Being a national champion at anything is a pretty good feeling but how about back to back national championships? How does that feel?
“I’m glad I got to keep my national title,” said 16 year old Nakita Schaab of Lacombe after capturing the crown at the Canadian Wakeboard Championships in Abbotsford B.C. earlier this month. “I did better than I have ever rode this year so I’m happy about that.”
She started wakeboarding when she was ten years old and took to it like a duck to water.
“Well my dad wakeboarded and I needed a water sport because I didn’t like skiing,” she said about the decision to give this sport a whirl.
In her six years of competing she’s been to nationals all six years so it appears this was the right choice.
“I mainly like the community of wakeboarding, getting to go to competitions. I do a lot of judging and coaching myself so I like to get in there and help the wakeboard community girls.”
Apart from the physical strength required in the sport Schaab says basically you need to have some mental toughness when competing.
“When I first started competing I use to get really, really nervous and I’d like feel really sick before I ride.”
Her focus is on the run itself and if you fall, just get back up and carry on. It’s a simple mantra but one she sticks with and the results are there.
“I learned that it’s no big deal. It happens to everyone. Most of the runs at nationals, rarely anyone has ever made a run without falling.”
Another facet of that mental toughness is to be willing to try new tricks because the more tricks you attempt, the better you’re going to get, she said.
The spinoff from getting better is attracting sponsors which of course help the boarder to continue to work at their craft.
Even with back to back national titles she’s not about to sit back and admire the hardware. The practice continues as she tries to work more tricks into her routine making it more difficult but at the same time to become more comfortable so it’s second nature.
Add to that is a look down the road with regard to her role within the wakeboarding community.
“For now I hope to do a lot more coaching and judging so I think I’ll stay in wakeboarding that way more so. Occasionally there will be an international competition and I definitely need to add some more things and advance more for next year.”
She still has three more years in the Junior Womens category which ends at age 18 but within her competitive schedule she has gone head to head against professional wakeboarders. It’s a part of her learning curve as she watches what the pros do during their runs and feeds off of those performances.
“That’s another way to advance by competing against professional women so that’s pretty cool,” she said, but remains focused on her age group. “As far as competing against the same girls every year I’m fine with it. I think it’s a good time, you get to know them and that’s one of the most important things in wakeboarding is just having fun.”
It’s a line of thinking which seems to be a solid example to follow for any young athlete.
