Florida Teen Uses His Love of Kiteboarding to Help Others

In Tequesta, Florida, James McGrath doesn’t just love kiteboarding – he’s great at it. In fact, he’s only 16 years old but he’s earned himself seven different sponsors. In an article titled Local teen uses love of water sport to help other kids, an interesting story unfolds.

The teenager claims that anytime he sees the leaves on the trees in his yard moving, he’s bugging his mom to get him to the beach. He’s now homeschooled exclusively so he can truly focus his time on getting better at his favorite water sport.

One of the most fascinating thing about his story is that McGrath just learned how to kiteboard a few years ago. He got a kite for Christmas and didn’t even pick it up for over a year. His father finally convinced him to go kiteboarding with him, and from that first trip out on the water he was sold. McGrath says he quit all the sports he was working on and told his parents that kiteboarding was what he wanted to do.

The story doesn’t end there though. McGrath and his pals are using their love of the sport to spread love through an event called Kiting for Kids. Says McGrath, “We wanted to bring the kiting community together to donate toys to kids with disease or cancer. Parents don’t have time to get Christmas presents, so that’s kind of our goal. All the toys we get are local. We are not sending them off to some random place. We are actually going to the kid’s house and donating personally to them.”

In 2015 the event is on a Sunday from 11 in the morning until 3 in the afternoon at Stairway 33. McGrath says to bring an unwrapped present for kids of all ages – with 13 being the maximum age. McGrath describes kiteboarding as flying like a bird. “You’re flying. You can’t describe it until you do it, but it’s a pretty amazing feeling.”

Maui Eco Tours loves to see the community giving back. We also love to see people as passionate as we are about water sports. Kiteboarding is just one of the amazing tours we offer, as well as lessons for those of all levels. If you’ve ever dreamed of getting out on the water, then we’re the ones to help you do that.