About Micro Surf Academy
Micro Surf Academy
Micros Micro Surf Academy or MSA is a mentoring and coaching academy for intermediate to elite surfers. MSA is designed to improve progressive surfing, manoeuvre technique, competition strategies and advice on events, equipment, fitness, nutrition and all at that is required to perform at the elite level in surfing.
MSA’s current stable of athletes include up and coming junior surfers right through to elite professional surfers competing on the Championship Tour (CT). MSA is headed up by retired CT professional surfer, Glenn “Micro” Hall.
Glenn ‘Micro’ Hall
Micro grew up in the small town of Umina, New South Wales, Australia. Supported by his parents, Micro reached an elite level of surfing and spent most of his 20’s surfing the world qualifying series renowned for being a hard slog. In 2013 Micro realised all his dreams as he became a rookie on the world’s surfing Championship Tour at the ripe age of 31.
4 rounds into the 12 round 2013 CT season, Micro’s rookie year was dealt a severe blow, injuring his back in a flogging at the renowned “Cloud Break”, in Fiji. After missing out on an injury wild-card in 2014 (which some people still today talk about as a controversial decision by the industry’s governing body), Micro managed to fight his way back onto the Championship Tour in 2015 before retiring from professional surfing at 2015’s seasons end in Hawaii.
In late December 2015 when asked to look back at his CT career, Micro reflected with; ‘My most proud moments in my life, aren't surfing really. It was getting married and having kids and having good friends. Looking at my CT surfing career specifically - probably coming back from my injury in 2013. I was pretty proud of myself for that and even the year before I qualified, I was out for a year with a busted ankle and the fact that I didn't give up, that was something I was really proud of in my career.’
Surfing has been the main part of Micro’s life since he was about 9. He was hooked from the start and enjoyed dissecting each turn and ways to improve his surfing. Micro started to get results in local, state and Australian title events and at age 16 Micro was approached by the Australian Institute of Sport or the AIS to participate in its ‘surfing’ program. The program was run by Martin Dunn and regularly utilised coaches who were surfing on the world tour at the time.
Only a handful of junior surfers in each age group were selected for the AIS surfing program which provided regular coaching with the best coaches in the industry which Micro was exposed to throughout his entire junior career.
The knowledge Micro gained from his time in the AIS program was instrumental to his success as a professional surfer and more importantly now as ‘Head Mentor’ and ‘Coach’ at MSA. With his time with the AIS, a decade on the world qualifying series and his years surfing and now coaching on the Championship Tour - Micro has been studying surfing at an elite level for 20+ years.
In recent years Glenn "Micro" Hall has become something of a super-coach on the CT. In a short period of time, he's been able to help facilitate a career turnaround for CT surfer Matt Wilkinson, a fairy-tale-like return from injury for Owen Wright, and back-to-back World Titles for Tyler Wright again both on the CT. Micro also works with Championship Tour athletes Conner Coffin and Tour veteran Ace Buchan.
In addition, Micro works with a number of Qualifying and Junior surfers.
For Micro it is more than just focusing on the competitions. During the offseason Micro likes doing a lot of interesting work with his MSA athletes both physically, mentally and adding the fun component of staying engaged, and creating a bit of longevity in his athletes’ careers.
His approach also involves in getting his athletes together and chatting about things outside of surfing and making sure that all aspects in their lives (even outside of surfing) is in order.
‘I try to help to relieve the pressure from their surfing. We catch-up a few times in the pre-season, pretty much just hang out and go surfing and run some drills and do some training, but also go have a couple beers, and dinner to try and understand each other better’.
Micro’s role as head of MSA is more than coaching. It includes mentoring MSA’s athletes and in particular MSA’s junior up and coming athletes.
‘Just hanging out for a few days or a week, the right topics come up and it can be anywhere - on the way to the beach, or sitting in the car park, or any day to day activity. Having time together creates those moments to talk about the right topics and I suppose, they let their guard down here and there, and we get to really talk in depth about certain things. To me, that's just as important as results.
Surf Mentoring and Coaching is an honest passion of Glenn “Micro” Hall’s and his dream and vision behind MSA is to pass on the knowledge he has gained from his many years of surfing at an elite level.
Coaching achievements
23 x WT Event Finals
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2 x World Titles
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2 x Olympics Qualifications
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6 x Top 5 WT Season Ranking
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23 x WT Event Finals 〰️ 2 x World Titles 〰️ 2 x Olympics Qualifications 〰️ 6 x Top 5 WT Season Ranking 〰️
Coaching Achievements Timeline
Matt Wilkinson — 2 wins, 1 x 2nd place, Top 5 finish
Tyler Wright — 5 wins, 2 x 2nd place, WORLD TITLE
2016
Owen Wright and Matt Wilkinson — Snapper 1st and 2nd
Matt Wilkinson — 1st Fiji
Owen Wright and Matt Wilkinson — 5th and 6th season finish
Tyler Wright — 1 x 1st, 1 x 2nd, WORLD TITLE
2017
Ace Buchan — 2nd place Snapper
Owen Wright — 2nd place Portugal
Tyler Wright — 1 x 2nd place (injury year)
2018
Owen Wright — 1st place Tahiti
Owen Wright — OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION
Brisa Hennessy — Rookie of the Year and OLYMPIC QUALIFICATION
2019
Tyler Wright — 1st place Maui Pro
Conner Coffin — 2nd place Narrabeen Classic, 4th season finish
Owen Wright — OLYMPIC BRONZE MEDAL
Molly Picklum — WQS victories and CT Qualification
2021
Brisa Hennessy — Sunset Pro win, Top 5 season finish
Molly Picklum — 1st place Ballito, 1st place Pipe Masters
2022
2025
Molly Picklum — WORLD TITLE
MSA and Aventuur
MSA has partnered with surf park developer Aventuur to develop a training, coaching and high-performance curriculum specifically designed for wave pool environments, tuned toward performance in the ocean.
Glenn has been working with athletes including Molly Picklum, Kelly Slater and others in wave pool environments and has become one of the leading voices in how surf parks can accelerate athlete development.
"I have been able to achieve a month's work in a day with my athletes at surf parks, because you can identify and isolate those small details, those areas for improvement, and immediately address them. Nothing will ever replace the ocean, but knowing exactly what a wave is going to do is unique to man-made surfing environments."
Glenn Hall, MSA