen, Mike Parsons and Chris “Gally” Stone all feel bad or if they selflessly feel good for Brett Simpson who beat them each to become the very first U.S. Olympic surf team head coach.
Historically significant.
Simpson was chosen over all other candidates, according to U.S.A. Surfing’s CEO Greg Cruse, after the team consisting of John John Florence, Kolohe Andino, Carissa Moore and Caroline Marks unanimously selected him.
Cruse added, “We have some of the top surfers in the world on our team. They all have their teams that they work with, year-in, year-out, so they really don’t need coaching in the traditional sense of the word. What they need is someone that they can relate to, that they respect, that they can bounce ideas off, that can calm them, or hype them up, and just get them in the best mindset. That’s what you need and that’s what Brett brings to the table.”
Very fine and Simpson should feel humbled in that “I-smashed-all-comers-and-rule” Gabriel Medina sort of way.
His stable will likely be facing Brazil’s Medina and/or Italo Ferreira in Tokyo.
Daunting.
Mirroring Cruse’s sentiments, Simpson declared, “I’m on the younger side of the coaching spectrum but I think it’s become relevant in a lot of sports. There’s similar views you share and when you’re working with top level athletes like this, it isn’t telling them how to surf. It’s more guidance on conditions, focusing on equipment and the day-to-day preparation, putting them in the best situation to perform at their highest level.”
Very fine indeed.
Will you call him Coach Simpson from now on or should we call him Head Surf Coach just like Steve Spurrier was called Head Ball Coach?
Much to ponder.
Commented on Disqus? Log out, tap the Disqus button, and your old name and comments come back. The box is ours.
Your comments are still here. Every one of them.
Twelve years of BeachGrit comments came across from Disqus. Connect and we will show you how many are yours. We get your username, nothing else.
Connect Disqus to reveal.
Imagine what Ashton was thinking as Chas was halfway across the table.
The problem is J Flo, Riss, Brother, and Marks will quickly realize who the true Olympic-caliber surfer is — Simpo of course — which will destroy their confidence and ruin America’s chance for gold.
Where do you suppose USA Surfing gets its funding from? I assume this is a paying gig.
Throwing more money into the abyss, not going to be any Olympic games anytime soon, that team will be has beens by the time any international sporting events get back on track. Pipedreams
Simpson. From the County of Orange. Surfings got our very own OJ Simpson. I’m sure he’ll kill it as coach. But he’ll need a nickname. A new nickname. “White Bronco”.
huh, OJ’s a murderer , and fraudster…..”kill it as a coach and OJ “in the same sentence damn you Merrycans , how about Dark Lauded!
On a different note…Olympics , when?
Great, of all the things that surfing needs, an Olympic team is the last thing surfing needs. Wait, we have the Ocean, free waves, the sun, the sand, yup, we already have everything that surfing needs.
Now we have to see surfing dragged through the media circus again, and watch the Wsl et al try again to turn it into a mainstream commodity.
Don’t worry mate, roller hockey didn’t take off after the Barcelona olympics.
Man I thought Zoltan Torkos had this locked down for sure.
“I’ve just received a call from Snips, he congratulated us, it’s about us on our victory. One of my first acts will be to get all of the back paddlers out of this country. Now, I wanna build the priority buoy, we need the buoy, and the ISA, the WSL, the NSSA, they all want the buoy. We stop the back paddling, we win the heat. We have some bad hombres here and we’re gonna get ’em out.”
Bring back Beulah Ballbricker…
Aww, a Hurley Surf Club reunion! Cute. Simpo is there to fulfill the coach’s role as motivator, which he should be able to do (I have no idea and don’t care to research anything about him, just know he was the only non-disintegrating diaper personality from Tour Notes). He’d be better at that than Snips, who would only be able to motivate them to take time to brush their teeth, or Beschen, to use sunscreen.
Congrats to you Simpo – BG, why not reach out to the other guys (Beschen, Snips, etc) you mentioned for their side of the story?
https://uploads.disquscdn.c…
Because BG is for winners only.
[Snort] lmao
What are you hanging around here for then Chadwick ?
I’ll see myself out.
I’ll follow at a safe distance…
yes
*whiners, it’s pronounced whiners.