If There’s a Will There’s a Wave : Surfer Hagan Kelley Has Been Able to Triumph Over a Personal Tragedy

Every time 13-year-old Hagan Kelley steps into the ocean to compete in an amateur surfing contest, he dedicates each ride to his mother.

Unfortunately for Kelley, his mother isn’t on the beach to give him a boost of confidence before competing. Neither is his father.

Two years ago, Kelley’s mother, Kathy, contracted a heart disease and died while traveling in Indonesia. She was 33. Three years earlier, his father, Pat, suffered a heart attack and died. He too was 33.

“A lot of things went through my mind when my mom died,” Kelley said. “I didn’t know what was going to happen. I was kind of freaking out.”

After living in Hawaii all his life, he moved to Torrance to begin a new life with his grandparents. And so far the experience has been nothing but uplifting.

Since moving to California, Kelley, who is named after his mother’s maiden name, Hagins, has been spending his leisure time riding waves up and down the coast.

In the 1990-91 season, Kelley started competing in surfing contests. He won nine titles in the National Scholastic Surfing Assn. Open and Explorer Divisions and Western Surfing Assn. He also finished second overall in points in both NSSA divisions.

In addition, Kelley placed third while representing the NSSA in the U.S. Amateur Championships in Port Aransas, Tex., in November.

“He’s just a great surfer,” said Gayline Clifford, director of the NSSA Southwest Conference. “He’s got a great future ahead of him. He’s really focused and tries really hard in every event. He wants to excel at surfing and school and that’s great for a kid his age.”

This season, Kelley has won five of six NSSA Explorer events and was second in the other. He is also the current points leader in the 12-and-under class, winning three of six events and finishing second three times. Kelley is allowed to compete in the 12-and-under class because his birth date, Feb. 24, falls before the division’s cutoff date.

“With all the things happening to him he still keeps a bright outlook,” said Kelley’s uncle, Geoff Hagins, who is also Kelley’s manager and coach.

“He decided to take on life (after his parents died), be it surfing or school, and is doing it well. He’s just amazing on a surfboard. He’s doing a lot of maneuvers guys can’t do in their entire surfing life.”

The 4-foot-5, 85-pound Kelley has always been around the ocean.

“The day Hagan was born, his mother and father took him down to the tide pools in Hana, Maui,” said Hagins, who used to be an avid surfer in the early 1970s. “He was familiar with the ocean before he learned how to stand.”

Said Kelley: “My mom taught me how to swim when I was 3 weeks old. When I was 5 I was learning how to skin-dive. I just always love to go to the beach. It’s what turns me on.”

Kelley started surfing when he was 8. He entered a couple of contests but didn’t become serious about it until he moved to the mainland.

Kelley and Hagins had to get sponsors to defray costs of competing, but it hasn’t been difficult.

“Hagan’s one of our hottest up-and-comers,” said Paul Gomez, a team coordinator for Billabong, a surfwear company. “We are really stoked with the job he’s doing. We think he has got a good surfing career with us and in surfing.”

Said Ted Robinson, promotions manager and team captain for Body Glove: “He’s got the talent and has a lot of potential. He’s come a long way and has everything to be successful. He’s a great kid and we’re happy he’s on the team.”

Kelley enjoys the attention.

“I think it’s good,” he said. “If things start to work out when you’re young in surfing, you’ll probably keep getting better and better. I think the younger you start and get better at it, your chances will be pretty good to be a pro and become the best.”

Despite a busy schedule, Kelley, a seventh-grader at Calle Mayor Middle School in Torrance, has been able to keep his grade-point average above 3.0. He was named to the honor roll last spring when he had a 4.0 GPA.

“He’s a well-rounded individual,” said Terri Schulman, a sixth-grade teacher of language arts, science and drama at Calle Mayor.