Phillip Soven Article by Jeff Barton

I must say that I'm super stoked to be able to immerse our readers in the literary stylings of Mr. Jeff Barton, former Launch Wakeboard and Wakeboarding Magazine editor. He's pretty much the best in the biz, as you can tell by the article we just posted on Phillip Soven.

http://www.wakeworld.com/getarticle.asp?articleid=191

Thanks Jeff!!

I agree, Great piece of read!

Good article, although it didn't tackle the "Froggy" vs. "Phil" vs. "Phillip" issue that is gripping the nation. Or, at least interesting to me.

I like the format that Jeff wrote it in. The bulleted points caught my attention and then my curiosity made me read the whole article. Good job.

you mainly hear phillip now-a-days, but his knickname should be "cocky"

He can't be any cockier than Shane Bonifay was about 10 or so years ago. I heard him speaking at a convention I was at, man it was like Paris Hilton, I tried this, I did that, I got hurt at this contest, I got jipped at that contest... He had about 30 or so large male show skiers ready to pound on him by the end of the session.

I certainly thought he was anything but cocky after his XGames win last year. I thought his interview was very gracious to be honest.

I'm sure he's growing out of it but I heard from many people that the kid had attitude. It's to be expected though when you go pro at that age.

Some people might not like his attitude but I think you better get used to little Soven!He is for real and plus a youngster.One word....Domination to come!OK so that was 3 word.LOL

To clear up the confusion between "Froggy" VS. "Phillip"... He dropped Froggy, because when everyone asked him how he got 'the name', he couldn't give anyone an answer. It was just something the guys came up with. What can you say... going that 'big' and can't answer a question about your own nick-name, easier to give it all up... We also gotta watch out for Robert and Jason (his little bros) They're rippers too!!

Brian, try just calling him Soven, it covers it all...

Jesus, I feel like a tabloid.

I never made the connection until now, but anybody remember back in the dark ages when Parks was about 13 or 14 and he was just reaching the level where he could beat all the top guys? And people were like, "Damn, what will he be able to do when he is 20?" This is kind of like deja vu, although I wonder if the fact that everything is so much bigger now means that a young rider's knees will be wrecked all that much quicker (e.g., Lyman). Anyway, if Soven stays healthy, I'm thinking he could be the one to break through to the next level, just like Parks did back in his day.

you are soo right doc!The kid is exciting to watch

ohh BTW only 2 weeks and 5 days before I'm up there so get ready!!

yeah but surgery and rehab are wonderful things

Pribyl, 7 years ago, Shane was old 14 (maybe 15) years old, competing Jr. Men, and super cool. He was not the least bit cocky. Three years prior, Parks was barely known and Shane was a non-entity. Please get your facts straight before you talk smack. Thanks.

Matt, WTF maybe I didn't calculat my years right but it was in the winter of '96(ok so 9 years excatlly) when he came to a ShowSki convention/training thing I was attending during the winter. He came on crutches and was talking with someone I had never heard of who was older. They were talking about getting wakeboarding into showskiing more. Maybe it was that day but I left with the impression he was really cocky. I don't think he is now or anything, in fact his in my top 3 riders to watch. Maybe it was just the weekend, but thats the only time I had seen him until about '01.

Matt, having been through rehab more than once myself, I don't really know what the hell you are talking about.

Jason, as a person who was spending time in Orlando in the late 90s, going to the Bonifay's house, hanging with Parks and many top pros, I will say that Shane was still pretty much just a little kid and too spastic (as was Parks) to be arrogant. I also don't really know what the hell you are talking about, and I think maybe you don't either, but I respect your right to voice your opinion.

Ed, WORD!!! I see you guys have been keeping busy in SoCal, and I was thinking just this week that I am jonesing so hard to ride, would love to get out with you and Bug ASAP. I bought a house in March and have been so busy I have not ridden my wakeboard since last year, which is a tragedy!!! Let me know when you guys are coming up, I'll bring refreshments, gas money, etc., and if there is room, my friend Tom also is jonesing to ride. He's a newbie, but we've had him out with Stefani Payne and also with Christie Fisher, so he is staring to pick it up. I heard you and Bug are advancing pretty quickly, that's awesome, and I know your boat now is fully dialed in. I'm stoked to get back out with you guys!!

Doc,
like I said earlier I was drawing my opinion from spending one weekend with him in '96. So I only had a small timeframe to draw from. He could have been a very nice person then like he is now, I just didn't have any experiance that way. I know we all have our bad days, which is why even with that bad experiance he is one of my favorite riders today.

Being that this thread is about Phillip does anybody feel that watching him is like watching a gymnast, with all his spins and rolls done so fast?

Jason, your post seemed to have no point other than to bring Shane down. Also, your take on a single encounter when Shane must have been only 12 or 13 is not an accurate reflection of Shane as a kid. Shane was exceptionally grounded and mature for a kid, especially as a kid getting the attention he did. He was also cool and quite nice to just about everybody. I wasn't trying jump all over you as much as I was trying to point out that your negative impression of Shane wasn't very accurate.

Hey, my last post was sent before I saw the 2 prior.

Doc ~ Yea we been progressing sometime better then others lately I've been sucking but seems like Bug is picking it up a little faster.I just hope I get out of my runt and quick!!

Unfortunatly Bug and I are not friends anymore so you are stuck with just me!!

Matt, didn't you work with the Bonifay's back in the days. I'd say you have better knowledge of them than most.

As far as watching Phillip ride..... He rips. Some of his moves look gymnastic because of their technical level, but I think when he tones it down a bit he has a cool style that will develop further over time.

Matt, no problem

Jason, cool
Guido, you are correct.

As for Soven being a gymnast, I think most good contest riders are pretty gymnastic during competition. Style is something that is usually brought out in videos and freeriding. Other than Relentless, there are very few video sections of Soven. All we ever see is his contest riding. I bet a unique Soven style will become more apparent this year.

Uh oh, just noticed what I did up there regarding the "rehab is wonderful" thing. Sorry, Matt. My bad.

Maybe Phillip will do for wakeboarding what McGrath did for motocross. Like him or not people outside this sport will start taking notice if he starts dominating the tour.

soven cannot be beat if he consistently sticks his run which he will. if soven does not fall, he will take first at every contest unfortunately, even if other guys nail their runs. he is kind of like the shapiro of past, just throws double the amount of tricks, technical tricks i might add, then anyone else.

I agree. Great article by JB. I said to myself while I was reading it that I wish I could write that well....... Good thing I add numbers for a living. ;)

You also have to remember these judges are human. They don't give points based on a trick list. Sure, others will have to step it up, but I think Gabe Lucas has a chance with his Dick 5, crow 5, and 7s. The judges like to see new people, new styles, and new tricks. Why do you think Shapiro doesn't win anymore, he does the biggest bs 540 you will ever see. You really have to be liked by the judges, and a style like Soven's is easily liked. The one trick putting Soven ahead is his hs 9 on the double up because not many people have done those in contest.

The point of the comps is to push through to the next level, so new tricks are good, besideds I think that soven probably just says "hey let's try this" and does his set. I don't think he's too concerned about winning the cash at his age because he'll survive without it which is great because he probably won't play it too safe.

The point of comps is to win. There's more than cash than comes with being number one. He wants to win.

There's more than cash than comes with being number one

--true

J-Rod, you have no idea how smart you are. Pressure does not have to be external (i.e-someone wants to win or feels pressured to win because they want to win the most money). To Phillip pressure is mostly internal, that's what makes him so good. It's his desire to win and excel that's carried him to the level he's now at. Sure, he likes the money...actually he loves the money, but that's not what drives him. He wants to win every comp he enters simply for the sake of wanting to be the best.

Is it healthy to love money?

what I meant was that style is just a personality on the board, it's not to impress the judges, but it does. You can't just really change your syle, well you can, but in the way that you can't really change your personality... it doesn't occur to you. So you look at trick list you practice and practice and practice until you get your trick right and once you land it your not going to fix it because it's not broken, so to say that the judges like him for his style really isn't fair. It's the tricks you do and how well you do them... I don't really have a way with words, so nothing, probably including this really comes out right, so I retract my prior post.. honestly soven's my favorite boarder, i idolize him (in a healthy way...) I think it's amazing to be so young and have so much talent. Personally I'd take college tuition and give the rest to charity as far as money, but your not evil if you don't or anything... doesn't make him cocky... I'm rambling, so I'll stop... and this probably only makes sence in my own head...

what leo had to say is probably correct but doesn't sound too fair. I know most people get tired of seeing the same people winning like Shapiro, I don't like to see that either but I don't think they should base the fact of who wins just because they're new or old, to me that seems like it may slow the progression of the sport because the way you make it sound, a newbie could do a huge 5 then a vet. would do the same trick or even a little better but the newbie would still win just because he/she is a fresh face. Maybe there's more too it and I'm missing something but if not I'm starting not to like the comp. factor of this sport. I figured this sport would have some of the least amount of conflict due to the fact you can't really cheat but you can't do much about the judges calls. I know judges are human but they must be fair at the same time too. I hope to enter some comps sometime in the future but I don't wanna be chased away from the comp. aspect of this sport due to drama/conflict. Please tell me I'm completely wrong about a lot of conflict, I know there will be some but is there just as much as any other sport?