Diego Naranjo was appointed as coach for national processes in 2022 and early 2023.

After leading two official national selection processes on an interim basis, the experienced surfer, head of judges and national coach Diego Naranjo will be in charge of directing the national processes and finding the best teams to represent the country in international competitions.

The man from Jacob told us his thoughts on this task, which will undoubtedly be another challenge for Naranjo, who has already been leading other countries around the world.

Diego, we realized that you are officially the coach of the Costa Rican Surf Federation, how do you feel about that?

I feel quite motivated, eager to do things well, happy and proud to be able to work with my country again, since for many years I was working with other national teams around the world, however, the feeling of being able to hear our country's anthem on a podium would be something that would fill me up too much and make me even happier.

What is your vision now as a coach for the Costa Rican Surf Federation?

My vision is to elevate the level of athletes to the highest possible level, helping them with my experience and knowledge to improve and develop better skills. I want to advise and guide them so they can have the best equipment, boards, and accessories, and to help them access tournaments to pursue a successful career and achieve progressive growth. Furthermore, I want to see Costa Rica collectively achieve significant results both in Latin America and globally. I believe this is my vision: to take Costa Rican surfing to the highest level of high-performance surfing.

What was the process like for the selection of the new coach of the Costa Rican Surf Federation?

The process was conducted through a public competition. The funds to pay for my work come from the government, specifically from ICODER (Costa Rican Institute of Sports and Recreation). Eight to ten coaches were invited to apply for the position of head coach for the national team. The competition had several requirements, and I met 97% of them, thus securing the coaching position. I am very honored and proud that my resume almost perfectly matches what the Costa Rican Surfing Federation was looking for. My appointment is until the first quarter of 2023, but there is a possibility of renewal. I am very happy that the new board is trying to do things the right way and wants to involve many more people, not just selecting coaches based on circumstances, but rather requiring them to present work plans, reports, and established structures. I truly hope that both the selected coaches and I can work together effectively and strive for the best possible results for the country.

Coaches in the past have been criticized for the way they selected athletes. What will your method be for selecting athletes for the selection process?

There has been some controversy, but my idea is very simple and effective. I'm a pretty practical coach, and for me, any athlete who is producing results, is physically fit, mentally strong, and has a good support team should be on the team. Together with the Federation, we're working on a formula that states the following: athletes performing at the WSL, at the CT level, have first priority; then come the athletes in the Challenger series; then the surfers with the best QS results; then the athletes from the ALAS circuit, which is the largest circuit in the Americas and awards Olympic spots; and finally, the athletes with the best results at the Costa Rican National Circuit level. We also plan to have one or two alternates in each category and to hold training camps to work in the best possible way. Another issue to consider is age, since for me it's not a problem as long as the surfer is producing results. Generally speaking, athletic performance and discipline will be what makes the difference.

How do you plan to develop and train the new figures who will be the next generation of professionals in the field?

For this work of developing new talent, I already have a methodology and work structure, and that has always been my main focus. When I work with athletes on developing their skills, I always try to value any event that benefits them and the country in general, since it helps with the budgets of ICODER (the Costa Rican Institute of Sports and Recreation), the National Olympic Committee, and the Ministry of Sport, such as the Central American and Pan American Games. For me, it's very important that young athletes who want to do things right are taken into account and demonstrate that if they receive opportunities, they can value and take advantage of them, especially when more established athletes are unable to attend for external reasons.

Currently, what do you consider to be two strengths and two weaknesses of surfing in Costa Rica?

In my opinion, one of the weaknesses is that we're just coming out of a two-year pandemic where we were practically inactive for both years, without national tournaments, much less international ones. Obviously, that hurts the athletes' performance. The other weakness, I think, is the current state of the national surf industry, where brand support for new talent has been declining somewhat. But I believe that's also a result of the pandemic's impact, which affected many industries. However, I think the industry is slowly growing again, and hopefully, 2023 will bring better opportunities.

The two strengths I could mention are that we have a large pool of talent. There are new athletes, eight or nine years old and up, both male and female, with incredible talent and a very high level of technical skill. Furthermore, they are honing their skills competitively on the ACOS National Youth Circuit. Another advantage is that Costa Rica has a great number of waves, and both the Pacific and Caribbean coasts offer diverse locations that undoubtedly contribute to the rapid and significant development of our athletes.

Diego, we saw that you've been developing a new project for quite some time now, which you're finally managing to finalize and formalize, what is now called DN Surf Academy. What can you tell us about that project?

That's right, I've been working on this project for several years and have managed to formalize it in a more professional way. I have a website with all the necessary information, a work structure, and a methodology that allows me to track the progress of athletes in the medium and long term by creating micro and macro cycles. This way, athletes, their families, and brand managers can see tangible development in each surfer. All of this is managed on a platform that stores statistics and graphs so that the work being done with the athletes is clearly visible. Currently, this is being implemented in the Pacific and the Caribbean.

DN Surf Academy already has two branches, one in the Central Pacific and one in the Caribbean, in the central canton of Limón. Do you plan to open another branch, and who will be in charge of those branches?

Let me tell you, DN Surf Academy is a comprehensive business project where we work and earn a profit, but we also do a lot of social work. We provide 100% scholarships to various athletes to work on their skills, physical conditioning, and mental preparation. We also find ways to equip them with the best equipment so they can train under the best conditions. In Limón, Mike Castro, an experienced surfer who also runs the Waves and Smiles project, is in charge. We identify promising young surfers here and help them develop. In the Central Pacific, I'm the head surfer, but I also have the support of other coaches when I have commitments outside the region or the country. We also have a project endorsed by the academy in the North Pacific, led by my brother Juan Carlos Naranjo, a former professional surfer and a very experienced coach. This is a wonderful project with some very promising young surfers who will be trained under the DN Surf Academy structure and methodology.

Do you see yourself competing in the next Olympics with athletes from Costa Rica? And what do you think Costa Rica needs to do to become world champion again, as they were in 2015 at the ISA World Championships in Nicaragua?

Of course I see Costa Rican athletes at the Paris 2024 Olympics. Costa Rica has enormous potential, and in the last edition we had Brisa and Leilani competing, and "Cali" was close to qualifying too, but due to unforeseen circumstances, it didn't work out. We have a high level of talent that, if developed correctly, I'm sure we can not only be there, but fight for an Olympic medal. Regarding what I think Costa Rican surfing needs, I believe it needs unity within the community, unity among all surfers, unity among all media outlets, both specialized and non-specialized in surfing, unity among all parents, and unity among the associations working to develop and popularize Costa Rican surfing. So I think that's the path we must follow so that each of us can contribute our part and help Costa Rican surfing become a world power again and achieve successes of this magnitude.

Enrique Hernández

Specialized press officer for Surfing Republica.