Surfing isn't the sport most people expect from a kid growing up in Holly Springs, a place with no sand, no swells, and certainly no surf. But Jacob said he's used to surprising people.
"A lot of people don't expect, like some way from my friends to just be like, actually really good at surfing, and a lot of my friends are just they think it's pretty cool," he said.
Jacob first picked up a surfboard at age 6 during a family vacation to Kure Beach.
"When I was 6, it was way different. I would catch the little wave," he said.
What started as small waves and early losses soon turned into hours of practice.
"I used to just get last every time, but then I just kept working. I'll just be in the water all the time," he said.
As the waves got bigger, Jacob got better. His dedication paid off when he won the Eastern Surfing Association Mid Atlantic Regional, earning him a spot at the national competition.
"Making heat is like a pretty big deal," he said.
His father, former Holly Springs High School coach and Panther Creek basketball athletic director LJ Hepp, said watching Jacob's passion has been a joy.
"It's been awesome. Any kid, any parent watching a kid that has a passion for something and is willing to put in the practice time and the effort and their sacrifices that, you know, he makes to be able to try to compete at that type of level," he said.
Hepp said one of the best parts of Jacob's surfing journey is that he can't coach him the way he did on the basketball court.
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"That's been one of the best things about this is I can't correct him. I can't give him tips. I can't. He come out of a basketball game, and I could have said 50 things you should have done different. But there I can't. Which has been awesome for our relationship. And we just make sure he's hydrated, and he had enough to eat, and he's got the right surf wax," Hepp said.
Jacob, meanwhile, is focused on what he loves most.
"I just love surfing," he said.
Jacob and his mother are set to travel to San Clemente on Wednesday for the national competition. The coastal city is a major hub for surfing and the home of the 2028 Olympics, placing Jacob among some of the sport's top young athletes.