- November 23, 2024
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“Braeden feels like he has to get wet, even if it’s just for one day. He always has to be in the water. He must have saltwater running through his veins.”
RACHEL KOPEC, Braeden’s mother
With a middle name such as “Dune,” one could only predict Braeden Kopec’s future as a surfing champion. When he was just a day old, Kopec, now 9 years old, was introduced to what would become his “future home,” when his parents left the hospital and went straight to the beach.
At 3 years old, the young surfer began his surf life on the nose of the long board of his father, Brian.
“I can remember yelling at him, ‘Stand up! Stand up!’” Brian Kopec said. “I would stay down and maintain my balance, and he would hold onto my head, but then he got the feeling of being by himself riding that wave. And, I can remember people looking at us like we were nuts.”
To add to the legend, he learned to swim before he could even walk. Braeden went through survival swim, a swimming program for infants.
“He learned how to walk in the pool on a shelf, holding on to the side,” Rachael Kopec said. “It’s always been about the water. Braeden feels like he has to get wet, even if it’s just for one day. He has to be in the water. He must have saltwater running through his veins.”
As accomplished as his trophy case reveals, Braeden does not handle surfing like the typical surfer. According to his father, one of the famous surfing quotes goes, “The best surfer out there is the one having the most fun,” meaning, the surfer who is winning is having the most fun. Not so with Braden. His biggest aim is to simply have fun and make a difference in people’s lives, regardless of the outcome of the competition. His father recalls a time when a kid was about to miss a heat at a competition, so Braeden paddled the kid’s jersey out to him, which allowed for the kid to compete.
“I asked him why did he do it, and he said because it was the right thing to do,” Brian Kopec said. “He had just learned the lesson of always doing the right thing at a Wednesday night church service.”
“But, doing the right things is not always the easiest,” Braeden said.
There was also a time when Braden won a “Why I Should Win a Custom Matt Kechele Surfboard” contest, and he wrote about how a friend who was going through a tough time deserved the board more than anyone. He customized the board and gave it to his friend.
Braeden has also led the renovation of a local skate park, and he hosts the “Braeden’s Annual Super Grom Surf Contest,” with the goal that everyone walks away with a smile and feels like a winner, not just those who make it to a final heat.
“It’s not always about winning,” he said. “It’s about having fun surfing.”
Notwithstanding, Braeden also possesses a competitive nature. As often as he surfs, Braden inevitably makes mistakes, but even then, he quickly gets over it.
“He usually asks to go and do a free surf, which is when they just surf at a distance outside of competition,” Rachel said.
“So, he goes out into the ocean, washes off any frustration and then comes back smiling and happy.”
“I think you’d be hard-pressed to find a time when he’s coming out of the water and not wearing his smile,” Brian Kopec said, “because he’s just happy to be in the ocean with his buddies.”
