By Jake Howard
San Clemente’s Hayden Rodgers continues to blitz through the NSSA season. With playful, knee- to waist-high surf offered this weekend at the Newport Open, the 11-year-old phenom bagged his second win of the season in the Open Boys division and now sits at the top of the ratings.
Coming up in a surf-stoked family, Hayden’s old man, Jerry, first pushed him into a wave when he was seven years old and he hasn’t looked back since. These days, you may find him and his brother, Nolan, down at Lowers if they can convince their mom to drop them off. Otherwise, you can find them around the T-Street zone, ripping with all of the other groms. Last summer, Hayden had the opportunity to go on a team surf trip to Bali with his sponsor Volcom.
All told, it was a good weekend for San Clemente surfers. Coming off her first pro junior win, Kirra Pinkerton kept the momentum going and took out the Open Women’s division. Nico Coli lorded over the Open Juniors and finished third in the Open Men’s.