Shout out to my awesome surf instructor Eddie at Maui Waveriders Kihei! I took a private lesson yesterday and had a blast! Would highly recommend booking with Maui Waveriders - very professional, friendly, great communication, and stood up on a ton of waves!
One thing that stood out to me about Maui Waveriders was that they had a quality instructor-to-group ratio, from what I saw out there - really attentive instruction, with essentially one instructor per family that was taking a lesson. Really impressive since many "surf schools" just jam as many people into a lesson as they can. You could tell Maui Waveriders really made sure everyone was getting personalized attention, which is the best way to make sure you're getting the most out of your lesson and best chance of catching and standing up on waves. All the instructors were focused on making sure their group was having a good experience, as well as helping each other out and even giving tips to beginners who weren't taking lessons. Such a supportive and friendly atmosphere.
As for my instructor, Eddie did a great job of explaining the break, getting me into the pocket to catch the waves, tips on body positioning and turning that were really helpful, and just really dedicated to making sure I had a great experience. I've been surfing for many years, but always like to take a lesson with an instructor for any new spot - there's always things to learn to improve your surfing as well as make sure you're following local etiquette and the ins and outs of the break. Eddie really made me feel comfortable and safe out there, and the tips he gave me were insightful and helped improve my surfing. More importantly, you could tell he really loves not just teaching surfing but encouraging a love of the sport. Would highly recommend him as an instructor!
Also quick shout out to the photographers (NoKaOi Photography)! Don't really have a lot of photos of myself surfing, so it was worth it to get some quality action pics. Photos were great and the package was a great value! Hiring a professional photographer just for myself would have been waaay more expensive, so this was a great service that NoKaOi and Maui Waveriders provided. Great way to capture your vacation! Plus, got the pics sent to me within a few hours and no issues downloading them.