Shaw Kobayashi
Shaw Kobayashi is another San Clemente High school ripper. He is a young powerful natural footer that can be found frequenting Lowers in the Summer and Upper Trestles in the Winter. He is also known to flare up at T-Street and the beachbreaks of San Clemente with regularity.
Shaw is a seasoned competitor in the amateur ranks and surfs in the WSA and NSSA and has won events and has been making finals from a young age.
His surfing is powerful and he can really lay the rail down on a Trestles wall. For this season he will competing in the NSSA, Pro Junior events, and will even hit a few WQS events. Needless to say he will be busy and when you add the San Clemente Highschool Surf Team regime his surfing will develop with quantum leaps.
Sponsors: O'neill, Jack Ocean sports,Von Zipper, Ocean Minded, and Cordell surfboards
Birth date:7/01/1992
Live:San Clemente, CA
Favorite waves:Lowers
Crew you surf with:My Family, Doug V. and Mike V.
Favorite movies:Stranger Than Fiction, Passion pop, and Campaign 1 and 2
Musics: Pepper,Swollen members, T.I. etc. Surf movie songs are sick too.
Grinds:Sushi!
Readings:October Sky and Surf magazines
Travels:Indo, Japan, Hawaii, Mexico,Panama, and Costa Rica
Goals for 2009: To do good in school, Do good in WQS and Pro Juniors and other contests.
Other interests:Fantasy surfer and myspace
Event number 8 in the NSSA Open Season schedule went off this weekend in Ventura with some of the biggest California Street the event has had in its long history. Solid 6-8' foot surf pumped its way through the point this weekend offering the competitors epic surf to test their skills in.
San Clemente's Colton Ward won his first ever NSSA Open Season Boys final in the double overhead surf. It was a great accomplishment for the 12 year old goofy foot, considering he has been chipping away making several finals this year and now has finally captured the 1st place prize. What makes the win that much sweeter is it was in large challenging surf and didn't come down to groveling in small meager surf. He accomplished his goal by seizing the best waves of the final and laying down big carves on his backhand. Coming in the runner up position was Capo Beach's Jake Davis who was hot on Colton's heels to the very end, but narrowly lost in a few very tense moments to close out the final. With thirty seconds remaining and Colton in the lead Jake managed to grab a buzzer beater, but in the end it wasn't enough and big cheers where in hand for Colton's maiden win.
O'Neill team riders seized three of the top spots in the Boys 6 man final, with Colton Ward in first, Jake Davis in second, and Thelen Mckinna in third.
In the Juniors division we saw Ian Crane back in form after missing the first 7 events due to an injury he sustained last summer. He made quick work of the long beautiful walls displaying his powerful backside carves on many set waves. He reached the semi finals, which is a solid effort to make his way back into competition.
Other O'Neill highlights were Newbury Park's Jake Kelley,San Clemente's Josh Giddings and Shaw Kobayashi catching some amazing rides in the perfect surf.
The next NSSA event will be held at Salt Creek February 6-7.