He’s just getting started with his law career but Jay Hennicke is already a four-time Australian champion in his chosen sport.
Jay’s sport is freestyle football – a spectacular cross between break-dancing and the European Champions League goal of the round.
He discovered it as a teenager scrolling through YouTube and, already a soccer player, found his obsession.
“I was blown away by freestyle when I discovered it online,” Jay says. “When I realised what was possible I quickly became obsessed with becoming better.”
Become better he did, entering his first competition in 2016, evolving his tricks, winning Australian championships and finding himself ranked inside the world’s top 10.
As a Law student at the University, he had the flexibility to train three to four hours a day and the support of his lecturers as he travelled for competitions.
Recently beginning work as a solicitor at HWL Ebsworth, Jay’s had to finesse his schedule to stay at the top of his game.
“It has become more difficult to train as much as I need to maintain and build my level since I now have to schedule practice around work,” he says.
“Nowadays I have shifted my routine to wake up early before work every morning to train for about two hours which has been working quite well. I also practice after work a couple of days and week and try to maintain the double sessions on weekends.
“The balance can be difficult to maintain sometimes, but being able to be involved in both worlds always makes it seem worth it.”
He’s just returned from one of those competitions in Czechia and soon will be flying to represent Australia in the Asia-Pacific championships in Indonesia.
His goals in the sport, and the law, remain big ones.
“Continue to attain more world titles, push my level as high as possible, inspire the next generation and continue to build the culture in Australia in a positive, meaningful way,” he says.
“Freestyle facilitates such a brilliant culture and way of life. I want to expose more people to the culture and show what freestyle football is truly about.
“(Practising law) I have learnt a lot and had the opportunity to be involved with many interesting matters. I have also recently started my role as a secondee lawyer with Youth Law Australia, providing free legal advice to young people. I know this is only the start, and I'm excited to see where the future takes me.”
Catch Jay Hennicke’s amazing moves on his Instagram page.
This story first appeared in Law Alumni News produced by the School of Law.