After
talking to these guys for just ten minutes, you begin to realize that there's
more to these four young men than meets the eye. Something uncanny.
The team popped out of nowhere in 1989 when Kyle won the TDK Gotcha Pro,
shaking the professional bodyboarding establishment at its very foundation.
They've been in the limelight ever since. Last season they place in the
finals of every event they entered-every event. Their final
ratings in the PSAA this year showed Chris in 3rd, Harry in 5th, and Kyle
taking 6th.
They claim they owe
everything to God. "Without Him it doesn't work, it just doesn't
work," explains Bob Sato, coach and ringleader of the team. Could
that be the secret to their success? Their unique Christianity? He
leans real close and whispers, "You have to be humble and have an open
mind to listen to me, 'cause I don't bodyboard, I surf," and that's how
it all started.
Bob was working as
a counselor at Haliopio (a rehabilitation school for kids) when the idea
of a surf team first came to mind. "What if I had a team of surfers,"
he thought to himself, " that could demonstrate to kids what the Bible
is all about?" It was a number of years later when the guys came
up to him, not to ask about starting a surf team, but a bodyboarding
team. "We didn't know exactly how, or if it was even possible," says Tennberg,
"but we wanted to do something with bodyboarding, while at the same time
spreading the gospel." None of the guys had been happy with what they were
doing so, during the Christmas break of 1988, Jason Brown finalized the
plan: They would move into Bob's house and pay rent. Monday through
Friday they would undergo intense training from 5:30am to 2:00pm-running,
swimming, mountain biking and surfing, each of them working night jobs-at
least until they turned pro. All they needed was Bob's approval."
As soon as they told me, I had a flashback to that night (at Haliopio),"
says Bob. "Something inside me said "Go for it, don't even question
it.'" So the preparation began.
After
competing as amateurs on Kauai, their time of testing finally came.
The 1989 Gotcha Pro at Sandy Beach would be the first time the five of
them would compete as a team... and as pros.
In Kyle's first heat,
he found himself up against Ben Severson and Danny Kim. Ben and Danny
used team tactics against Kyle for a couple of reasons. One reason
was that Kyle was a new guy; and veterans always make it harder on the
new guy. But the other reason was that Ben and Danny both rode
for BZ; which meant that, in a way, they were a team too. And so
what happened to Kyle in that heat? "I worked him, " says Ben. And
did he ever! In the end, Kyle only caught two waves, whereas Ben caught
nine. "I got mad, " said Kyle, "fully mad; I threw my board.:
The whole incident
caused Kyle to work harder. And what do you know? He took first place-blowing
doors off the competition, not to mention blowing the minds of everybody
present. "That was the start right there," says Tennberg. "Cause we were
these guys from out of the blue," adds Kyle. After that, things began to
change in the arena of pro bodyboarding. After winning the Gothcha
Pro, the Kauai Classic Team decided to try something a little different-their
own form of team tactics.
Team tactics, or shark
tactics as some call it, were used whenever two or more of the Kauai Classic
team members were pitted against anyone else, which was quite often.
They would surround their opponent on both sides so that their opponents
would never catch waves, or at least have a heck of a time trying.
"We did it 'cause it was done to us," says Bob. "We learned it from them,
" adds Harry. And the tactics worked- for a while.
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If
you have any questions about the Kauai Classic Team email the coach: classic@aloha.net