This is how the day begins for dozens of Kahuku teenagers. It's their hot shower and black coffee.

As the day progresses, they walk the halls of their school with eyes clear and senses tingling, shoulder to shoulder with, yet a psychological world apart from, their peers. They sit in classrooms, some attentively taking notes, some absently drawing on the backs of the hands, their muscles still pulsing with the memory of waves.

Many return to the ocean at dusk, after chores and before homework, to bask in the golden hour of last light and to catch, with any luck, the one soul-stirring ride that can redeem an entire week.

The young men and women of the Ko'olauloa Surf Club, the unofficial surf club of Kahuku High School, are an interesting and engaging bunch. Beneath the sun-bleached hair, shy smiles and adolescent slouches, they are the inheritors of a surfing culture that is riding a historic crest. And yet, on this football-mad neck of the shore, the school's top surfers are something of an afterthought.

"A lot of people don't know about the surf club," says freshman Rebecca Fonoimoana. "They think we're a bunch of bums (who) don't care about school and just want to surf. They don't pay attention to us because they don't think we're important."

That could change soon.

Support has been building for surf clubs such as Ko'olauloa to be allowed officially to represent their schools in sanctioned high school athletic competition. While no timetable has been set, the state Board of Education is expected to vote early next year on a measure that would make surfing an official school sport.

The key concerns are safety and liability, particularly after 13-year-old surfer Bethany Hamilton was attacked by a shark this year off Kaua'i.

Enthusiasts downplay risk

O'ahu Interscholastic Association executive director Dwight Toyama and others have gone on record saying the dynamic nature of the ocean makes surfing a particularly high-risk proposition.

That doesn't wash with coaches, parents and others who support the measure.

Fonoimoana's father, Scot, says surfing is no more dangerous than other sanctioned sports.

"I played football, basketball, track and field, and baseball and I know what the injuries are," he said. "I think (the board) is looking for excuses not to have it. It's like, 'We have our sports over here, and they're just surfers over there. They're not athletes. They don't fall into the competitive category.' "

Ko'olauloa coach Iris Gonzales, a biology teacher at Kahuku, has spent eight years spearheading the drive to get surfing recognized by the board. She and other supporters have compiled a compelling case for consideration.

Gonzales says making surfing an official sport will help surfers stay engaged and motivated about school. As participants in a sanctioned school sport, athletes would be subject to grade checks and a minimum GPA standard for participation. Official status also would provide overdue recognition to students who are as committed as any other athlete to their sport .

"They have school spirit, too," she said. "They want to represent their school. They want to have a banquet and be eligible for awards, too."

Lawsuits could be costly

As it is, the state Department of Education and individual schools and administrators are so wary of a budget-killing lawsuit resulting from a surf-related incident that they've prohibited student surfers from representing their schools in competitions and from using the name of the school or school logos for their surf clubs.

Thus, Ko'olauloa Surf Club — comprised entirely of Kahuku High students, coached by a Kahuku teacher and meeting informally in Gonzales' laboratory classroom — cannot call itself the Kahuku Surf Team. They can't practice together in any official capacity. They don't even receive any formal instruction.

There are five to 15 surf clubs unofficially affiliated with public high schools in any given year who compete in surf meets organized by the National Scholastic Surf Association, at no cost to schools or clubs.

Money is, of course, a major issue. There is concern among some athletic directors that adding another sport will mean taking money from existing sports programs.

Gonzales and other counter that there are no overhead costs, because surfers provide their own boards, coaches already serve on a volunteer basis, and surf competitions are organized by NSSA and underwritten by the organization and its sponsors.

'Ewa Beach Surf Club coach John Knutzen says the success of high school surf programs in California proves surfing can make a positive contribution to the overall development of student athletes.

"I'm from California, and over there we had surfing in P.E. and we had organized surf teams in the high schools," he said. "We have so many talented kids here, they should be given the opportunity to compete for their schools."

Structure would help many

Dave Cosier Jr., who heads Kalaheo's surf club, said there already is tremendous interest in surfing among students. His unofficial club has 56 members, a few of whom would clearly benefit, he says, from closer attention and a more structured program. (Cosier enforces his own 2.0 minimum GPA to keep his athletes on the right path.)

Both Knutzen and Cosier say surfing's image may play a part in the reluctance of some to embrace the activity as a "real" sport.

"Surfing has always had a hard time with credibility, but in the island — where surfing was born and where we have the Triple Crown and some of the best competitions in the world — you would think it would have more credibility," Knutzen said.

If that's the problem, Ko'olauloa's Reis Harney might be the answer. The Kahuku senior is a poster child for the sport's modern, cleaned-up image.

A lifelong North Shore resident, Harney complements his considerable talents as a surfer with a successful social and academic life.

A typical day finds him up by 6:30 for a pre-homeroom dawn patrol. His classes include political science, advanced-placement literature, Spanish III, advanced placement government and physics.

During recess and lunch, he attends meetings or works on his college and scholarship applications.

After school, if he doesn't have swimming or water polo practice, Harney heads back to the ocean for an hour or so of head-clearing surf.

"If I don't do something physical directly after school, I kind of slack off on my homework and I tend to space out," he said. "So it's good for me to go surfing to get that energy out. Then I can focus on my studies."

Harney hopes to attend the University of California-San Diego as a pre-med student. He also is applying to UC-Santa Barbara, UC-Santa Cruz, Pepperdine and other California schools.

But wouldn't he rather be a professional surfer?

"No," he said. "I think that's a great thing, but it's not for me."

A wave to a future

Still, there are plenty of other surfers who see their participation in a high school surf club as an opportunity to gain insight into a burgeoning industry.

"I think you should go as far as you can as a surfer, and if you don't make it, then fall back on the business side," said Kahuku junior Erik Knutson. "You can be a rep for the next generation, or a coach, or a team manager — maybe even start your own surf company."

Knutson already has parlayed his surfing experience into jobs with acclaimed surf filmmaker Bill Ballard.

"You can't bank on becoming a pro," said Erik's father, Mark. "But the whole surfing thing ties into filming, retail sales, marketing. Surfing has grown into such a big thing now."

But until his recreation becomes an officially recognized sport, Erik Knutson is perfectly happy to contemplate his future while enjoying his present.

"Every morning, I'm trying to push for just five more minutes (surfing)," he says. "Some kids have to catch the bus, but I have my license, so I can drive. And my teacher in first period surfs too, so maybe he'll let me slide if I run in with sandy feet.

"I'll just tell him the waves are good."