Clarke was knocked out of the individual under 16s event in the second round yesterday, after making the quarter finals in the schools division earlier this week.

The youngster got a 7.8 score on his first wave in the quarter final at Bonny Hills, but lacked a decent back-up score.

"It goes on your best two waves, not just your best wave," he said.

"I need to work on getting a good back-up score, I think."

Watonga was the venue for the individual event, but while Clarke said the conditions were good, he was disappointed not to do better.

"I was pretty happy with the schools," he said.

The year 9 student at St Paul's High School has plenty on the horizon. He'll find himself in the water regularly in the coming months.

That's no different to usual though.

"Most of the time, I'm surfing," he said.

The Subway Summer Surf Series at Newcastle and Rip Curl Gromms Search at Cronulla are two events he'll steel himself for.

"I'll be surfing heaps to prepare for those events," Clarke said. A shot at the world tour could be on the cards for Clarke.

"I'd love to make a career out of it," he said.

"I'll see what happens."