In 1996, I began canoeing with my dad on Town Lake, and we made several trips together on that section of the Colorado River. Then in 1997, at the age of 9, I rode as a passenger in a canoe with my dad and Uncle Marc in the Trinity River Challenge in Dallas. It was my dad's 47th birthday. It was my first downriver experience and the first race for either my dad or my uncle, but we managed to finish fourth in our class and category. The next year, we went to Gonzales where we all three paddled together in the "Come and Take It!" Marathon Canoe Race. It was tough. We had to fight a headwind, portages around two logjams and a dam, muddy banks and a slow current. We crossed the finish line in third place and won a trophy for our class and category. We did not enter the 1999 race.

Marc Hienke (Lake Wood Park Ranger) and Will at the finish line of the Come and Take It Race in Gonzales, 2001

In early 2000, my dad had cancer surgery and was not able to be in direct sunlight for a year because of the radiation he received. My Uncle Marc and I entered the race again, and finished first in our class and category with dad providing shuttle support on a cold, rainy day with lots of mud and one long portage around a big logjam. We entered again in 2001, and dad provided ground support while my uncle and I paddled the race to a second place in class and category finish. It was the last race we paddled together, but we have been on several outtings on the Guadalupe, San Marcos and Colorado Rivers since that time. I have also paddled on several occasions with my Boy Scout troop.

Over the past few years I have taken an interest in skateboarding, and enjoy that sport with several of my closest friends who skate with me on parking lots, sidewalks, skateboard parks and just about anywhere else that we can roll. It is the activity that I enjoy now more than all others because I can do it almost anywhere at any time, and it doesn't cost a lot of money to have a lot of fun.