Ana Thomas has found her calling at just 10 years old. She learned to wakeboard a few years ago on Lake Oconee and is now competing in the sport.
“It feels great that all of my hard work is actually being shown,” Ana recently told the Lake Oconee News. “All of my coaches have helped me get to where I am now.”
Ana’s mother, Kelli, credits Brandon Lee, general sales manager at WaterSports Central in Greensboro, for getting her daughter into the sport.
“It’s so funny. We were out at Lake Oconee and we got a lesson with Brandon,” Kelli said. “We were actually going to wake surf and try that out behind our boat.”
Lee mentioned to the Thomas family that wakeboarding was just as fun, so they went with his advice.
“We said, ‘let’s try it.’ We never even got to the wake surf,” Kelli said. “It was nothing but wakeboarding after that, and so we didn’t even know about the whole competing community of it until this year. Ana started competing at the beginning of this year.”
Ana recently placed first in her division at the 2022 Nautique World Wake Association Wakeboard World Championships & Masters Wakesurf Championships. The weekend-long event was held at Callaway Gardens in Pine Mountain.
“The last two competitions for Ana didn’t go as planned at all, so she never really got to showcase any of her full runs because they didn’t go well,” Kelli said. “She had even more stoke on this one and got to show her full run (at Callaway Gardens). She knew after she did well. Ana was so happy she squealed in excitement.”
Ana’s first wakeboarding competition was back in May. It was a tournament put on by Lee and Georgia Wake Lessons.
Through word of mouth, the Thomas family heard of other competitions and started traveling throughout the southeast.
Because of Ana’s success and love for the sport, her competitive drive will soon lead her halfway across the world to Europe. She and her family will be attending an event in Portugal next year.
“Yes, it will be,” Ana replied when asked if it will be her first trip outside of the U.S. “I am excited.”
Ana explained it took her a few times to fully grasp how to wakeboard.
“You’ve got to keep trying,” Ana said. “It takes a lot of practice.”
By now, she’s mastered the art of staying upright and balanced when on the water. Ana also has built up quite a following on her Instagram, which is run by her parents.
“So, when (my family) is filming me (during a run), I try not to fall, especially when it’s winter,” Ana said. “When I am going wake to wake, my parents usually film me and edit (the video). When I do all of these spins, I just pull the handle and I just feel happy that I land (jumps). If I do, I know what I did right, and if I don’t, then I know what went wrong. I know how to fix that.”
Ana will practice at Lake Oconee with Lee in the summer, but during the winter months, the Thomas family will travel to Orlando so she can practice at Freedom Water Park.
“We love it. We get out to the lake as much as we can,” Kelli said. “We love to get lessons with coach Brandon as often as we can, but it’s only when we’re in town. We do travel a lot and it’s something that our family has learned and enjoyed. I feel like (our kids) are learning more with our travel schedule.”
Kelli enjoys seeing her family bond together, especially doing something they all love. Ana’s 8-year-old brother is taking after his big sister and knows how to wakeboard, too. He hopes to soon follow in Ana’s footsteps and begin competing at her level.
“Not only do they get to do what they love, but they get to also set goals with everything,” Kelli said. “Even the beginners’ stages are teaching Ana and her brother… Everything in their lives with this sport, they are always setting goals for themselves and are trying to accomplish them. That’s what I love about this for us.”
Ana and her brother are looking forward to experiencing new cultures and languages through traveling. They will begin their worldwide excursions in the near future.
“It’s not just traveling for wakeboarding, but they are learning (a lot) as well,” Kelli said. “For me as a parent, it blows me away. I’m like, ‘Wow, they are getting to experience other cultures and languages through the sport.’ Looking at it on a map, someday they can say they’ve been to Portugal. So, I love that aspect of it.”
Ana hopes to compete at the professional level when she is older and gains more experience.
“I think I will be able to do that,” she said. “I’ve got to keep practicing and get out on the water a lot more.”
She is thankful for the opportunity that has been given to her, and can’t wait for the trip overseas.
Follow Ana on Instagram @awesomelyana for videos and pictures of her wakeboarding.