Wakeboarding - Froggy Soven

Froggy hits a wake on his board.

Froggy posing for picture with pretty girl.

It's not surprising that a guy named Froggy is one of the top wakeboarders in the world - but what's surprising is that this frog is only 12 years old.

Froggy Soven, who's actual name is Phillip, has been on the pro wakeboard tour since he was 11. Since then he's been a huge favorite with fans at every event because of his age and his style. "I love it when the crowd gets excited. It really gets me going. My favorite move is a tantrum (a back flip over the wake coming off the heel edge)," says Froggy. He finished in the top 10 at several events in his first pro season and he ended up 13th overall on the 2001 Pro Wakeboard Tour.

The best thing about being on the Pro Tour, according to Froggy, is how much he gets to travel. Froggy has been all over North America for the Tour including Florida, California, Oregon and Canada. But Froggy won't be traveling to the one place he really wanted to - the 2001 X-Games in Philadelphia - because he never qualifed. "I was kinda disappointed. That's the biggest event for wakeboarding. I was pretty close to making it so I'll try again next year."

If it's true that kissing a frog will turn it into a prince, then Froggy could soon be royalty. He is always being hunted down for autographs and photos by girls at every place he competes. They're turned on by both his good looks and his style on the board. So how did this 12 year-old go from being a Phillip to a Frog? "I'm not really sure how that started. I think it had something to do with me and the water and jumping. All I know is everyone's been calling me Froggy since I was about six years old," he says. Froggy now seems to be passing on his frog-like qualities to his younger brother, Robert. He is nicknamed Tadpole and is one of the stars on the U.S. Junior Wakeboarding tour.

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