Snap, Crackle, and Pop!

© rumbum.com, Stephanie Ballesteros

Jeff House at Board-Up Miami 2009

No, it’s not cereal. I know you love those three adorable cartoon mascots for Kellogg’s Rice Krispies but I’m talking wakeboarding. Step one: Stand up and lean back as you snap your board onto the water. Step two: Hear the crackle as your board runs through the water. And step three: Launch yourself in the air to generate a pop. Sound easy, right? Well according to the pros like 21-year-old Jeff House, “you just need to get comfortable on your board, you may not get it the first couple of times but after that it’s just like riding a bike.”

The Tennessee native who moved to Florida 4 years ago describes wakeboarding as, “snowboarding behind a boat.” Okay so take away the snow and add the water and you have wakeboarding. But what happens when you add the wind factor? You may get complaints, delays and whinny wakeboarders asking for re-runs due to the windy conditions. That was definitely the case at last weekend’s Miami Board Up when the wind caused the competition to be 45 minutes behind due to the repetitive “blaming it on the wind.” You would think that Jeff who has been riding since he was nine and competing nationally since he was 14 would have no worries but when I asked him what were his expectations for his first Board Up he said, “If I get back-to-back sevens I will be pretty stoked. I just want it to be as smooth as possible because when it’s windy the water is all choppy and it definitely messes with you.” Wind is not the only challenge that bothers Jeff, he says one of the biggest challenges are injuries, “dealing with them and coming back from them is always tough because they always mess with your head. But it comes with the job. You definitely don’t want to be stuck on a couch for 3 months.”

Although Jeff did not place in the finals at Board Up, wakeboarding remains his life. It has been his dream since he was little to make it to the pros and he has accomplished that so far. Now that he’s a pro, he looks forward to progressing and “keep on keeping on.” You can see him at the MasterCraft Pro Tour making five stops across the U.S, Texas, Wisconsin, Tennessee, Kentucky and Nevada.