Kid looking for a barrel

The other day I was paddling back out and I watched a kid of maybe 13 or 14 years take off on a fun little chest high wave. A little section came up and he tried to pull into a barrel that wasn't really there, coppng a fluffy lip to his head and shoulders - a place we have all been many times.

Anyway, the lad comes up not that far from me and he paddles over and says really stoked-like, 'Hey, was I in that barrel?'. Not wanting to be a jerk, I sort of replied, 'Aw kind of, the wave didn't really want you there I don't think - but you're on the right path' - or something to that effect.

The kid was sooo keen to get that first pit under his belt - and it was kind of nice and genuine and honest.

So I sort of relayed the story to my mates and we had a bit of a fond chuckle.

Then one of my mates says 'It's kind of like your first root - you're so eager to get one under the belt. Then you're like, was that a root, I kind of had it in? And when you do finally get it in you just freeze up anyway - same as in your first barrel'.

We all had a good laugh at that.

There is no real point to this. I just wanted to tell that story.

It's kind of nice to be reminded of that enthusiastic point in your life. Especially when the kid is friendly and stoked and not pulling an air reverse on your head.