Australian wakeboarding champion, Jamberoo's Jayden Foye reflects on a great year in his new sport. Picture: PAUL JONES
TEN-year-old Jamberoo boy Jayden Foye is a young man going places and doesn't mind throwing in a few tricks along the way.
The multi-talented Jayden, who was a member of the Albion Park-Oak Flats Junior Rugby League under-10 premiership team in 2012, is celebrating a stellar year in wakeboarding, less than two years after taking up what is now his favourite sport.
"We were skiing at Swan Lake down the coast and dad brought out an old wakeboard to give me a go," Jayden said.
"I was pretty good at it, so he got me my own board and I started to learn new tricks.
"I just love competing."
The Year 5 Jamberoo Public School student's training regime includes sessions with coach Scott Kell at the Black Diamond Wakeboard School at Nowra and Lake Illawarra.
He also trains daily at home on his trampoline using his board and a rope.
"There is also a cable wake park at Penrith and a new cable ride at Warrawong, which is really cool," Jayden said.
Jayden's résumé is impressive. He came first at the Wakeboard NSW under-10 boys straight air competition, first in the NSW titles, second in the Rail Jam under-9 boys cables at Penrith, second in the Australian Open in the under-9 boys and recently won the Australian Wakeboard nationals at Mulwala.
Jayden also finished first at Wakeboard NSW competitions in the under-16s, completing the straight air boys four times.
The Australian title was hard-won in testing conditions.
He fell in his first pass attempting a back-roll, only to make up for it in his second, including his new move - 'the scarecrow'.
He received his award at the presentation night in front of some of the sport's elite.
Jayden hopes to compete overseas once he is 15. However, he also has his eyes fixed on a much bigger prize.
"There is talk that wakeboarding or cable boarding may be included in the 2020 Olympic Games and I will be 18 by then, so we will just have to wait and see what happens."
