by Rachel Cantore - USASUP SouthEast Regional Rep
The future of SUP Racing lies in growing and developing our youth, teens and young adults, motivating and supporting their growth, and continuing to bring new youth into the sport of stand up paddle boarding. As a SUP racer myself with a strong passion for stand up paddling and personal history growing up partaking in competitive sports, I was curious to learn more from our own junior athletes who have gotten into SUP racing over the past handful of years as well as their families. My hopes for putting this story together is to provide further insight and interest around SUP racing and stand up paddling especially for those that have children and teens.
I recently had the honor of chatting with some of our USA Junior SUP Athletes and parents. The following was shared during their interview.
Mason Kober
What did you do on the water today? I paddled a couple of miles
Do you follow a plan when you paddle? I usually decide what I’m going to do before I go out on the water, but I’m goin to start having a plan ahead each week.
How old are you? I’m 15.
When did you start paddling? I started paddling when I was 4 or 5 years old. I used my Dad’s old windsurfer and a kayak paddle and paddled around the pond. It was fun messing around and being able to fall in the water and have fun. My Dad used to do windsurfing and sailing when he was younger.
What interests you most about stand up paddling/SUP racing? All the people and having a good time. Seeing all the people different places and meeting up at different races.
When did you start SUP racing? I was 8 or 9 years old, It was the Carolina Cup Kids Race, which got cancelled. It was then that we met Erin Carter and she invited us to paddle with the team. I enjoyed that and started and just never stopped.
You live up near other athletes including Campbell Carter? Do you paddle with him or others often? We (Campbell Carter) used paddle. Not so much anymore, but sometimes. I usually paddle by myself. Depending on what I do, if it’s ocean stuff I usually like having someone with me, if I’m just doing the loop or doing distance, I usually like being by myself.
What do you love most about SUP racing? Just seeing everyone and seeing all the familiar faces and talking and all of that good stuff.
What is your favorite discipline (sprints, distance, tech) and why? My favorite is probably technical, tech and sprints, because anything can happen. It’s fun to be able to paddle as fast and hard as you can for 2 minutes or less and be done with is. Distance you’re doing the same thing.
What’s the longest distance you’ve ever raced or paddled? I think it was either 8 or 10 miles.
Do you do any training on land, or what does your training and paddling look like these days? I broke my thumb a little while ago, and I was doing more running then. But when it starts getting a little colder, I’m gong to start doing more running and going to the gym.
What was your most favorite SUP race experience to date and why? The GOAT Boater or Lowcountry Boil. The GOAT Boater is so fun because they have different things each race, like the wake race. And the Lowcountry Boil is all the people and it’s a lot of fun!
What are you most proud of? Seeing and looking back and seeing all the old past races I’ve done and how I’ve progressed over the years.
Where have you done most of your races and paddling? I’ve traveled a little bit. I’ve done some in North Carolina and down in Florida.
What are the waterways like where you do most of your paddling? It’s mostly intercostal, and every once in a while I’ll go in the ocean, but most of the time when I’m in the ocean, I’m surfing or SUP surfing.
Did you start surfing and SUP surfing before or after you started SUP? I started SUP surfing after I started paddling, but I stated surfing around the same time as I started paddling.
You would you tell someone else your age that has never experienced stand up paddling or SUP racing before? It is a really fun sport, and that they should definitely learn how to do it, and to keep training and not give up.
What would you like to achieve in the sport? Just to keep going and keep trying my best.
Any favorite athletes you admire? I look up to everyone. I’ve learned a lot from other paddlers, and watching videos of them also helps.
Where do you see yourself in three to five years? Probably doing the same stuff, surfing, fishing, paddling, SUP surfing..
Any places or locations you’d like to paddle? I like going to Florida in the Winter.
You’re up in NC, it gets a bit cold up there, correct? Do you train year round? It does get a bit cold here and the water does get cold. I try to paddle once a week or so but it’s hard because you have to wear extra clothing like booties and pants and gloves so you don’t get too cold, but I try to paddle in the winter. If I don’t paddle, I’ll go to the gym and run.
Do your friends paddle with you? Most of my friends surf, not many of them paddle. I’ll surf with my friends 3 or more times a week.
Has surfing helped you with paddling or paddling helped with surfing? Surfing has definitely helped my SUP surfing. There’s a competition every year called the Carolina Pro-Am, and a bunch of people go, it’s a SUP surf competition, and every year looking back at the photos I see the benefits.
Why do you feel more youth/teens your age should get involved in SUP/racing? Because it’s a fun event, and fun sport, a bunch of good people, it’s good for your body, and why not. Try something new!
Is there anything else you would like to share? Train hard and have fun! If you don’t paddle a lot, you might as well try it, get into it. Rent a board and see how it feels.
What’s your board and equipment of choice? I just got a new 14 foot board, Steve Miller’s old board. It’s a Flying Fish. I’m loving it. I use a Black Project Paddle.
When’ your next race? I have a race this Saturday, the Over and Under Biathlon. It’s in Topsail beach, it’s 4 mile paddle and 4 mile run over the topsail bridge and back. You can do either just the paddle or the paddle and run, or you can have a team where one person paddles an one runs. This is my 3rd or 4th year doing it. We thought of having my Dad do the running, but probably not this year.
Will we be seeing you at ICF’s in a few months? Yes, i’ll be there.
David Kober, Mason’s dad
Do you stand up paddle board and/or race? No, neither Sarah or I paddle which surprises a lot of people.
What attracted you and/or your son to SUP? Mason started paddling on a Cape Cod pond when he was 8. He started on my old Bic Electric Rock windsurfer with a canoe paddle. Fortunately he's always had excellent balance. Paddling was a way for him to explore the pond and standing gave him good visibility for spotting frogs and fish.
In the spring of 2016 we discovered the Carolina cup where we met Erin Carter with the Wrightsville Beach Junior Elite Team. There was a meet and greet with the pros and Mason was hooked. The following year joined the WB JETS and was first in line for Fiona Wylde's clinic.
What is something you would tell other parents who have children that may be interested or thinking of getting involved in SUP/racing? I would say keep an eye out for the technical or sprint races, even if they are not ready to compete they are great fun to watch. Pushing kids into long-distance paddles isn't as much fun for them. It's all about keeping it fun.
Is there anything else you’d like to share? I don't think I can think of a sport where the people are more welcoming, inclusive and supportive. Going to the races does require a lot of travel, but you're going to great places, and I'll take the beach over hanging out on a baseball field any day. It has been a great opportunity for us to travel as a family.
Maylee Jaggi
What’s your name? How old are you? When did you start paddling? My name is Maylee Jaggi, I’m 16 years old and I’ve been paddling for 8 years so pretty much half my life.
Where do you live? We live between San Diego and Dana Point, so most of where I paddle is between there.
What interested you most about stand up paddling/SUP racing? My brother had been padding with the paddle academy with Mike Eisert in Dana Point for about a year. I would sit on the beach and watch them and I thought it was so cool. I would watch Jade Howson Itzel Delgado the Juniors and young athletes and I thought it was so cool so I wanted to start training with them.
When did you start SUP racing? I started racing that fall. I started raining mid summer 2017/18. I was paddling with the paddle academy and did a race then. But I really started to push myself the past 3-4 years.
What do you love most about SUP Racing?I probably love the community the most. The people, I get to meet a ton of people from all the races like Rai, Shrimpy, Trace and Alex from Sayulita, Juliette, and people from around the world. I feel it’s a really good experience to be a part of it!
What is your favorite discipline (sprints, distance, tech) and why? Being a part of the Paddle Academy, I have to train and race all disciplines, but I think my favorite would be tech. It’s a little easier mentally because it’s a shorter distance than long distance. When I was little I hated going through the waves and buoy turns, but now I really love to do it. The strategy is different too so it’s a lot of fun.
What was your most favorite SUP race experience to date and why? It would be either PPG (Pacific Paddle Games), which was a huge race and I would meet people from around the world. I got to do all my favorite races there. Hood River was also cool too. I got to meet a lot of people and had a lot of fun the week before and then we would race and have fun. PPG was last in 2019, it was in Dana Point California. Rainbow sandals sponsored it, it was a really cool experience, I met shrimpy and Itzel, the would come train the week before and we would train in the same beach where the race was held so it was a cool common ground.
What’s the race and paddle scene like near where you live? In Dana Point, we have a lot of winter series races. There’s about 3-4 in the series and a bunch of other races between Newport/Dana Point and San Diego.
What are you most proud of? It would probably be the last year. I’ve had a lot of physically hard things I’ve had to push past. It was a make or break moment for me for paddling. I had to figure out how to keep pushing myself and motivating myself to keep paddling, It was a really hard thing. Looking back it made me a better paddler and also a better person, and those experiences that happen in sports helps people in life too. It’s not just something that happens in sports, it’s like in general.
What sort of setback did you have? I have a pancreatic tumor, it was benign, but it had to be removed. The procedure to remove it was the Whipple procedure, it takes out all my organs to take the tumor out - part of my bile duct, my gallbladder, part of my small intestine. The surgery was in the middle of my stomach down the middle so my stomach muscles had to come back together before I could actually do anything. I had to wait 2 months until I could actually lift anything heavier than a milk carton. It was really hard to mentally start to push myself paddling then, I had to get all that strength back, and because I lost so much muscle it was hard with my shoulders so it would hurt a lot so I had to keep pushing and build the muscle back up.
I didn’t have to do physical therapy, I was cleared after 2 months. But it was a lot of work with my coach and the paddle academy. I would train in the mornings and after school and he helped me a lot with getting stronger and knowing he went though his own cancer treatment made it a little easier to keep pushing.
Do you tend to paddle on your own or with other people? I tend to practice on my own. I try to go paddle every day and a lot on my own since my brother is doing school right now, I tend to paddle with him once or twice a week. There’s not enough juniors that live near me. The closest junior to me is in Long Beach, Soryn Preston is it’s kind of hard to train with everyone because there’s not so many near me.
You would you tell someone else your age that has never experienced stand up paddling or SUP racing before? That they should definitely do it, it’s a cool experience. Especially, growing up I didn’t think this was such a big thing but as I get older I realize how grateful I am. When I was younger paddling it wasn’t as big of a motivator to keep pushing. We would do these long distance paddles in the ocean and I would come home and tell my mom about the dolphins or houses I would see. I learned so much about the ocean around me and cool stuff about the tides and currents and winds that I would never have experienced without paddling and the community is so great I wish everybody could see it.
What would you like to achieve in the sport? I want to graduate early this year. I want to keep going with paddling and training. I want to do the EuroTour and those fun races. I want to hopefully get into the olympics when we (SUP) is in the olympics, and to work really hard to get a gold medal would be really amazing. Until then, just work with ISA and ICF and keep pushing.
You surf, paddle surf..? I long board, I haven’t been doing it for very long, as a little kid was scared of the waves so it as hard to keep paddling in the ocean because it was scary for me so for about the last year I’ve been long boarding. I’ve tried a bit of SUP surfing, it’s a little bit trickier because I’m not used to the shorter board, but I do take my 14 foot barod and SUP surf with that.
What waters and conditions do you paddle in? Ocean side harbor is where I usually go out at most times. It has a beach right next to it, it I need to train the waves I’ll go out there or I’ll go in the harbor and do shorter pieces for sprinting, but I’m usually out in the ocean. The current and tides tend to help with balance so I like to do a lot of paddling there.
Where do you see yourself in five years? You will be graduating early? I want to graduate early and then do community college to do classes and then go to hair school and be a hair stylist cause it’s flexible, or I want to become something in the youth ministry for my church because its a really cool place and God’s almost calling me there. But we’ll see where I go.
Why do you feel more youth/teens your age should get involved in SUP/racing? The training is really hard by myself. Growing up with the Paddle Academy and 20-30 youth was such an amazing experience. We would do relays and have fun during practices. After practice we would go surfing and have fun beach days, and I think that’s something we should bring back. I know there’s people who can still train everyone, like Mike Eisner has boards and you can always practice with him. It’s such a cool experience and I wish more people would join because it brings the paddling community up and there would probably be more races if we had more juniors.
Youth Paddle Academy - 8 to 18 years old, some older ones who graduated return too.
Is there anything else you would like to share? I just want to say thank you to all my friends and family and my coach Mike Eisner for pushing me. I think that’s something people take for granted, because I have a whole community behind me and I think with everybody surrounding you in a sport it’s just so great and I’m really grateful for it.
Corey Jaggi, Maylee’s Dad
Do you stand up paddle board and/or race? Me and my wife met dong water sports and surfing so when the kids were young we wanted to try to get them into the beach lifestyle and such, so we got paddle boards and got them on with us and I started to with paddle with them and they kinda took of with them and we wanted to start racing and we had some friends that raced. So it comes down a progression from surfing to paddling to doing this. I do recreational paddling and canoeing but I’m definitely not a racer, I leave it up to them.
What attracted you and/or your daughter to SUP? What is something you would tell other parents who have children that may be interested or thinking of getting involved in SUP/racing? It’s not just a sport, it’s a lifestyle. We’re on the beach every week and you’re with the community, you get to travel and you get to do as much as you want - you can travel up and down the coast. I’d rather be on the beach any day than on a hot soccer field and that scene. It’s a lifestyle, they train every day of the week if they can, and it’s being healthy, being outside, not playing video games. It helps with the mental aspect for kids and the physical aspect so it’s been a great experience for us and our kids. We’ve always been close to the beach, as close to the beach as we can.
Is there anything else you’d like to share? It would be great to have more races and more kids participate. I’m proud of my kids, and we got to see a whole generation of kids grow up and continue to race. It’s been a great adventure with our kids and we’ve made great family memories throughout this whole ordeal so it would be great to keep going and hopefully see some more kids.
What’s the farthest race? Any out of the country races? We travel as a family as much as we can. Maylee has gone all the ways to south Carolina and up to Hood river and the west coast. Riley has done some in Puerto Rico and Paris.
Stay tuned for Part 2 of this story and get to know some of our other Junior USA SUP Racers!
Interested in getting your kids or teens involved SUP and SUP racing?
Contact your local paddle board shop for lessons and other programs for youth.
In Southern California - The Paddle Academy in Dana Point/Laguna Niguel
In Wrightsville Beach, North Carolina - Wrightsville SUP
In Hilton Head, South Carolina - Stand and Paddle
