Caroline Marks' coach

Professional surfer and American national Caroline Marks celebrated her birthday on Valentine’s Day and also completed her win of the 2023 WSL Women’s World Tour title. She is the youngest female competitor in a World Surf League event and a multi-time champion at the national level. She is the youngest surfer to clinch a comfort spot on the women's Championship Tour.

She competed in the World Surf League's highest level during which (in the 2018 season) she grabbed seventh place and received the award of the Rookie of the Year. She lives in the city of San Clemente, California. She was born in 2002, in Boca Raton, Florida.

The young surfing talent Caroline qualified in 2019, just being one of the two female members of the historical United States surfing team that represented the country at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020 (and reflecting on the fact that the event had been postponed because of the pandemic). She managed to meet the criteria for the Olympic Games, which took place in 2024.

Who is Caroline Marks’ coach?

Caroline Marks' coach is Mike Parsons, a former professional and large wave surfer. Mike Parsons, an American competitive surfer and surfing coach, was born on March 13, 1965, in California.

Parsons was raised in Laguna Beach, California, and started surfing when he was six years old. In 1983, he placed second in the Junior Division of the United States Surfing Championships.

Mike Parsons’ Surfing career

Parsons was towed into a 66-foot wave at Cortes Bank, CA, in 2001 and was given $66,000, the largest prize in professional surfing history. This money was granted by the Billabong XXL competition, which honors the greatest waves ridden each year.

Parsons also surfed a 64-foot wave during a competition at Maui's Jaws break on the north shore. It was filmed from a helicopter and used as the opening scene in the 2003 film Billabong Odyssey. An uncredited clip from this sequence has gone viral.

Parsons later broke his record on January 5, 2008, at Cortes Bank, when he was photographed surfing a wave that the Billabong XXL estimated to be 77 feet long, thereby placing him in the Guinness Book of World Records for the largest wave ever surfed. Garrett McNamara broke the record almost four years later, on November 1, 2011, with a 78-foot wave near Nazaré, Portugal. Parsons took over full-time coaching duties for surfer Kolohe Andino in 2011.

Parsons shattered his C7 vertebra in his neck and nearly drowned on January 20, 2013, while surfing triple-overhead waves at Ocean Beach, a beach break in San Francisco, California. Four months later, Parsons was allowed to surf again. In 2008, Parsons was inducted into the Surfers Hall of Fame in Huntington Beach, California.

Mike Parsons’s coaching experience.

Mike Parsons’s transformation from a green-eyed juvenile who is passionate about surfing to a seasoned professional and a half-deen instructor is not anything but wonderful. Parson's first years interacting with the sport shaped a highly promising future since he used to reach new heights. Among the big events in this individual's biography are his groundbreaking achievements, like the perfection of a 77 ft. monster wave at Cortes Bank in 2008, which are bound to be inscribed in surfing myths and the Guinness Book of Records. During the transition from conquering waves to shaping futures, Parsons's professional coaching was an acceptable benchmark, particularly with rookie Kolohe Andino, underpinning his lasting impact on Kolohe and becoming a full-time coach for him in 2011. His contribution as coach of the winning team at the X Games in Puerto Escondido, Mexico, was another such instance where his coaching proved to be a landmark in the surfing world.

Being the Surfer’s Hall of Fame inductee in 2008, his name lives on, and his achievements constantly remind the new generation of watermen who he is. Swimming with sea turtles has always been one of my favorite hobbies whenever I go snorkeling in the ocean. In 2018, Mike became the Big Wave Tour Commissioner. Mike Parsons stood as the very essence of surfing, and now the advantage that he brought to the waves and the integrity that he, in the process, infused into surfing as a whole and the souls that were inspired are immeasurable.

Impact of Mike Parsons’s Coaching on Caroline Marks’s Success.

Mike Parsons, the renowned former big wave surfer turned coach, has left an indelible mark on Caroline Marks' extraordinary journey to greatness in the world of competitive surfing. Initially drawn to Caroline's raw talent during her sweeping victory at the USA Championships across multiple divisions at the tender age of 14, Parsons recognized her potential and took her under his wing. Caroline's upbringing, marked by rugged outdoor activities and fierce sibling rivalry, instilled in her the grit and determination that would define her ascent in the sport.

With Parsons's guidance, Caroline rapidly ascended through the ranks, securing an impressive array of national titles and becoming the youngest qualifier for the WSL Championship Tour by age 15. Under Parsons's mentorship, Caroline continued to flourish, culminating in her historic victory at the 2023 WSL Rip Curl Finals, where she dethroned the reigning champion and Olympic gold medalist, Carissa Moore, to claim the world title.

Parsons's unwavering belief in Caroline's abilities and his strategic coaching undoubtedly played a pivotal role in her meteoric rise to becoming a surfing icon, showcasing the transformative power of mentorship and dedication in shaping athletic greatness.

Image of Mike Parsons and Caroline Marks