If you’ve ever had a partner try to teach you to surf and it ended in tears, or you’ve felt stuck on that frustrating plateau between beginner and intermediate, this one’s for you. On Episode 2 of She Surfs Here I sat down with Gee Cormack from Chix Surf Coaching, a Level 4 women’s surf coach who’s spent more than a decade helping women progress in the water. Gee blends body mechanics, clear language and firm-but-kind coaching to build real confidence and measurable results.
This article unpacks the most valuable insights from our conversation and turns them into practical steps you can use straight away. We dig into confidence, wave reading, adapting at the wave pool, SmoothStar training on land, and choosing a board that actually matches your body and your local waves.
What You’ll Learn From this Article:
- Confidence is a skill. Women often internalise bad surfs as personal failure. Your first job is building belief and learning to override the negative self-talk in the moment.
- Foundations beat flash. Before top turns and “throwing buckets”, get speed generation and a solid bottom turn. That’s the engine for everything.
- Adaptability wins. Wave pools and unfamiliar breaks expose gaps in reading the environment. Train yourself to adjust quickly.
- On-land training accelerates progress. SmoothStar and targeted strength work let you repeat skills safely, feel body positions and transfer them to the water faster.
- Board choice should fit you and your wave. Start with the conditions you surf most and the style you enjoy, then match the board to those realities.
- Speak up at the surf shop. Arrive with clear info about your surfing and goals so you don’t get sold the wrong equipment.
You can listen to my conversation with Gee Cormack on Spotify.
Who is Gee Cormack?
Gee founded Chix Surf Coaching 11 years ago to create a safe, educational space for women and girls to learn and progress. She grew up surfing, spent years as an elite snowboarder in Olympic development programs, and brings that high performance mindset to women’s surf coaching. She now splits time between Sydney and Bonny Hills on the NSW Mid North Coast, running coaching, on-land training and clinics in Australia and overseas.
A big theme in Gee’s work is translating the “automatic” habits of lifelong surfers into simple, teachable foundations. As she puts it, teaching surfing is like teaching a language: just because you can do it doesn’t mean you know how to break it down.
Why women’s surf coaching needs a different approach
Gee noticed early on that mixed lessons often left women feeling judged or unsafe. Many of us want context, language and a plan before we throw ourselves at a steep takeoff ten times in a row. That doesn’t mean we’re not brave. It means we value understanding.
A quote that stuck with me:
“Confidence is such a key component to progression. Without it, you’ll never step out of your comfort zone.”
Her coaching voice is deliberately loud and directive in the water. Not to bark orders, but to cut through the spiral of doubt that can take over during a set. The goal is to create enough certainty that you can commit, fall, learn, and try again.
How to assess your surfing like a coach
When Gee meets a new surfer, she doesn’t start with “turns”. She starts with questions that map your reality:
- What conditions do you usually surf?
- When the surf is good, where do you struggle most?
- Can you generate and manage speed without the wave doing it all for you?
- How strong is your bottom turn on both forehand and backhand?
For advanced beginners and low intermediates, the most productive focus is almost always speed generation and a reliable, angled takeoff. Without those two, everything else feels random.
A simple self-assessment
Try this on your next few surfs:
- Takeoffs
Are you paddling in the right spot for your size and board? Can you angle early and stand with purpose? If you’re hesitating, you’ll be late and the wave will decide for you. - Speed generation
Can you create speed when the wave is soft, and keep it through a section without pumping frantically? If you bog or get swallowed after every turn attempt, you need more speed before and out of the turn. - Bottom turn
Are you holding a clean bottom turn that sets up the rest of the wave, or are you skittering sideways and racing to the shoulder? Your bottom turn is the cake, the top turn is the icing. - Adaptability
When the bank changes, the tide shifts, or you surf a new break, do you have go-to foundation skills that still work? Or do you feel like you’re starting from scratch?
Wave pools and the art of adapting
Plenty of us have been humbled at the pool. It’s public, the wall is close, the takeoff can be tricky, and it’s easy to spiral if you fall a few times in a row. Gee reframes the pool as a pure adaptability test: it shows how quickly you can tune into a new wave’s timing, line, and takeoff spot.
Her advice:
- Stop copying heavier surfers’ takeoff marks. Your size, paddle speed and board demand a different spot.
- Angle with intent. Don’t just think about going left or right; set your board, eyes and shoulders to the line you actually need.
- Commit earlier. Hesitation equals a late response and missed entry.
When you crack one, lock that feeling in. One made wave can flip the session.
Why SmoothStar and on-land training work
On-land training removes all the chaos of the ocean so you can actually feel what your body is doing. Like using a rowing machine to train for rowing, you simulate the mechanics without the river.
Three ways Gee uses it:
- Technique correction
Positions, weight distribution, arm lines, foot placement. You learn exactly what “that little bit more” lift or rotation feels like, so you can reproduce it later under pressure. - Wave simulation
You map the flow of a specific wave you want to master: two pumps to set speed, a held bottom turn, a snap with recovery. Then you rehearse it until it’s automatic. - Strength and conditioning
Compression strength in the legs, rotational core, shoulder stability. The work that lets you surf longer without your form collapsing. Check out the Sea Hearts’ surfer exercise routines for more tips.
A note for busy women: you don’t need to “be a skater” to benefit. Ten purposeful minutes, two to three times a week, can transform how quickly changes stick.
Confidence is trained, not gifted
We spoke about how women often internalise a tough session as “I surfed badly” while many men default to “the surf was bad”. That pattern matters. The person who believes improvement is possible will stay in the game long enough to find it.
Practical confidence builders:
- Pre-commit to a number of attempts. For a wave pool session, give yourself four committed takeoffs before you even consider a reset.
- Use one cue at a time. For example, “eyes and board angle to the open face” on every takeoff. Once that sticks, add the next cue.
- Borrow a louder voice. A coach or trusted friend who cuts through the noise helps you act faster than your self-doubt.
- Celebrate process, not just results. Note the earlier paddle, the better angle, the stronger bottom turn, even if the finish wasn’t perfect.
Choosing the right board for your body, your wave and your style
This is where so many women get stuck. We’re sold the idea that “good” equals tiny shortboard, and then we punish ourselves when it feels terrible. Just like Jaz who wrote about think about what wave? before what board, Gee flips the process.
Start with three realities:
- The waves you actually surf
Sydney’s beachies break faster than, say, The Pass. Your board needs to suit your local energy, banks and crowd. - The style you enjoy
Do you love explosive snaps and being pushed by power, or do you prefer flow, trim and dancing on the face? Shortboard, mid-length and longboard are different sports, not a ladder of worth. - Your body today
Paddle fitness, pop-up confidence, injuries, age. Be honest about what your body can do and build from there.
Then match the board:
- Shortboard
Suits punchier three to five foot days, arcing turns and release. You’ll likely need stronger paddle fitness and a confident duck dive. If you’re stepping down, consider a touch more volume and a slightly refined tail so you can still practise turns. - Mid-length
Great “happy middle” for many women. Enough volume for easier wave count, enough rail and length for smooth carves, suited to a wide range of conditions. - Longboard
Best for longer, mellow faces. Technically demanding in a different way, with beautiful rewards if you love glide, cross-steps and nose work.
A favourite analogy from Gee: choosing a surfboard is like choosing shoes. You don’t run a marathon in stilettos. Pick the gear for the job you want to do.
How to speak to a shaper or surf shop with confidence
Walk in with specifics:
- Where you surf most and the conditions you like and avoid
- How often you surf and your current level
- Your height, weight and any injuries that affect paddle or pop-up
- What you want to feel and learn in the next six months
- A quick summary of boards you’ve tried and what you noticed
You do feel differences, even if you don’t have the technical words yet. Describe the sensations and let a good coach or shaper translate.
A progression plan for advanced beginners and low intermediates
Use this eight-week outline to break the plateau. Adjust sessions to your schedule.
Weeks 1–2: Takeoff and angle
- Flat-water pop-ups with angle set left/right, 3 sets of 10
- Two surfs a week focused only on earlier paddles and committed angle
- SmoothStar: stance and eye line, soft S-turns, 10 minutes
Weeks 3–4: Speed generation
- SmoothStar: weight shift and timing, building speed without flailing
- Two surfs a week in friendlier conditions, counting pumps and holding flow
- One strength session: leg compression drills and rotational core
Weeks 5–6: Bottom turn focus
- Video a session if possible; isolate the bottom turn shape on both sides
- SmoothStar: slow, held bottom turns into a controlled release
- One surf session only doing takeoff → bottom turn → trim, no big finish
Weeks 7–8: Link turns with recovery
- Add a small snap or cutback after a held bottom turn
- SmoothStar: pattern the exact sequence you want on your wave
- One session at the pool or a different bank to practise adapting quickly
Keep it simple. One focus per fortnight is enough to create change without overwhelm.
When the wave pool humbles you
Use Gee’s framework:
- Re-position for your body and board, not the person ahead of you
- Angle board, eyes and shoulders to the open face before the last paddle
- Accelerate your last three strokes, then lift your chest as it goes hollow
- After a fall, reset your cue and take the next one. Four committed shots before any break
Remember, the pool isn’t exposing your failures, it’s exposing the exact skill to train next.
How to get more from every surf without surfing more
Most of us can’t just add hours. Try these instead:
- Micro-reps on land
Ten minutes of SmoothStar or balance and rotation drills before dinner. - One focused surf
Choose the friendliest window each week and surf with one intent. You’ll progress faster than five distracted paddles in junk. - Tiny film sessions
Ten waves on your phone tells you more than memory ever will. Look only for the one thing you’re working on. - Post-surf notes
Two lines in your phone: what worked, what to repeat. Next surf begins where the last one ended.
The mindset shift that changes everything
Gee’s big reframe: good surfers aren’t those who only surf “good” waves. Good surfers are adaptable. They know their foundations so well that they can find fun in fast, fat, small or punchy conditions. That adaptability is trainable, and it starts with respecting the stage you’re in and choosing the right tools for it.
Resources mentioned
- Chix Surf Coaching clinics in Sydney and the Mid North Coast
- On-land training with SmoothStar surf trainers
- Upcoming online program from Gee covering foundations, equipment and ocean knowledge
- Local shapers or demo programs to test boards matched to your goals
How to work with Gee
You can book coaching in Sydney or Bonny Hills, join overseas clinics like the Maldives, or jump on the waitlist for her online program that covers foundations, speed work, equipment, fins and ocean wellbeing. She also offers pairs and couples coaching to translate the “you’re not listening to me” dynamic into something that actually works.
Final thoughts
Progress in surfing isn’t magic. It’s foundations, confidence and the right equipment, repeated with intention. Gee’s approach strips away the mystery and gives women a language and method that respects where we’re at and where we want to go.
If you’ve been stuck between boards, second-guessing your takeoffs, or feeling like your body and the wave can’t find the same rhythm, you’ve now got a plan. Start with one thing. Practise it on land. Take it to the water. Adapt. Repeat.
If this resonated, share the episode with a friend who’s ready to move past the plateau. And if you want help building your plan, reach out to Gee at Chix Surf Coaching or drop me a message at Sea Hearts Surf Club.