THE NEXT GENERATION OF SURFERS: SPOTLIGHT ON RISING SUPERSTAR KANOA IGARASHI
As told by Spy Optic Surf Segment Manager John Oda
Things have changed since I was a kid. With computer technology, internet access, high tech video games, and high-def TV, more kids have a fast-paced super-complex lifestyle. There is a new breed of superstardom within the growing sphere of action sports. The Tony Hawks and Kelly Slaters of the future are constantly emerging.
“Who is the next great one?” seems to be a common question of every young generation. It's like a feeding frenzy, a growing epidemic. Kids are different today because they are more driven than before as now fame and success are more exposed than ever.
Who doesn't want to be a superstar? We all have dreamt about it but now it's more available and even more youthful than ever.
I have been fortunate enough to see the growth of Clay Marzo, John John Florence, Luke Davis and many others on the Spy Optic surf team. Many say that the parents are pushing their kids too fast and too much, that they're being "soccer parents" and living vicariously through their kids. In my experience, if there is a wrong or something to blame it's the competitive times we live in. These kids want for themsleves it badly.
Now emerges another and even younger generation of groms. The one I have my eye on is Kanoa Igarashi. He's a second-generation Japanese transplant who resides in Huntington Beach, California. Ten-year old Kanoa stands about four and a half feet tall. He is a driven young grom with a great personality who has the passion and motivation for success. Kanoa goes to school like most kids, but goes above and beyond by attending Japanese school as well. He is bilingual, and keeps his Japanese roots alive by attending the extra schooling. After all his classes, he surfs and competes in contests. He loves contests and loves competing more than anything. I followed Kanoa around on a pretty typical weekend to see what he does and how he creates his own formula for success:
Saturday May 31, 2008
Rip Curl Grom Search.
Pacific Beach, San Diego, CA
Kanoa is the reigning champion at this event. He won the twelve and under age division at only nine years old in 2007.
The Igarashi's leave home at 5am to get the contest early so that Kanoa can free surf before his heat to feel out the conditions in Pacific Beach. They have a two hour drive to get to the contest site.
The surf is at best three feet on the face and weak in power. Kanoa breezes through his early heats making it easily into the finals of the twelve and under division. With the tide dropping, the waves get inconsistent for the final. Kanoa gets one decent wave but fails to find another good backup and falls short of a repeat, getting 4th place in the 12 and under division. From the start of his day, thirteen hours later he's home in bed resting for his next contest the following day.
Sunday June 1, 2008
Big Day Out presented by Jack's and Oakley
9th street Huntington Beach CA
It’s another early morning for the Igarashi family. They arrive at the beach at 6am to sign up and get in a free surf to warm up before heats. Kanoa's on another good run, making two finals for this event (Mini Groms 10 and under and the Boys 14 and under divisions).
His first final is the Mini grom division, where one of the finalists that Kanoa has to surf against is his five year old brother Keanu. In this division, most of the kids can barely surf or even make it to the outside where the waves are breaking. It's not that the other kids in that division are bad; it's just that Kanoa is that good. Kanoa wins without any problems at all.
The next division is going to be harder for him. It's the Boys division (14-year-olds and under). Kanoa finds a couple of waves that break from the outside and rips his way into the shore break, winning that division. Not a bad day for him with two finals and two wins. He leaves with more prizes than any kid would ever know what to do with.
This is typical weekend for Kanoa Igarashi and many other surfer groms that have this level of drive. This is their joy not their sacrifice. This is their lifestyle and their playground built by ambitious kids who are destined for success.
JO: Do you really like doing this many contests? Why?
KI: Yeah. I like doing them to see how good I can do. It's so fun!
JO: So if you lose or didn’t win, would you want to do as many contests as you are doing now?
KI: Heck no. (laughter) If I surf well and don't win it's OK because I was happy with the way I surfed and that's all the matters to me. I only get mad when I don't surf well.
JO: So what are you going to do now that this contest is over? Are going to surf again today?
KI: No. I want to invite my friend to eat dinner with me at Wahoo's or California Pizza Kitchen and go to bed early and get ready for tomorrow. Where should I eat?
JO: What’s going on tomorrow? What are you planning to do next week?
KI: I am going to Lowers after school to meet my coach to surf and train for the NSSA Nationals. I really want to do well at that contest. It would be nice to get good results there because it's a contest with all the best kids from the US and Hawaii. I also want to do the HB Surf series next weekend.
JO: Any last words before we part ways?
KI: When do I get to meet Dean Morrison? (laughter)
JO: I admire these groms who are on the path of fulfilling their dreams. Who can blame them? What would you rather do; surf all day or sit behind a desk and have someone boss you around all the time? How about even worse, wondering if you could have ever succeeded in what you had once desired and daydreaming of what it would have been like if you had only tried?
It's not ours to stop them from trying or to tell them it's not right to do this because we did not have that desire or opportunity for ourselves. It's our job to help them be all they can be, to encourage them, to guide them, to slow them down at times and to teach them that it is a long distance race not a sprint. Remind them to enjoy it all—the wins, the successes and to learn from the losses and short comings. It all can be fun with the right mindset and we can learn from them as well.
- Surfeyes.com
