Surfing program teaches troubled youths about integrity

Rich Brueckner sat in his office more than four years ago with a major problem on his mind.

As the senior Assistant State’s Attorney for Wicomico County and a top strategist for heroin reduction in Maryland, Brueckner was responsible for prosecuting primarily gang and narcotic-related crimes throughout the area.

No stranger to his field, Brueckner was still surprised by the age and background of several of the individuals caught with illegal drugs.

Local youths, primarily in the middle school range, were being prosecuted for the use of heroin and other narcotics. As Brueckner watched different students face charges on a weekly basis, he began to wonder what could be done to stop the crisis.

“In my opinion, by the time they got to high school, they’re largely lost — the decisions have been made one way or the other,” Brueckner said. “I was thinking, what can we do other than constantly feed kids into the juvenile justice system?”

Around the same time, Brueckner was reading a book that quickly became the answer to the prosecutor’s looming question.

World champion surfer Shaun Tomson’s “Surfer’s Code: 12 Simple Lessons for Riding Through Life” became the tool Brueckner believed could help cut back on the heroin epidemic among youths.

A longtime surfer himself, Brueckner knew the sport inside and out, and believed Tomson’s book could serve as a guide for teenagers looking to get on the right path.

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With the idea fresh in his mind, the Wicomico prosecutor quickly began developing the program that would later become Surf Into Integrity.

“It became very clear to me that the book contained really valuable life lessons about morality, integrity, what it really means to be a young man or a woman in today’s world,” Brueckner said. “If I could use surfing as the hook, this would be a great opportunity to teach some of what seems to be missing in today’s world, and maybe make a little bit of difference in a few kid’s lives.”

A program like no other

The premise was set. Brueckner would teach a class to a group of students with Tomson’s book serving as the source for the program’s curriculum.

From the 12-chapter book, Brueckner had the idea to break the program into two parts — an afterschool learning section where students would study and analyze the assigned reading, with a separate day dedicated to teaching kids how to surf.

“Everyone has lived life, and this provides a venue for the kids to dive into it to whatever extent they wish,” Brueckner said. “It was carefully named Surf Into Integrity so that the first word might encourage some kids to sign up, maybe not even knowing fully what they’re getting into at that point.”

As he continued to plan the class, Brueckner needed to find a place that could house and support his new idea.

Needing to be close to the ocean, Brueckner looked to Stephen Decatur Middle School, which sat just 15 minutes away from Ocean City.

Meeting with Decatur’s assistant principal and head of afterschool activities, Brueckner pitched the idea to Theresa Torpey and shared his vision for the new program.

Loving the idea and curriculum that had been set in place, Torpey signed off on Surf Into Integrity, giving Brueckner’s creation the home it needed to succeed.

“I designed the class so that not only could I teach it, but so that anyone could step into that role,” Brueckner said. “My vision was that (the program) goes on long after I’ve gone, as well as spreading into other schools.”

While the Wicomico prosecutor had a long background in the sport, Brueckner needed more teachers with a similar vision to steer the program.

Partnering with the Ocean City Surf Club, several members signed on with Brueckner to help teach kids valuable life lessons, while also sharing their love of surfing with a new group of individuals.

Established in 2014, the club has often supported the area’s youth through scholarships and mentoring programs.

“We try to instill into these kids to use manners, have respect, and part of the slogan for the Ocean City Surf Club is give respect, get respect, so we encourage these children to do the right thing, have some morals so they can adopt these values in future years,” lead instructor Tommy Vach said. “We’re a group of surfers, but we’re also individuals trying to do the right thing.”

'I’ve learned to look out for other people'

With a solid team in place and fully trained, Surf Into Integrity officially kicked off in the fall of 2015.

Through the help of guidance counselors, teachers and advertising throughout the school, the program brought in nine students in its inaugural year.

As word spread, Surf Into Integrity has more than doubled its enrollment, with 19 students currently making up the 2017 class.

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Each week, students are required to read two chapters and be able to engage in discussion about the topic. On Sunday mornings, the group meets in Ocean City, where they take what they learned the previous week and apply it to surfing.

For 12-year-old Maddie Pusey, the program has served as a way to meet new people, while learning a skill she had always watched from afar.

“I always loved the ocean and loved being in the water, so I always wanted to learn how to surf,” Pusey said. “I’ve learned to look out for other people and that not everything is a competition — not everything is like you see on TV. There’s a lot of trusting your instincts and trust what your heart feels you should do.”

Much like Pusey, classmate Jake Moser also joined Surf Into Integrity because of his love for surfing. With a background in surfing himself, Moser jumped at the opportunity to spend extra time in the water learning different techniques from longtime surf instructors.

But away from the ocean, Moser has seen his biggest development in the classroom, learning qualities like kindness, friendship, and trust.

“Just be a good person, and if you have integrity and you use it, that’s the meaning of a good person," Moser said. "Integrity is just being the helpful hand, watching out for others and just being nice.”

One tactic Brueckner, Vach and other Surf Into Integrity instructors use to instill respect is addressing students by Mr. and Miss — something Brueckner believes helps kids feel more like adults than teenagers.

“Being spoken to with both respect and dignity really steps up their game,” Brueckner said.

Circle Up

But the best information the instructors are offering is what is printed directly in Tomson’s book. The nine-week program focuses on a wide variety of topics while challenging students to take what they learned in the previous class and apply it to their everyday lives.

Before they surf on Sunday mornings, the students, instructors, parents and even teachers do what Brueckner refers to as "Circle Up."

Sitting in a circle on the beach, one-by-one, those involved talk about how they benefited from the previous lesson.

It’s a bonding technique that has already seen amazing results in the eyes of the program’s lead instructor.

“It’s a book everyone should read, and it talks about doing the right thing, never giving up, so every chapter hits on a valuable lesson, not just to these young kids but to everyone in life,” Vach said. “I bump into former students in public and they address me and look me in the eye, so that’s really rewarding for us to see the kids benefit from the program down the road.”

The program has inspired other local youth initiatives, including the Doverdale lacrosse team that was formed by Wicomico Circuit Court judge Matt Maciarello in March.

A former colleague of Brueckner, Maciarello designed a program that helps Wicomico youth, while Surf Into Integrity focuses on those in Worcester County.

Through the continued development of youth programs, Brueckner is hoping to see more community leaders give back to the students and help lead them on a path to success.

No matter how many cases the Wicomico prosecutor may try, Brueckner said nothing makes him happier than seeing a young student make the right decision and take the path toward a successful future.

“There’s no such thing as giving too much of our free time to our community, no matter how busy we think we are," Brueckner said.

“We’re all in it together.”