Surfing prodigy Pulcini looking for continued success at 37th annual NKF Salick Surf Fest

Timing is everything when it comes to surfing: which wave to select, when to take off, which direction, when to make the turns, which maneuver ...

If Kylie Pulcini's timing is on point, she will arrive just in time for the start of this weekend's 37th annual National Kidney Foundation Rich Salick Surf Fest at the Westgate Resorts Cocoa Beach Pier, where the amateurs begin Saturday and pros start Sunday.

The 14-year-old Melbourne resident will be arriving from the OBX Pro contest at the Outer Banks off North Carolina's coast, an event which provides valuable points on the World Qualifying Series, and a location that has become her favorite spot to surf.

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Pulcini has been impressive, especially as of late, being named to the USA National Junior Surf Team and winning the prestigious Rip Curl Grom Search event in New Smyrna Beach three weeks ago, where her 17-point total was the highest among girls or boys and earned her $500, a custom Lost surfboard and a valuable trip to surf at Kelly Slater's wave pool in Lemoore, Calif., in December.

"It's been going great," said Pulcini, a home-schooled high school freshman, who a year ago at age 13 won the Women's Pro title in the NKF Labor Day contest.

Cocoa Beach's Todd Holland, who competed on the world tour for 10 years and was ranked as high as eighth in the world in the early 1990s, has coached Pulcini since she was 7 after attending one of his School of Surf mini-grom surf camps.

"She definitely has come along quickly," Holland said. "First, she puts her time in the water ... and she's probably one of the most surf-stoked kids with the best attitude I've seen in years."

Pulcini's first Eastern Surfing Association regional title came three years ago in the under-12 division at Melbourne's Paradise Beach Park. This past year, she led the ESA's East Coast Prime Series in points in the U-16 and U-18 divisions and won two U-18 events and another U-16 contest along the East Coast.

At 5-foot-2, 116 pounds, the Ron Jon team rider is certainly light on her feet as evidenced by the speed she's been generating on the waves, but now her power is coming into play, and surfers and officials are beginning to take notice.

"She's amazing, such an up-and-comer," said Savanna Lanza, CEO for the NKF of Florida and event director for the surf contest. "She started as a Pollywog in the 9-under division in our event at 8 years old. Just a great personality, just the nicest person, and a great competitor."

Looking back over the history of Brevard County surfing, standout female surfers occasionally have emerged together in pairs, but not by coincidence.

After Satellite Beach's Mary Ann Hayes, a 2006 East Coast Surfing Hall of Fame inductee who showed she could surf with anyone in the world in the late 1960's and throughout the '70's, Sharon Wolfe and Jan Futch were making headlines along the Space Coast and East Coast by the time the calendar flipped to the '80's.

"I think we were all pushing each other, constantly trying to make each other better," said Wolfe (now -Cranston), a Cocoa Beach standout who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2010 and who credits Futch for being her mentor. "As soon as one person (started getting good), it was a constant battle, back and forth, because everybody's pushing each other."

Other examples of surfing pairs have included South Brevard's Nikki Viesins and Jasset Umbel, who once earned Junior Team USA berths and, currently, Melbourne Beach natives Caroline Marks (who has won three events on the World Championship Tour) and Rachel Presti (who is among the world's Top 20 on the Challenger Series).

And who could forget April Grover and Heidi Drazich, who appeared on MTV's first surfing reality series, "Surf Girls," in 2003? Or just north of Brevard, there were the legendary four-time world champions, Frieda Zamba (in the '80's) and Lisa Andersen (in the '90's).

Now, it's Pulcini and Daya McCart of Indialantic, who also is 14 but nine months younger, and the only two Florida girls on Junior Team USA.

"She's my best friend," Pulcini said. "We surf against each other, being constantly put into the finals with each other, we have  sleepovers ..."

So, who's the better surfer?

"I think we're tied," Pulcini said, laughing, not willing to rock the boat.

Lanza, a veteran surfer herself with her sister, enjoys seeing wave-riders push each other to become better.

"Especially for the women," she said. "So many have started in this (NKF) contest, and it's cool to see them grow and become incredible surfers."

Pulcini, meanwhile, continues to study films of Holland winning an Op Pro event, watching closely "when he makes his turns," for example. And, while the VHS tapes can be grainy at times, her focus has become crystal clear.

"I definitely want to make it on the world tour," she said. "But, no matter what, I (eventually) want to be a real estate agent."

For now, she hopes to represent America in the best way and try to qualify for the USA travel team to get into the International Surfing Association World Games, while following in her coach's footsteps and those of her friend, Carissa Moore, a five-time world champion.

"Anyone like her, who has a good personality and strong determination," is the type of person Pulcini looks up to, she said.

Now, it's up to her mom, Christy, a professional photographer, to get her safely back to Cocoa Beach from North Carolina.

"Let's say, if she makes it, she'll be the favorite, definitely," Lanza said.

It's all about timing, isn't it?

NKF Rich Salick Labor Day Surf Festival schedule

Thursday, 6 p.m.: Sponsor, Press and VIP Party at Fishlips, Port Canaveral

Friday, 6-10 p.m.: Last registrations at Westgate Resorts Cocoa Beach Pier

Saturday, 8 a.m.: Pro-Am surfing begins; Noon: Tandem surfing exhibition; 7:30-9 p.m.: NPI Movie Night

Sunday, 7 a.m.: Sunrise Service from Surf 8 Christians; 8 a.m.: Pro-Am surfing begins; Noon: Tandem surfing exhibition; 6-9 p.m.: Taste of Brevard at Cocoa Beach Country Club

Monday, 8 a.m.: Pro-Am surfing continues, followed by finals; Noon: Tandem surfing exhibition; 2 p.m. (tentative): Awards ceremony.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: 37th annual NKF Rich Salick Surf Fest: Sept. 3-5 in Cocoa Beach