Skiing for sport: Kassidy Hawkins is not a typical high school athlete

Kassidy Hawkins is not a typical high school athlete.

Hawkins, a freshman at Jackson High School, water skis competitively and participated in the American Water Ski Association's National Championships in August. The competition, sponsored by Goode Ski Technologies, was held in West Palm Beach, Florida.

The fourth generation of water skiers in her family, Hawkins is following in her father's, grandparents' and great-grandfather's footsteps. Her great-grandfather, Bill Lambert, was the first person to water ski at Lake Wappapello in Williamsville, Missouri, and also started the first ski club there.

"My grandparents, they got me into it just because they did it," she said.

She began skiing when she was about 8 years old, but just recently began skiing competitively.

Kassidy Hawkins poses for a photo Friday. (Glenn Landberg)

In July 2014, she decided to go to a water-skiing clinic in St. Louis, and within a week was registered for her first competition. Two weeks later, she met her coach, Bob Harris, of Paducah, Kentucky. Since then, she has been going to Twin Oaks Lake in Paducah for practices and training.

During the summer, Hawkins moves to Paducah and lives with Harris and his wife, which allows her to practice regularly without worrying about constant travel to and from the lake. While at the lake, she practices for five "sets" a day, with each lasting an hour.

She said Harris is her biggest influence when it comes to her training.

"Just the way he coaches me and he teaches me so much *... it influences me to try harder," she said.

Hawkins skis competitively in the Southern Region bracket -- which includes competitors from North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Tennessee, Alabama and Kentucky -- even though she technically lives in the Midwest region for the remainder of the year.

"We're right on the far corner of each [region]. The AWSA rules state that they can be from wherever they ski the most," said Hawkins' grandmother, Karen Kassel.

Kassel said Hawkins wanted to compete in the Southern Region so she could participate in a more competitive atmosphere than the Midwest.

"Southern Regionals is the toughest region in the United States, because Florida is in the Southern Region," Kassel said, quickly followed by Hawkins, who adds, "They ski all year round."

Each competition consists of three different skiing events, including the slalom, trick and jump categories. Hawkins competes in all three, which allows her to be judged and to place overall.

For the slalom category, she stands on one ski and has to maneuver around six buoys in the water.

"I get up on one ski and there can be two boots or one, and I ski on a two-boot because I have more control," she said. "*... I tournament ski, so I have to go at a certain speed. And each time I make it, I have to shorten the rope so I become closer to the boat. It makes everything faster."

The trick category changes it up, with competitors doing as many tricks on one ski as they can in two 20-second passes. Hawkins said she likes to do a trick where she holds the handle with her left foot rather than her hands, and balances on her other foot.

The jump category is newer to Hawkins, who has only been jumping for the past two months. Jump requires competitors to go over a 5-foot ramp on two large skis, with the objective of having the largest measure of distance from the ramp to the landing.

"The night before state championships, my name was on the list for jump and I made a joke of, 'Well I guess I have to jump now,' so I jumped the next day," Hawkins said with a laugh.

Once competitors have participated in all three categories, their scores are tallied and overall rankings are presented.

Leading up to Nationals, Hawkins had to compete in the Kentucky State Championship, where she was the Girls 3 slalom champion, trick champion, second place jump and the overall champion. At the following Southern Regional Tournament, she placed fourth in slalom, fifth in trick, sixth in jump and fifth overall. She didn't place near the top at Nationals, but is looking forward to trying again next year.

Hawkins said she enjoys being able to spend time doing something she loves, as well as the opportunity to meet new people. Since she began competing, she has made friends in six states and keeps in contact with them regularly.

"Just getting to go out and having fun with skiing and being around everyone else that skis and understands what I talk about and just sharing [in that] -- everyone that's in skiing, they're all lovable people, they're great, and it's fun to be around," she said.

Hawkins said her goals for the next ski season are to medal at Nationals, be placed on the National Rankings List and become a member of the Junior Development Team. More advanced goals include earning a collegiate water-skiing scholarship, going to college and earning a degree in personal training, nutrition and sports medicine.

lyoung@semissourian.com

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