Father and Daughter Surfers

How many times have we parents said to ourselves “I wish I had spent more time with my kids growing up?” to try and pass along the knowledge we’ve gained and help our children do better than ourselves. I know I have. Time passes quickly and before you know it they are out of the house and into world.

I recently met a father and daughter who are doing what a lot of us wish we had done, spending quality time together doing something they love. Surfer and architect Brett Detmers and his daughter Shelby a rising star on the junior pro circuit are working together to achieve a goal must people would never attempt…become a championship surfer while maintaining a down-to-earth lifestyle.

I met Brett through a mutual friend Donna Lau a producer at Nickelodeon when I was covering the Nike US Open of Surf in Huntington two weeks ago. It happened quite innocently. I was finished shooting for the day and about to go home when I bumped into Donna in the Press Room. She asked me where she could get some food and I told her the VIP lounge which we were not allowed in. Quickly we started talking about why we were at the Open. When I told her about my online endeavors and how I was looking for interesting stories she suggested I meet Brett and Shelby and another pro surfer Lani Doherty. Within minutes we were sitting together talking. I found Brett to be engaging and a very caring father.He talked more about wanting Shelby to have well-rounded life as opposed to winning surfing championships.He was protective of Shelby’s interests and earnest about being a great father, advisor, manager and friend. It made me think about how I wished I had spent more time with my kids.

I watched Shelby surf at the Nike Huntington Open of Surf and was impressed. She was aggressive and fearless. She’s fairly new to the pro tour and made it passed the first round only to bow out in the second round. All the while Brett was busy talking with people wheeling and dealing on his daughter’s behalf and at the same time being encouraging to her.

This last weekend I watch Shelby compete at the Oceanside Supergirl competition. She was in the fourth heat to begin with and paired with surfing sensation Lakey Peterson among others. The conditions were ok but for some reason Shelby could not find the “wave” she needed to show off her talents. As I was shooting pictures of her from the beach I was sure she would take second but the judges kept giving her low scores. i was baffled. Meanwhile Lakey Peterson gobbled up wave after wave resembling her new advisor Kelly Slater. Her scores were thru the roof. In the end Shelby just missed out making past the first round. I thought she was robbed. When she came out of the water she mentioned she thought she should’ve been graded higher. She was angry but level-headed. I thought this is a by-product of coaching and her father keeping her emotions leveled.

Later on I sat with Brett and asked him why he thought she was graded so low and he explained to me in great detail why Shelby didn’t get passed the second round. “The judges know she can do better, and next time she will. We’re gonna work on it”. Two more minutes I thought, Brett is going to get his two more minutes with Shelby and probably a lot more. And he seems to be loving it. He knows it won’t go on forever but he’ll never have to say to himself I wish I had spent more time with Shelby.

Tagged as: Huntington Beach, Kelly Slater, Nike, Oceanside, Shelby Detmers, Supergirl, surfing