Carissa Moore doesn't have a driver's license yet. Ironically, the girl with the fearless surfing prowess is afraid of the road.

"To tell you the truth, I have a couple of really funny driving stories," said Moore, 17. "I've hit more than a few things backing out of my garage."

It is ironic because Moore has used a license to thrill in becoming a driving force in the sport of surfing.

In a sport filled with dozens of the so-called "next big thing," Moore is the biggest.

She recently qualified for the 2010 ASP Women's World Tour. Only 17 of the best female surfers from around the world qualify for that tour.

In effect, she will begin her run for a professional world title before she graduates from high school.

Moore is in her senior year at Punahou School, on track to graduate in June. The 2010 women's world tour is scheduled to begin in Australia in either late February or early March.

"I think it's exciting, something she's worked on for a long time," said her father, Chris. "Obviously, we're going to have to juggle school with the tour, but as long as she's in school, that has to take priority."

First, Moore will end 2009 at the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. She made history last year when she won the Hawaiian Pro at Hale'iwa Ali'i Beach.

She was 16 at the time, the youngest surfer — male or female — ever to win a Triple Crown contest.

"It was definitely a dream come true," Moore said. "Hale'iwa is actually one of my favorite spots on the North Shore. It was always a goal of mine to do well there, and I'm surprised it happened last year."

The rest of the surfing world wasn't quite as surprised.

Moore took on phenom status in 2004, when as an 11-year-old seventh-grader, she beat all the older high school girls to win the National Scholastic Surfing Association championship event at California. She would go on to win a record 11 scholastic national titles.

In 2007, at age 14, she made international Headline 1s when she upset then-world champion Layne Beachley on the way to a runner-up finish at a major professional contest in Australia. Later that year, she scored a gender-breaking victory over Hawai'i's top boy surfers at the Quiksilver King of the Groms event.

It all led to a lucrative sponsorship deal. Earlier this year, Moore signed agreements with Nike 6.0, Red Bull and Target — companies that reach beyond surfing circles.

Details of the contracts are kept confidential, but some surf media outlets have speculated that the total value is more than $700,000 per year.

The Target contract was especially meaningful. She is the first surfer signed to represent the retail market.

"In a couple of years, she'll probably be a world champion," said Randy Rarick, executive director of the Vans Triple Crown of Surfing. "The sponsors see that potential and they wanted to capitalize on it. Plus, on top of her surfing skills, she's a good kid, well-spoken, just a good representative for the sport."

Through it all, Moore has maintained her humility.

She recently started training with professional surfers Myles Padaca and Pancho Sullivan on O'ahu's North Shore, but her favorite surf sessions are with her younger sister and two stepsisters.

"Surfing started out as something I did with my dad and my mom, just a family thing," Moore said. "It's always going to be a fun family thing for me. But I think over the years, my love for the sport has really grown."

She said her parents are depositing her endorsement checks — and contest prize money — in the bank.

"I'm not really worried about that, just kind of doing it for the love of it right now," she said. "The money is a real cool bonus and I'm grateful for that. To tell you the truth, I don't like spending money because I kind of feel guilty after."

Moore's wave-riding skills are not the only anomaly in the sport. Almost all of the other top-ranked surfers in her age group attend home schools.

"I can adamantly say no," her mother Carol said when asked about the temptation of a home-school program. "We really believe in putting her in regular school."

It has allowed her to attend the junior prom and pep rallies, even participate in ... detention.

Moore got "busted" earlier this year for wearing a sponsor's T-shirt, which did not fit the school's dress code. She had to work off the demerits by picking up trash on the campus after school.

"It wasn't, like, scandalous," she said. "I promise I'm not a bad kid."

Proof of that came several weeks ago when she helped a student in the Punahou elementary school. The student was falling behind his classmates in reading, so the teacher had him read newspaper and magazine articles about Moore.

When he completed the reading assignments, the teacher brought Moore across campus to meet the student.

"I think Carissa was more excited about it than anybody," said Ruth Fletcher, dean of students for the class of 2010. "You could see how much she wanted to reach out and help."

Despite her colorful status in the surfing world, Moore is considered just another Buffanblu on the Punahou campus. After all, she has roamed the same halls during her high school years as Michelle Wie and Manti Te'o.

"There's so many talented kids at our school, either academically, in their sports, or musically," she said. "It's really cool to grow up with so many talented people."

Fletcher said: "She meshes with everybody ... except she's an out-of-this-world surfer and carries a 3.8 (grade point average)."

Fletcher said she did not realize Moore's significance until she saw her on the cover of a magazine.

While Moore appears destined for more surfing greatness, she also has college aspirations.

"A big reason we kept her in a high school like Punahou is to go to college," her father said. "Whether she has to take a few years off, which is likely at this point, she can always come back to college. That's something we're always going to look at."

For now, the valedictorian of the surfing class is more interested in seeing the world through her sport.

"I don't want to put expectations on myself," she said. "I just want to try my best and have fun and kind of see what happens."