Meet Conrad Cook! Conrad is 14 years old and has lived on Lido for almost 10 years. He currently attends Newport Harbor High School as a freshman. He is a two-sport athlete consisting of tennis and sailing. Conrad plays tennis more recreationally; however, he is an avid sailor.

 

Most impressive, Conrad is on the varsity sailing team as a freshman. He only practices tennis and doesn’t compete in tournaments, although for sailing he is an alternate skipper. Conrad has participated in both tennis and sailing for 7 years now. Someone who has helped guide him along the way is his favorite coach, Coach Nate Dumum. When asked who Conrad’s idol is, he responded with his older brother, Wills. He looks up to his older brother and is inspired by all that he has accomplished.

 

When it comes to practicing for both sports, Conrad practices at Newport Harbor and the Lido tennis courts, and sails at Newport Harbor Yacht Club. Fortunately, Conrad has had the amazing opportunity to meet several famous tennis players and sailors, one of which being Charlie Buckingham. Buckingham is a sailor who competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro and in the men's Laser class where he finished 11th. He was named College Sailor of the Year in 2009 and 2011 while competing for Georgetown University. Furthermore, Conrad also had the good fortune to meet several other nationally ranked sailors and a Wimbledon participant.

 

Although Conrad is mostly located right here in Newport Beach, he has traveled throughout Southern California and to Rhode Island for sailing. He participated in the Junior Olympics for sailing in Santa Barbara and the FJ Nationals at the South Western Yacht Club. Conrad has been very successful over his seven years. He has won several achievements, one being a 2-time winner of the Fletcher Olson Award which goes to the most outstanding junior sailor.

 

Conrad has learned many things from his love of sailing and tennis. The most important lesson he has learned is that hardships and setbacks will always happen, but you can’t give up on yourself and you can’t give up on other people. His favorite thing about tennis and sailing is the mental strength and wellbeing that you need to maintain in order to win. His favorite memory comes from sailing where he moved up to sabot A’s in 2018. Conrad plans on attending a college where he can sail and continuing to keep tennis as a hobby. One piece of advice Conrad has for newcomers for both sailing and tennis is to stick with it because many people quit early on without realizing how amazing and fun it actually is. Sail Fast, Conrad!