Competitive kayaking isn't a sport you'll see very many high schoolers involved with but for a 16-year-old junior at Walker Valley, it's something he became infatuated with from an early age.
Bennett George is that young man and his first taste of kayaking was a bit unusual...
"My start to casual kayaking was kind of weird because I had always begged my parents for a kayak. I saw it online and saw people do it and I was like that looks so cool; can I please get one? They always said, no it's too expensive. So, eventually one year for my birthday was I was about nine or 10 they broke down and were like fine, we'll get you one."
Most kids growing up get into baseball, basketball, soccer, football but a young Bennett just wanted a kayak and once his parents broke down and got him one it was like a spark had been lit inside of him that fueled a fire that would manifest into something none of them could have expected.
He began his kayaking journey with a basic, cheaper version of a kayak until he had pushed the limits to what that kayak could do and with his love for the sport continuing to grow and his parents recognizing the passion, he had for it they helped him upgrade to a more top of the line, non-racing kayak.
Once he got into that kayak, it was off to the races, literally.
"About two-two and a half years in (using that new kayak and excelling with it on bigger waters) they had a race on the Ocoee," Bennett recalled. "I had never raced before, it wasn't really my thing, but my dad was like, oh you should do it, you should do it! So, I went and did this race, and we had no clue what was going on. We were asking people, what are we supposed to do again?"
That first race didn't end up with a top finish but what it did to was open up Bennett's world to getting deeper into competitive kayaking as he was approached by a man offering his assistance to coach him.
He ended up taking the man up on his offer, but it wasn't an easy task because he had to commute two hours each way to train. However, once they got him into a kayak more geared towards racing, he took off, almost quite literally.
Eventually he outgrew his coach but the two remain friends to this day and Bennett will always be thankful for his help getting his game off the ground.
Now, he mostly trains on his own while getting a little bit of assistance from his dad and occasionally some professional trainers whenever they happen to come through the Tennessee Valley, which isn't very often, only a couple of times per year.
Recently, Bennett competed in the US Team Trials in Oklahoma City, OK where he finished third and earned a spot to represent the USA in the Junior World Championships this summer in Poland. What an incredible opportunity for this outstanding young man.
If you'd like to support Bennett with his journey this summer, please head to his GoFundMe page here.
To hear the entire interview with Bennett, you can check that out here.