"He told me he doesn't know why everyone was blowing this out of proportion," Shane Williams said.
The teenage lifeguard viewed his actions as routine execution of his professional duties during a busy weekend for local emergency responders.
"Any other lifeguard on duty would do the same thing I did," Ryder Williams said, according to his father.
The father added that the family often joked about his son's physical endurance in the water.
"It's just been in his DNA since he was born," Shane Williams said.
Shane Williams further noted the duty-bound mindset his son maintained throughout the high-stakes situation.
"He sees [what happened Saturday] as his job – his duty. He did his job that day," he said.
The father concluded by commending his son's resilience and physical strength during the chaotic ocean event.
"He was such a stud out there," Shane Williams said. "I'm super, super proud of him."
>>> Heavy Rain, Flash Floods Threaten Connecticut and Massachusetts
California State Parks officials reported a total of 34 water rescues across the local lifeguard district over the same weekend.
