Carlsbad 4-Year-Old is Surfing Sensation

By Homer & Dani Prefontaine

Our son is Jett Rocket Prefontaine. He is 4 ½ years old and started asking to go out surfing with his dad when he was 2 years old. The rules were he had to be a strong swimmer first. Dad would take him to the beach to lay on his board and get used to the motion of the water and teach him how to duck dive.

He has never had a fear of the water. At 2 we put him in swim lessons 3 days a week and everyday after swim class he would ask if he was good enough to go surfing yet. After 2 years of swim lessons and a lot of trips to the ocean it was finally time to take him out surfing. His first session was on Father’s Day of this year and he was up on the board by his third try. By the end of the session he was addicted. He practices his pop ups every night and morning.

He has his own board and has already asked for a custom board. ( we laugh) but he’s serious. He is still too small to carry his own board but tries very hard to carry it down to the water. He surfs 5 to 7 days a week depending on the waves, and he surfs 2 to 2 and a half hours a session.

He has been to two pro surfing competitions the Vans US Open in Hunnington Beach, and the Supergirl Pro in Oceanside where he met a lot of Pro Surfers and since then he tells everyone he’s going to be a pro surfer. Any surf photos he sees he says that’s going to be me one day. We say yes it is if you work hard for it.

One of the important factors besides water safety was to make sure he understood the surfing etiquette. Being respectful of the ocean and other surfers, understanding the tide, and the waves, and the ocean animals like sting rays and knowing to shuffle his feet.

He asks everyday if he is going out surfing, and tells his dad he is going to be better than he is. (He probably will be by age 9).

Jett is a fun energetic boy who just loves the water and has a passion for surfing. He plans to do his first competition next year with the WSA (World Surfing Association).

We started an instagram account( jrocket1017) for him so he could become connected with other young surfers around the globe who are as passionate about surfing as he is.