THE RISE OF THE SUPER COACH
In Fiji, at stop 5 of the 2017 Championship Tour, 23-year-old rookie Connor O’Leary, was a hair’s breadth away from claiming his maiden-world-championship-event win. Another more experienced Aussie goofy footer, Matt Wilkinson, took out the final but Connor’s second place was a standout performance that helped him eventually claim the coveted ‘Rookie of the Year’ by season’s end.
One of the coolest moments to come out of the event was seeing Connor taking a minute with his new full-time coach, Luke Egan. The pair, ecstatic and satisfied, hugging on the beach at sunset, with Connor clutching his impressive runner’s up trophy in one hand.
Few rookies achieve such competitive highs, especially in the space of five events, and the result was made even more pertinent given it was Connor’s first time ever to Fiji.
En route to the final O’Leary upset a lot of pundits when he took out Cloudbreak’s undisputed master, Kelly Slater, by doing the unthinkable and dispatching
