It was a fun course, as usual and as expected. If these courses aren't fun, I'm not doing my job. In my experience, learning comes easier when a group of people get comfortable with each other quickly, and fun is a way to do that. I felt a bit off at times, but it's early season and it takes a bit to warm up again, right?
I'm happy to have been joined by Adam Mayer of Go Paddleboard CT. Adam is a past student and a highly skilled teacher and paddler. He is a teacher by trade and has a knack for helping people understand things quickly, which is one of the biggest challenges coaches have. I hope to work with him again soon, because he's incredibly easy to work with and has great ideas about the sport. If you're in Northwest Connecticut, take a class with him.
We spent three full days on Peter's Pond in Sandwich, going over a huge range of paddling strokes & skills, working on leadership and practicing teaching skills. The candidates were fairly diverse in terms of experience and skill level coming into the course. All improved a vast amount during the course, which makes me so happy to see. I love to watch people improve their paddling, and these courses are the best way to do it. When you're on the water and focused on paddling for two to three days at a time, you have enough time to progress slowly & build skills steadily and build a strong set of foundation skills to pull from.
After hours we spent a little time visiting Naukabout & Lambert's Farm Market - I will return to Lamberts at some point in my life. It's a must in that area. Then, I even got in a quick visit with my parents, who happened to be visiting the Cape that weekend, staying at their friends family cottage.
Anyways, CONGRATULATIONS to Katie, Kara, Chris and Jase!
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| The crew, from the left: Katie, Jase, Adam, Kara, Me (Matt), Chris |
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| Peter's Pond. Perfect Day. |
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| Playing with fins. |
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| Adam Mayer is so comfortable on a board. |
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