Even for a 13-year-old surfing phenom, some things in life can be a little intimidating.

"I'm a little nervous about starting high school," said Carissa Moore, who will be a freshman at Punahou School in the fall.

Moore is that young. And when it comes to surfing, she is that good.

She made surfing history last week, becoming the most decorated competitor in the history of the prestigious National Scholastic Surfing Association's National Championships.

Moore won three divisions at the contest, which is held each year at Lower Trestles off San Clemente, Calif. She has won a record nine NSSA national titles in her career.

No other surfer — male or female — has ever won more than seven in a career.

"She's so far ahead of the game, it's amazing," said Bobbi Lee, director of the Hawai'i region of the NSSA. "Think about how young she is and how many more (championships) she could win."

The NSSA National Championships is considered the biggest event in the country for amateur surfers, and around 1,000 students enter it each year.

California's Bobby Martinez held the previous record with seven NSSA national titles in the 1990s. He is now ranked No. 3 on professional surfing's World Championship Tour.

"I know he's very good," Moore said of Martinez. "And I want to be a professional surfer like him when I'm done with school."

The NSSA started in the late 1970s, so virtually every professional surfer since then has competed at the NSSA National Championships.

Among the Hawai'i surfers who have won multiple NSSA titles in the past are Andy Irons, Kalani Robb, Fred Patacchia Jr., Megan Abubo and Melanie Bartels.

Moore has won more national championships than any of them, and she could be adding to her total for the next four years.

Chris Moore, Carissa's father, said the plan is for Carissa to graduate from Punahou before turning professional.

Michelle Wie, a senior-to-be at Punahou, is successfully juggling a professional golf career with her high school curriculum. However, Chris said Carissa is not likely to follow a similar path.

"I suppose we could look at an exemption when she's 16 or 17 if she continues to progress," Chris said. "But surfing is different from golf because of the conditions. There's a lot more physical risk involved with surfing on the professional level. She still needs more strength and maturity to compete in the bigger waves."

What's more, Carissa is an A-student, and has been at Punahou since kindergarten.

"We're definitely not going to take her out (of Punahou) so she can surf," Chris said. "She travels quite a bit now, but her teachers have been tremendously supportive. And I give credit to Carissa because she always makes the effort to stay on top of her school work before, during and after her trips."

She also keeps up with her own Web site, carissamoore .com, which includes a weekly journal.

"I like doing it," Carissa said. "It's more fun than writing papers for school."

Chris said a young female surfer and her mother expressed their appreciation for the Web site to him at the NSSA contest last week.

"It turns out the girl was dyslexic but she liked reading Carissa's writing," he said. "That really made me feel good because she doesn't just write about surfing. It's things other girls can relate to. It's a real journal."

Chris taught Carissa how to surf, and they still surf together when time allows.

"She's having fun doing what she's doing now," he said. "The way I see it, she's on a great track and she's still young so it doesn't make any sense to rush into anything."

Reach Dayton Morinaga at dmorinaga@honoluluadvertiser.com.