1. The kooks are too far out.
The kooks get sucked out to sea by currents while waiting for a wave. There are also many surfers waiting for that one big wave that comes every 30 minutes. If you sit closer to the shore than everyone else you are almost always guaranteed to be in a better position to catch more, quality waves.
2. You can duck dive in the ocean deeper than in a pool if you let the force of the white water hit the back of your leg.
When you do the duck dive motion in a pool or in the ocean sans wave, you cannot get the nose too deep in the water without shooting backward from whence you came. However, if you have the force of a wave hit your back leg it will provide the torque necessary to push the tail to a lower level than the nose, so you shoot forward out of the back of the wave.
3. Paddle for waves like your life depends on it.
When you think you are paddling hard for a wave paddle twice as hard. This prevents you from having to airdrop and gives you the opportunity to start your wave with a pump.
4. While held under the water with your board, tilt it sideways so that you float to the top quickly.
After being held down by a wave, Keeping your board parallel with the surface will keep you under the water for longer than necessary.
5. Time your breathing so you exhale when underwater.
Full article on this here.
6. Use a bigger board with large fins. Use a board with a pintail.
Until your technique is near perfect you benefit more from getting more waves to practice your moves than you do from having a small performance board. Pintails are one of the best types of boards for stability and barrels.
7. Practice your technique on land with a camera.
Flowing through the motions on land with a camera and comparing what your movements look like to the movements of the pros will help you progress way faster than going into the water mindlessly.
8. Place your hands further back on your board when you pop up.
Make sure your forearm and bicep part of the arm form a 90-degree angle at the elbow when you pop up. This makes popping up take less energy.
9. Keep track of your position in the water by using two land markers onshore.
You cannot triangulate with only one marker.
10. To bottom turn, don't lean. Put your weight on your back toe/heel.
To do a backside bottom turn you are essentially doing a squat with most of your weight on your back leg. To do a frontside bottom turn you should have the heel of the back foot lifted slightly off the board.