Anyone who’s said there’s no such thing as a smart jock has obviously never met Sam Waterman.
The 8-year-old recently won the Super Bowl of Chess, a regional chess competition held each June on the Central Coast. Competing against other players up to age 14, Waterman won 11 of 12 games, stalemating one, and raking in top honors.
“I felt really good about myself, and I won $100 for first place,” Waterman said. “I just keep practicing and playing.”
Every week, Waterman practices with his mentor “Doctor Chess,” who said his pupil wins because he combines patience with flexibility.
“Once Sam is prepared, he does not let his pieces get in the way of the pieces he wants to move,” Doctor Chess wrote. “He uses his pieces together as a team rather than moving several pieces with several plans that ultimately interfere with one another.”
According to Doctor Chess, Waterman draws his opponents in with his willingness to give away major pieces, before going for the jugular. That same killer instinct follows Waterman to the soccer field, where he’s now entering his third season in the Arroyo Grande American Youth Soccer Organization.
Last year, Waterman scored 28 goals in 10 games for the Goal Sharks, who went 9-1.
“I just keep my head in the game and try to assist and make goals,” he said.
Praising the second grader as a good listener with an ability to pick up new skills quickly, Waterman’s physical education teacher Steve Caughey called Sam a “scoring machine.”
“He’s at the head of the class in everything we attempt,” Caughey said. “Soccer is his strongest sport because he knows how to dribble, he knows how to pass, and he really knows how to take strong shots on goal. He’s an automatic scorer all the time.”
Caughey also credited Waterman with being a “complete player” on the baseball field, noting his exceptional throwing arm. If that weren’t enough, Waterman also won the President’s Physical Fitness Award last year and is a two-time winner of the National Physical Fitness Award.
This article appears in Jul 1-8, 2010.