Youth Movement

            Sam Baker rides a wakeboard as if he has mastered the art of levitation.

            As he sets up for a cut toward the wake from 45 feet out to one side, there’s an instant of no evident motion — as if he’s commanded the tow boat’s computer-controlled 23.2-mph forward speed to come to a halt.

            But that motionless moment passes in a blink, and Sam is pointed toward the wake’s frothy 4-foot ramp, gaining speed and resistance energy by steadily increasing the angle of his cut and, correspondingly, the tension on the towline.

            Three or four seconds later, he’s reached the wake’s first crest, and – BANG! – with no jerk, no visible straightening of knees, no obvious uncoiling or apparent effort whatsoever, he’s launched himself more than twice as high as his 5-foot-9-inch body. He floats across the wake and beyond, finally landing some 25 feet out in the flat water on the far side.

            On the next crossing, the graceful float is replaced by an inverted, twisting string of acrobatics that leaves observers astonished.

            What’s just as impressive is the fact that Baker is just 16 years old and has only been wakeboarding for four seasons.

            "He fell in love with the sport from day one," said Charlie Baker, Sam’s father, who has logged hundreds of hours as encourager/driver of the family’s Mastercraft X-Star, often joined by wife Debbie. "Right away he was studying training videos and began riding with other serious boarders. After just one summer riding, he started winning his division at competitions. By age 14, he had mastered a back roll. It was clear he had talent."

            The Bakers spend much of their summer at their vacation home near Virginia Dare Marina, where Sam trains with the team from Wake N Skate Wakeboard Shop. Their permanent home is in Kernersville, N.C., where Sam is able to ride nearly year-round at nearby Belews Lake. The facility, which is owned by Duke Energy, serves as cooling water for the Belews Creek Steam Station and the water temperature rarely dips below 70 degrees. That, plus occasional weeks of intense training with pros such as Florida’s Adam Fields and Georgia’s Wes Bearden has yielded substantial progress for the young wakeboarder.

            "I really like individual sports," said Sam, who also enjoys snowboarding and dirt-biking. "You do your own thing and can create your own style. Riding with friends, pushing each other to learn new tricks — it’s just awesome."

            Sam said he also likes coaching others and seeing them progress and enjoy wakeboarding. This summer, he’ll be coaching at Bearden’s Gravity Research Compound and also will spend time at a top facility in Florida in preparation for his 2009 competition season, which will culminate with the WWA Wakeboard Nationals in Oklahoma City, Okla., in July.

            Last year’s finishes of third place overall in the Carolina Wake Series (now the Atlas Wake Series) and second at SML’s Battle of Bull Run tournament have whetted Sam’s appetite for more intense competition.

            "I’m really pumped because everyone is progressing so much," he said. "We’ll really be pressing one another this season."

            Of course, he’s also spending plenty of time at SML, where his riding buddies include locals Rick Miller, Adam VanDyke and other Wake N Skate Board team riders.

            "Sam makes tricks look effortless," said Eric Gerner, Wake N Skate’s general manager and an accomplished competitive wakeboarder. "He has a uniquely smooth-but-powerful riding style."

            Sam credits an early association with the board shop as a critical factor in setting his sights on becoming a professional wakeboarder.

            "[Wake N Skate’s original owner] Gary Ellis hired me in 2007 and provided lots of encouragement," Sam said. "[Current owner] Micah Gaudio also helped me get a sponsorship from Hyperlite Wakeboards. The whole Wake N Skate crew is really supportive of one another."

            Charlie and Debbie Baker have only good things to say about their son’s association with wakeboarding.

            "I’ve enjoyed being able to be with him a lot during his early teen years," Charlie Baker said. "We’ve seen him get committed to hard work and setting goals. He loves teaching people and has a real knack with younger kids."

            Debbie Baker added: "The people we’ve met in the wakeboarding community in Virginia, North Carolina and at more distant competitions have been just fantastic."

            While Sam is performing on his wakeboard, his siblings are performing on drier stages. His 22-year-old brother Stuart, a recent graduate of the University of North Carolina at Asheville, is hitting the road this summer on tour with The Baker Family Band, playing major cities including New York and Chicago. Sam’s sister Katie, 24, is a graduate of the School of Theatre at UNC Wilmington and performs and writes for local theatre and a popular comedy group, the Feral Chihuahuas, in Asheville.