Top Kidz

Written by Tracie Grimes

A day in the life of some of Bakersfield’s “top kids” would leave most adults breathless, what with punching in a full day of school, then practice, homework, chores, more practice...filling in any downtime with typical “tween” activities, like slumber parties and texting their BFFs to share the 411. But these kids skip through their days without missing a beat. They have dreams to chase, mountains to climb, contests to win. And they may be pint-sized, but with their talent, stick-to-it-ive-ness and a whole lota moxie, these little dynamos may even become bigger than “Brangelina”...

Jessica Druey

You wouldn’t believe how many voices 11-year-old Jessica Druey hears in her head. And not only does she hear them, she brings them to life.

It was the Leo B. Hart Elementary sixth-grader’s talent for giving voice to characters that got her to the top, winning first place in Humorous Solo for the second year in a row at the Kern County Oral Language Festival.

Gorgonzola: A Very Stinkysaurus was Jessica’s chosen piece; picked because the opportunity to give silly voices to the “stinky” dinosaur and his feathered-friend/side-kick stirred Jessica’s creative juices.

“Doing the voices really cinches it for her,” says Jessica’s mom, Laura.

“It’s just so much fun!” says Jessica, adding that doing the voices wasn’t always a part of the plan. “I’d usually just say the piece, but then one day I was saying the piece in the car for the umpteenth time and I just started playing around, doing different voices for the different characters.”

She had such a good time acting out different voices, Jessica decided to try out her “gift of gab” on stage.

“I decided to just ‘go for it’ and try out for a part in the Bakersfield Musical Theater’s Show Biz Kid’s production of The Jungle Book last summer. I got the part of Ka (the snake), and doing his voice was really fun!”

And while performing plays a big role in Jessica’s life, this active 11-year-old isn’t limiting herself. Diving, gymnastics, slumber parties, movies, reading Nancy Drew books...they’ve all been a part of Jessica’s routine. She’s even made a splash in science: last year she walked away with first place at the county-level science fair competition for her experiment in the flow of electricity.

“We’re very proud of Jessica,” says Laura, patting Jessica’s hand. “She’s developed talents we never knew she had.”

Alison Taylor

Alison doesn’t mind playing second fiddle. In fact, she’s pretty proud of it.

“I get to sit with the tall people,” smiles the petite Old River Elementary sixth-grader, proud of her newly-won position as seventh chair, second violin in the Kern County Honor Orchestra (a position usually reserved for junior high-aged students).

“I started playing the violin when I was in second grade,” Alison says, “but I really started to love it when I got into fourth grade.”

Fourth grade was a kind of turning point, Alison’s mom, Sandye, continues, because that’s when she started playing with the Strolling Strings, Panama Union School District’s string group.

“The musicians in Strolling Strings are usually in fifth and sixth grade, but Alison made it in fourth grade,” Sandye says proudly.

But it was Alison’s chance to play on stage at Rabobank with jazz violinist Doug Cameron that made her dad’s eyes shine.

“We get to be a part of some pretty amazing things; it’s great seeing your child hanging out with ‘top’ people,” Steve says, smiling fondly at his young daughter.

Haylyn Reynolds

“Mommy, how come I’m not on TV?” asked five-year-old Haylyn Reynolds while she and her mom, Kimberly, snuggled in front of the Disney Channel.

That was last year. Nowadays whenever Haylyn and Kimberly switch on the television, odds are Haylyn’s face will be on the screen. Commercials for Macy’s and Hasbro, Osh Kosh B’Gosh print campaigns, spots for Six Flagg’s; these are just a few national campaigns Haylyn has added to her resume in the past year.

“It’s not something we expected at all,” begins Kimberly, recalling how she heard a radio ad for an open call at Extraordinaire Models & Talent here in Bakersfield. “I just thought, well, okay, let’s just go in and see what happens.”

And the rest, as they say, is history. After wowing agents and winning the “best commercial” contest before she even knew how to read, Haylyn hit the ground running.

“We went to New York for the nine day IMTA (International Model and Talent Association) competitions, and Haylyn won first place in the monologue and theatrical shots divisions for six and under,” Kimberly says.

It was her outgoing personality and willingness to listen that captured the hearts of agents, putting Haylyn high on the audition list.

“We probably average about three auditions a month,” Kimberly estimates, adding that so far, getting Haylyn down to L.A. on a day’s notice hasn’t caused too much upheaval. “Auditions are usually late in the afternoon and filming is usually on the weekends, so either Kyle (Haylyn’s dad) or I have been able to get her to L.A. We made the decision to commit to this and follow through, and as long as she’s having fun, we’ll find a way to make it work!”

Jorie Caneta

The first time Jorie Caneta dipped her toes in the water at age six, she thought it was “okay.”

“I kinda liked it, the feel of the water between my toes,” says the 12-year-old seventh-grader at Fruitvale Junior High School.

It didn’t take long for the “like” to turn into “love” as Jorie learned more about swimming; a perfect dive at the start of a race, flip turns, touching the wall.

Freestyle, butterfly, even the dreaded backstroke (Jorie’s least favorite) came naturally to the young swimmer, but it was through her polished breaststroke that Jorie found her groove in the water. And what started out being just “okay” became her passion.

“I like the breaststroke because it’s one of the most technical strokes,” Jorie says of the stroke that takes more strength and energy than others.

Her natural ability and drive to perfect one of the most difficult strokes in swimming make her a sleek standout in the pool; she’s the number one breaststroke swimmer in the nation for 11- and 12-year-olds in the 100 and 200 breaststroke, holding the number two All Time 100 Best list record of 1:19.90 in the 100 meter breaststroke for 10 and under.

But natural ability doesn’t automatically make you the first to touch the wall.

“Maintaining my times is really hard work,” says Jorie, thinking of the five to seven hours of practice she logs in throughout the week, capped off by four or five hours spent at swim meets on the weekends.

“Time management is probably one of the biggest challenges for Jorie,” says her mom Shelly, “but she’s really great about doing her homework before practice. And there’s a lot of down time at meets while you’re waiting for your event, so she can get some things done during a meet, too.”

With a report card that reads all A’s and B’s and enough room in her schedule to log in a little time on the soccer field (“Just to mix it up,” laughs Shelly), swimming is definitely at the top of Jorie’s list.

“I get to meet so many people my age who have the same interests I do; it’s a lot of fun!”

And not only does Jorie get to meet swimmers her own age, she’s had the opportunity to share the water with some pretty big fish. Last June Jorie swam in the Janet Evans (four time Olympic gold medal winner) Invitational at USC with Rebecca Soni (one of Jorie’s favorites), Larson Jensen, and a host of others who were in the process of qualifying for the Beijing Olympics.

“Now that was cool!” says the young swimmer, remembering her brush with the Olympians.

The next stop for Jorie will be the big Western Zones meet this August in Hawaii. And if things go as Jorie plans, someday in the not too distant future she’ll not only share the water with Olympians, she’ll stand on deck as one of them.

Ethan Chua

Jorie’s not the only Kern kid with Olympic dreams. Ethan Chua dreams of the gold, and he may be just a smash and a couple of shorts away from an Olympic competition.

Table tennis is 10-year-old Ethan’s game, and one this talented Patriot Elementary fifth-grader has been playing since he first started picking up the balls for his older sister at age five.

“My daughter [Marielle] was taking lessons down in El Monte and Ethan would come along,” begins Ethan’s dad, Gerry, himself an avid table tennis player who hosts a local table tennis club every Tuesday and Thursday night in his deluxe barn/multi-court table tennis facility. “One day Ethan asked the coach if he could play, and the coach told him ‘First you have to pick up the balls.’”

Having put in his time as chief ball picker-upper, Ethan was finally allowed to grip the paddle. Now, Ethan holds the top spot as the nation’s number one ranked table tennis player in the 10 and under age group.

Known for his “aggressive attacker” playing style, Ethan received his first accolades from the table tennis world when he went to the semi-finals in the 2005 U.S. Open for ages eight and under. He also caught the attention of Joola, an athletic equipment/clothing company, who was looking for seven young U.S. table tennis players to sponsor. Ethan’s record and style impressed Joola so much, they’ve signed on as his sponsor for the next eight years.

Although table tennis seems to be second nature to Ethan, it takes a lot of effort to make it to the top.

“Training is hard!” points out young Ethan, noting that in addition to keeping his grades up (which hasn’t been a problem for this math whiz), his daily routine includes strength training, aerobics, and, of course, table tennis. His weekends revolve around his sport: from Friday after school until Sunday evening, he’s in El Monte working on his serves, sidespins, and lobs during lessons and matches.

It’s the excitement of the matches that keeps Ethan working through the burn of his grueling schedule.

“There was one match where I had about 500 people watching and screaming for me to win—that was awesome!” exclaims Ethan.

“I had tears in my eyes when all the kids jumped in the court to ‘high five’ Ethan after he won that match,” adds Gerry.

So, with the courts, pools, and stages around town as their springboards, Kern kids are on their way up. Beware Beyonce, Kern’s “top kids” are in the house!

Article appeared in our 26-1 Issue - April 2009