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Yelp
Customer Service - 5 stars
Instructors - 4.5 stars
Equipment - 5 stars
Location* - 5 stars (for beginners)
Price / value - 5 stars
Background
We were looking for a place to practice to surf in the HB (Huntington Beach) / NB (Newport Beach) area and talked to a couple of different people at surf shops, looked online, etc.
(We tried surfing in Santa Barbara the week prior with an instructor and had very positive results and also did some surfing on our own in HB near the pier without an instructor with mixed results. Since we are new to surfing, we wanted to find a local guide/instructor to improve our surfing skills whilst in HB so we have an idea of how to rate the instructors / school).
We found CCSC (Corky Carroll's Surf School)* online based on other people's reviews and also based on locals input on where it's best to learn and decided to go with CCSC.
Customer Service - 5 stars
We were looking to surf the next day but noticed most places needed at least a 1-day notice. I called in the late afternoon and Keith, the owner, was able to accommodate my son and me on short notice ( less than. . 24hrs) for a surf lesson the very next day which was awesome.
The directions to the location was straight-forward and we had no issues finding the place. Keith was a very cool dude to chat with and was totally positive and welcoming during our call and also when we met with Keith the next morning for our lesson, which to me is just as important as the lesson itself.
Instructors / equipment - 4.5/5 stars
They sized us up for our wetsuits and boards, which appeared to be in good condition (and not run down or broken) like some other places.
They introduced us to two instructors Kyle and Cody. Kyle instructed me personally and was awesome on many different levels.
From his positive and welcoming attitude to newbies like us, to step-by-step easy to follow instructions on land (e.g. paddling, pop-up), local tips (eg. do the stingray shuffle) and most importantly great coaching and assistance once in the water, I was able to learn not only w/o getting discouraged but also whilst having fun.
Kyle is a great instructor and was able to do everything from giving us a push-off (if we weren't paddling fast enough) to telling us when to pop-up, and how to read the waves while being right next to us in the water.
The icing on the cake was having someone like Kyle who could relate to people in their teens to people in their late 40s. As such Kyle was able to adjust his teaching style to give breaks where needed, a literal or figurative push, and just the ability to chat in a very mature way.
As a result, I was able to catch waves on my own which I attribute to great coaching by Kyle.
Location / Value - 5stars
HB-BC was a great place to learn. The waves weren't punishing and gave enough of a break to paddle out or small enough for newbies to paddle through. (Keith mentioned that they usually only teach in the mornings for this reason, but it was also the location when we compared it to NB)
The price for 2hrs was a great price and included the ability to use the board and wetsuit for another 2hrs afterwards, which we really appreciated.
Keith also gave us some additional 1:1 instruction after our lesson and more importantly, a good time by chatting with us and encouraging us.
Thanks to Keith and Kyle for a great experience.
*Apparently there is another surf school in HB near the pier with a similar name. My review is strictly for Corky Carrol's Suf School located at Huntington Beach - Bolsa Chica run by Keith and team at https://www.surfschool.net/.