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surfing grom
Jimmy Lane surf art
Jimmy coaching in the water

The JLSA Team

The team at the Jimmy Lane Surfing Academy are all experienced surfers, including current, former and future pros! Many of our team started surfing in the JLSA summer camps! 

JLSA-coaches-2021

Jimmy Lane

Coach Jimmy moved to New Smyrna Beach as a teenager and took up surfing as his new sport to go with football, basketball, track, and skateboarding. He was also on the swim team and became a beach lifeguard. Jimmy was successful in amateur surf contests and decided to go pro. He got to travel around the world on the ASP tour and won many pro events, spending a month ranked as the number one surfer in the world! While surfing in Australia, he attended a judging school and has since been a judge for many pro and amateur events.  Jimmy has met and surfed with many other professional surfers and board builders and as a world-renowned surf artist has airbrushed thousands of cool surfboards over the last thirty years, carving out a niche as one of the fastest artists in the industry. Several of his murals can be seen around New Smyrna Beach, such as the one on Red Dog Surf shop.

 

Jimmy opened the Jimmy Lane Surfing Academy over thirty years ago and his summer camps are the official camps for the New Smyrna Beach Leisure Services Department. He is an artist and a dad, and is very active in the New Smyrna Beach community and with the NSB Museum of East Coast Surfing. Jimmy's wife and daughters have been part of the Academy every year since we started, and the rest of the coaches are just like family as well. JLSA Summer Camps and surf lessons are like a rite of passage in this town...and a vacation destination to many from all over the world!

Joe Surbaugh is a lifelong resident of New Smyrna Beach and Head Surf Coach for Jimmy Lane Surf Academy. Joe has been surfing since the age of 4 and has competed in amateur and professional surfing competitions for over 25 years. He has traveled extensively, surfing and competing over the years in Hawaii, Costa Rica, Tortola, Mexico, France, Spain, Barbados, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Nicaragua and all over the US.

Coach Joe always loves being in the ocean and has worked in the surf industry for many years. Joe has a wealth of knowledge about surfing and knows what board you will need and how to get you riding on your first lesson as well as what you need to grow and progress as you improve, whether you are beginner, intermediate or advanced surfer.

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Joe enjoys sharing the knowledge from his surfing experiences and using them to teach our students to stand up and ride a wave for the first time and beyond!

Joe Surbaugh

Joe on the waves

Gus Hultgren

Surfer on wave

Gus is a competitive surfer who is sponsored by the Jimmy Lane Surfing Academy.  He started surfing when he was just five years old at this very camp. He currently competes in the National Scholastic Surfing Association (NSSA) and USA Surfing Prime East.  During the past 3 years Gus has qualified to compete in the national championships in both NSSA and USA Surfing Prime.  In 2022 he was asked to be part of the USA Surfing Junior National Team coached by Asher Nolan and Ryan Simmons.  More recently Gus placed 4th overall at the NSSA East Coast Championships in the Open Boys Division. He rides for Red Dog Surf Shop and local shaper Greg Geiselman on Orion surfboards. When Gus isn't surfing he can be found fishing with friends or on his e-bike looking for the next secret spot.

Coach Ray is a former high school health/PE teacher and wrestling coach for over 20 years. As a lifelong soul surfer raised in Virginia Beach, Ray has experimented with many shapes and styles of board while surfing 8 different countries and relocating to New Smyrna Beach 10 years ago. Ray now prefers the old school point stylish longboard surfing as he progresses in age. In addition to teaching and coaching surfing with the Jimmy Lane Surfing Academy, Ray is an avid grappler and a former Virginia State Champion Wrestler in high school, a 2x Conference Champion, and a 2x NCAA Division I National qualifier in college. While coaching high school wrestling, two of his programs went on to win State Championships in both Georgia and Virginia during his career. He currently coaches a National Elite level wrestling club in addition to being a surf instructor. Ray truly has a passion for coaching!

Ray Baldwin

Ray on a wave
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