Health & Fitness
The Surfer
Heather’s tips for a happy, competitive kid:
1. Teach patience. Even at 6 years old, Zoe thinks she should be as good as the surfers on television. When we sense she gets discouraged, we reinforce the fact that other athletes started at her same age, and that it takes practice and hard work to get to where they are.
2. Teach dedication. The way to keep a child dedicated to a sport is to let him or her choose the activity. As a parent, you introduce children to the sport, but ultimately they choose whether or not to continue it. This will reinforce self-confidence.
3. Teach sportsmanship. We always remind Zoe to congratulate her other competitors in her heats and division, and to thank any of the people who were there supporting her.
26 PLAYGROUND Summer 2011
Zoe Noel Metchick
Age: 6 Parent: Heather Sibling: Jeremy (8) City: New Smyrna Beach Sports role model: Surfers Evan and Eric Geiselman Places to surf: New Smyrna Beach, Cocoa Beach Zoe’s regimen: 45 minutes to an hour each day Zoe’s motto: “Never give up!” Zoe described in three words: Feisty. Happy. Lovable. Accomplishments: Placed fourth of 14 in first competition ever entered — age 4, won 2010 Halloween Spooktacular contest in New Smyrna Beach
When 6-year-old Zoe Metchick isn’t surfing the summer away, she’s practicing for competition. “Zoe is a strong swimmer and has been since she was 2 years old. Besides surfing daily, she swims and dives for objects in the deep end of the pool to improve how long she can hold her breath,” says fellow surfer and mom, Heather. “She also practices her balance on an Indo Board in the living room.”
On Zoe’s fifth birthday, a year after her first surf trip to Puerto Rico, she received a surfboard specifically shaped for her by Greg Geiselman, owner and shaper of Orion Surfboards — a perk to growing up on the beach. “She paddles in on her own waves consistently now [instead of being pushed into the wave], which is how most kids learn. Now she’s learning basic surfing skills, which will be her focus for this upcoming summer.”
As for the way she handles competition, Heather says, “She's lighthearted about it, but she wants to win."
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