When I was a young C1 paddler I used to
hang on every word the older National Team paddlers had to say about training,
technique and racing. When I became a
National Team member myself I used to like to talk to the competitors from
other countries and share ideas about everything to do with training for
paddling. I’d pick up little things that
I could try in my own training, some of which I’d find really useful, and some
which I never tried again because they didn’t seem to add anything. The point is I was willing to learn, and over
the course of my career this helped me get better. Many of the things I learned back then are
things I’ve been able to apply to stand up paddling and I still use today as
both an athlete and a coach.
When I worked for Toronto’s bid for the
2008 Olympics I had the opportunity to rub shoulders with a lot of former and
current Olympic athletes from a variety of sports. I had way more time to actually talk to them
about training and competing than I did when I was in the Olympic village and
met them there. I found that even though
our sports could be incredibly different the experience we shared as athletes
while training and competing was remarkably similar. I learned things from these athletes,
especially about the mental side of training and racing that I found useful,
and with athletes in events with a similar energy system profile to mine I
learned useful things about training.
I’m fortunate that my sprint canoe
background helped me become competitive in SUP pretty much from day one, at
least on the flats if not in the ocean.
But I’ve had a lot of help from, and asked a lot of questions of,
paddlers with far more experience than me.
They’ve helped me become better and pretty competent in the ocean.
I haven’t done a Kalama Kamp, but I’d love
to. I’ve had the privilege to teach a
clinic with Dave and Jimmy. In that circumstance,
even though I’m teaching the clinic, I’m essentially taking it as well as I’m listening
carefully to everything Dave says. As
much as I’ve spent most of a lifetime with a paddle in my hand, his has been
spent on the ocean. I can’t think of a better
learning opportunity considering where I am at now as a paddler than to hang
with him for a week. If I can find a
time when work isn’t busy and he’s offering a camp, I’m definitely in.
At the Carolina Cup this year there are
lots of clinics and if I weren’t teaching one myself at the same time I think
I’d be signing up for a couple of them.
I’d love to hear what Annabel Anderson has to say. Here’s an athlete that excelled in other sports
unrelated to paddling and surfing before starting SUP. In a very short time she became not only the
fastest woman in the world but frequently paddled with, and even beat, some of
the top guys in races. I figure her
background and mine are at least a little related in that they weren’t on the
ocean. I’m sure she’s picked up a ton of
tricks in becoming such a strong ocean athlete that I’d find useful as I continue
to improve on the ocean myself. Annabel
is doing her clinic with Johnny Puakea who is a very successful ocean paddling coach. I’d really be interested in his perspective
on SUP as well.
Travis Grant and Jamie Mitchell are also giving
clinics at Carolina. I’ve sat in on a
clinic Jamie has done with Jimmy and it was well worth it. I’ve also taught one with him and Jimmy. Though I’ve had the opportunity to actually
train with Jamie, which is the best way to learn from him, the clinic
experiences were really useful for learning as well. And though I’ve raced Travis in both
outrigger and SUP and talked paddling with him, I haven’t had the opportunity
to hear what he has to say in a clinic.
I know it would be useful to me.
This week’s Tip of the Week is to take a
clinic. Hopefully by this point I’ve
convinced you to do that sometime, but let me take it one step further. Take as many as you can, with as many
different instructors as you can. Don’t
make the mistake of always signing up for one with your favorite paddler, be it
me or anyone else. Get as many different
perspectives as you can, and then figure out how they apply to you. All of the paddlers I’ve mentioned here are
incredibly well spoken, articulate and passionate about paddling. They’re personable and can tell a good
story. You’ll not only learn, you’ll be
entertained while you’re learning. They’re
motivating and inspiring. I guarantee if
you take a good clinic you’ll be a better paddler and enjoy your own paddling
more because of it.
