For 16-year-old Jolyon Simpson, a gruelling training regime and the pressure of competing against men more than double his age, is something the Ocean Grove Surf Life Saving champion revels in.<\/p>\n
This year Jolyon hopes to continue mixing it with the world\u2019s best, having travelled to Hawaii last year, to compete in the Molokai 2 Oahu Paddleboard World Championships.<\/p>\n
After qualifying for the Under 29 event Jolyon was the youngest solo entrant (at only 15) over the 53km event that saw him finish in eighth position.<\/p>\n
\u201cI enjoy racing with the top guys \u2013 the older guys \u2013 and being young. A lot of my friends are the same,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like the challenge, there\u2019s a bigger field in Victoria. There\u2019s not a massive number of people in Under 17 it\u2019s always the same group. In the Under 17s, I\u2019d be right up there (with the best) but in the open it\u2019s more of a challenge.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jolyon has been involved in Surf Life Saving (SLS) since he was five years old and trying his hand at a variety of sports from cricket, football, gymnastics and basketball only solidified a passion for SLS.<\/p>\n
\u201cSurf Life Saving is the most challenging one for me and it took me up until a couple of years ago to get to the top. I love working hard,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDuring school times, I do two hours training in the morning and an hour and a half straight after school. In summer, it can be up to three sessions a day and four and a half hours.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jolyon said he trains with a squad from the Ocean Grove Surf Life Saving Club (OGSLSC) under the tutelage of head coach Sonia Kinsey for swim, board and iron and Bill Strachan for ski.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe train in the pool before school four times a week and do swim sets. Then we\u2019ll go to Landy Field and do 40 minutes on the track. At night, we\u2019ll vary between board, ski and iron training.<\/p>\n
\u201cBoth Billy and Sonia are volunteers so they\u2019re doing the same number of hours as us for nothing, it\u2019s all voluntary.\u201d<\/p>\n
The coaches work alongside and the athlete\u2019s dedication has paid off with the OGSLSC pooling heavily in medal tallies across state and national titles.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve made the Australian finals in team events, the Under 15 Australia board relay final in 2017, the Under 17 and Under 19 Australian ski relay finals last year and a number of state medals,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m not far off reaching the top, it\u2019s just about how I race on the day now and controlling nerves. We\u2019re all there with fitness, speed and skill now it\u2019s just about performing on the day.<\/p>\n
\u201cI use to love the pressure, in team events I happily take it all on and would never do anything to let the boys down, but in individual events I didn\u2019t have the same mindset.\u201d<\/p>\n
Jolyon said he\u2019s recently began taking a more relaxed approach the morning of events, going for a surf to warm up as opposed to following a rigid program.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just trying to relax more and have more confidence in my ability individually, I\u2019ve been performing so much better than I have in the past thanks to that shift.\u201d<\/p>\n
Recess and the lunch bell signals freedom for most high school students but for Jolyon and his training mates, it\u2019s an opportunity to get ahead of their school work.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s been hard over the years but I\u2019ve come to learn how to balance school and our training schedule. We go to the library now on break to get homework done because we know we\u2019re going straight to the beach after school,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t mind missing out, it\u2019s just about getting the work done as quickly as possible so we can train.\u201d<\/p>\n
Having trained alongside Ironman and surf lifesaving idols Shannon Eckstein and Matt Bevilacqua, Jolyon said he takes pride when they said they saw themselves in him.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey took really similar paths when they were my age and the level they\u2019re competing at, they\u2019re still doing the same amount of training as I am now.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were putting in the hard work and they\u2019ve come down and seen us and said we\u2019re on the right track.<\/p>\n
We just have to keep doing what we\u2019re doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
With ambitions to move up north, Jolyon said he wants to have another crack at the paddle board championships in Hawaii this year and eventually the Ironman series.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to become one of the world\u2019s best, but at this stage it\u2019s really important to me just to be a good role model for the younger kids coming up through the club. It\u2019s something I strive to be.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For 16-year-old Jolyon Simpson, a gruelling training regime and the pressure of competing against men more than double his age, is something the Ocean Grove Surf Life Saving champion revels in. This year Jolyon hopes to continue mixing it with the world\u2019s best, having travelled to Hawaii last year, to compete in the Molokai 2 […]<\/p>\n