She’s got the style, scores and support any competitive surfer would be enviable of, but San Clemente High School junior Marissa Shaw would be the first to tell you that none of it comes easy. Grueling work, little sleep, a ridiculous workout regimen, and a hard line attitude are what keep this 17-year-old going. And we haven’t even mentioned her 4.4 GPA and regular gig as a city lifeguard. With this much fierce determination it comes to no surprise that Marissa won the South Coast League Women’s Shortboard title in 2007, and made both the finals at last year’s NSSA West Coast and National championships.
Better known as “Mar Mar” to her close friends and family, the regular footer began surfing at age 12 after spending a summer in the San Clemente Junior Guards Program. Her amateur career launched a mere two years later, and has since pulled in an impressive list of sponsors, including: Point Conception, Ocean Minded, Body Glove, Electric, Dakine, Future Fins, Kurtis USA, NoAisles.com, and Ambitious Faith.
Currently focused on making this year’s NSSA state and national finals, Marissa’s plan of attack leaves no room for outside distractions. Training at her home breaks of T Street and Lowers is an almost daily occurrence, as are her intense gym workouts. Add to that cross-training kickboxing classes and twice-weekly yoga sessions, and you’ll understand why the word “downtime” has no place in her vocabulary.
But don’t write her off as a total jock just yet, as Marissa places equal importance on her education. Citing math as her strongest subject, she strives for understanding at least 90 percent of the material from each class, as well as positioning her grades at or above 95 percent going into finals—which she insists relives her of the extra pressure of studying for them.
Although still uncertain of her plans after graduation, Marissa thinks she might like to explore a career in emergency medicine. But if you ask us, we think she deserves a vacation.
