As “Sick Love” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers plays at full volume, 10 members of Texas A&M Wakeboarding, or TAMU Wake, fight for seats on the crowded wake boat cruising across Lake Bryan on a hot Saturday afternoon, an activity done so frequently, it’s ritual.
The overlapping conversations about handmade “tonchos,” unconventional freeze-dried foods and recollections of the members’ biggest fails to date quickly establish that while TAMU Wake functions like a team, it operates more like a family when it’s time to hit the water for a long day of riding.
TAMU Wake members work hard year-round to ensure that days like this exist, from finding sponsors to fund their trips to hosting their own annual competitions at Lake Bryan and welcoming new members every fall, according to former president of TAMU Wake and kinesiology senior Ellie Patrick.
At its core, TAMU Wake is a group of students who come together to celebrate friendships that last long after graduation, Patrick said.
The wake boat made its way to the middle of Lake Bryan, where accounting senior Preston Spears grabbed a board and a jacket as the first rider up. As Spears began his first set of the day, the anticipation from his teammates was palpable.
The acoustics from the lake set the scene, glinting the rays of the midday sun across the teak wood deck of the boat and projecting the day’s soundtrack across the waves. Sixty-five feet behind the boat, Spears lifted out of the water as the wake rope went taut.
Spears cut wide off the starboard side of the boat, then carved a deep path through the water, sending an arc of spray behind him. As Spears hit the wake and suspended five feet above the surface, time stilled.
Over the center of the wake, he reached down, grabbed the edge of his board and pulled it close to his body — gaining another foot of clearance. As his board touched back down on the opposite side of the wake, the boat erupted in cheers and praise for the first-year member.
“Our team accepts riders of all levels; that’s what makes it so special,” Patrick said. “The whole group loves learning and encouraging each other, no matter how much experience a rider has.”
Entering her fourth year with TAMU Wake, Patrick said the most endearing thing about the team is the way that more experienced riders always step up to encourage and critique those learning new skills.
“We also have people who have never had the opportunity to get out on the water,” Patrick said. “Watching those members improve and fall in love with the sport is the best feeling.”
As Spears finished out his set, he attempted a heelside backroll — a move that requires a rider to position the wake behind them in order to frontflip off it before landing back on top of the water. Spears completed the flip, his head just inches away from the surface as he turned and hit the wake at an awkward angle on the way down, the wake rope going slack as it lost its rider.
The video camera operated by mechanical engineering junior and TAMU Wake President Travis Barr caught footage of Spears’ clipped landing, playing back the exact moment he rolled across the water.
With Spears waiting in the water, Barr reviewed the footage with Patrick as the boat swung around to pick him up.
“I feel like [Spears is] not scooping,” Patrick said. “He needs to keep the handle with him when he flips.”
After several more attempts, Spears’ set concluded, and the gear swap between riders ensued. Between sets, the girls on the boat moved for a picture, led by psychology senior Jacqueline Beller — one of many members who love to photograph the team. Beller told all six girls to lie across the back of the boat, laughing as they stacked together to fit in the frame.
“We don’t have a designated photographer; instead, members take videos and photos for every set so we can track individual progress and encourage each other,” Beller said. “We love to capture lighthearted crash videos for our ‘Wipeout Wednesday’ collection on our Instagram, both for entertainment and to remind riders that wipeouts are inevitable at any level.”
Beller joined TAMU Wake as a sophomore struggling to find her place at A&M. According to Beller, what she found within the club was lifelong friendships and the people with whom she does everything, from cross-country road trips to bible study and weekend cookouts.
“TAMU Wake taught me to try new things, to never give up and that your community matters,” Beller said. “Before I joined, I was too scared to put myself out there and try new things, but now I’ve learned that I can do whatever I put my mind to, and I can encourage others like me along the way.”
Computer science senior Robert Longo was the second rider of the day, jumping the wake from left to right with relative ease as he got used to the conditions. As Longo went for the first trick of his set, the edge of his board clipped the wake, pulling him under before he got off the wave. Still filming, Barr panned over to Patrick with the camera and captured her expression — a mixture of confusion and laughter painted on her face.
With little time to process his fall, “Pocketful of Sunshine” by Natasha Bedingfield began playing through the speakers. Instinctively, finance junior and helmsman Caden Sharp turned the music up once again as the entire team broke out singing wildly.
Back up for another ride, Longo regained his bearings and jumped the wake several more times, as the riders in the boat continued performing their screaming rendition of Bedingfield’s hit. Longo went for a flip, but caught the edge of his board again and sprawled across the water on his back. The singing stopped, replaced by empathetic expressions and quiet condolences. Communication sophomore Kaitlin Earwood jokingly asked the boat for a moment of silence for Longo.
“The team supplies high-quality boards, lifejackets, ropes, boat gas and, of course, the boat,” Patrick said. “Members truly just need to show up.”
While TAMU Wake supplies all necessary gear, many members still bring their own. Patrick said it’s not unusual to see older members offering up their gear for newer members to try before going out to make a purchase.
Since wakeboarding gear tends to be expensive, Patrick says she is grateful that her team is willing to swap boards to get used to different brands and shapes as the season progresses.
According to TAMU Wake’s Instagram, the team practices almost every day of the week on Lake Bryan, competes in collegiate wakeboarding competitions year-round and hosts their own annual competition called Wake Up. Last year’s Wake Up competition was their 12th annual competition and was sponsored by Red Bull at Texas Ski Ranch.
“It’s special because we get to be so involved in making it [Wake Up] happen, from organizing logistics to working with sponsors,” university studies senior Kate Warren said. “Last spring, I worked with Ellie and the officer team to put it together, and it was incredible seeing it all come to life.”
With the organization welcoming 38 new members this fall, Warren said adding riders to the boat every year is one of the biggest highlights of the semester.
“The people on this team are what make it so special,” Warren said. “When someone is going through a tough time, the whole team rallies around them. It is rare to find that kind of support system, and it is one of the things I value most.”
As the boat turned around to head for shore, the team lounged casually along the vinyl seats of the wake boat telling stories and making plans. On land, the next group of riders impatiently waited, ready for the hours of riding ahead of them.
The incoming riders raced down the hill, gear hanging from every available limb as they called for their friends to save them a seat. Within minutes, Sharp steered the boat away again with a fresh set of riders and a new cameraman on board. As the day was reaching its end, the team was still out there.
“We never miss an opportunity to watch the sunset together after a long day of riding,” Patrick said. “It’s just another reason this team is so special.”
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