He's summited the top of the mountain at a state and national level.
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Now Ben Shaw has achieved the pinnacle as a Northern Inland Academy of Sport athlete.
The Tamworth mountain biker was named the Male Athlete of the Year at the annual Academy Awards held at the Armidale Bowling Club on Saturday night.
It follows a very successful 2023 season for the teenager, highlighted by being crowned the National XCO (cross country) Series under 15s champion and being selected to be part of the NSW Institute of Sport (NSWIS) Pursu32+ Program.
"I was a bit surprised but quite honoured to receive it," Shaw said of the NIAS Award.
It was a big night for the mountain biking program with Rebecca Sams named the Female Athlete of the Year while Alyssa Rogan received the Scott Campbell Award as the Volunteer of the Year.
Sams was unable to attend the presentation as she is racing in the 2023 AusCycling MTB Enduro National Championships in Victoria.
Shaw is preparing for his own championships mission.
In two weeks he's off to Nowra to compete in the NSW XCO and XCC State Championships.
The under 13s champion last year, this he will be stepping up to the under 15s.
It will really mark the start of the season for him, although the local twilight series has started back up.
Shaw said it has been good to get back on the bike. Not that he has really been off two wheels, doing a bit of road racing over the quieter winter months (as far as mountain biking).
In early September he competed in the junior state road championships.
Held at Kurri Kurri, he crashed out in the criterium after his wheel got clipped while he was trying to fix his chain back in place after it had slipped out of its cog.
Cutting his hands and one of his legs, he still backed up for the road race the next day, finishing seventh.
It wasn't quite the top five spot he'd been hoping for but given the circumstances he was happy with it. He had also been battling a cold the week leading in.
He's also been doing a bit of local racing and just a lot of training with new coach Sam Hill.
"He's been coaching me and setting me specific rides to do so I'm feeling pretty prepared," Shaw said, looking ahead to the state champs.
As for the Pursu32+ Program, he said it was "amazing" to be selected in it.
"There were lots of people that enrolled for it and I was one of the 40 that made it so I was very very happy making it," he said.
Aimed at athletes identified as having the potential to represent Australia at the 2032 Brisbane Olympic and Paralympic Games, Shaw said it has "100 per cent" motivated him to keep working hard.
Around 200 athletes, coaches, sponsors, parents and NIAS team members came together on Saturday night to celebrate the achievements of the 2022/23 program athletes and hear from former NIAS athletes Dean Widders and Emma Clifton about their experience of progressing through the NIAS pathways program and journeys to success.
In other awards netballer Delika Boney won the inaugural Indigenous Athlete of the Year award, Mackenzie Knox (netball) the Chair's Award, while Luke Taylor (rugby league) was named the Coach of the Year.
