This summer, our little club came to a crossroads of sorts. A year ago, it appeared that we would have a group of 7 to 10 members racing at this summer’s Nationals. We were excited about this and said, “We have a real club now!” As winter and spring rolled around, it became apparent that many of our youth paddlers were neither interested in, nor serious about, training for the Nationals.
However, one of our paddlers has become even more focused and driven to improve his skills and increased his desire to train for competition. At a training camp this past year, he was invited to train with the River Town Racers sprint paddling club in Petaluma this summer. This was an opportunity for him to be around faster, more dedicated paddlers, and get more (and better) coaching while also paddling in team boats regularly. What a great opportunity! Because Coach Lynn opted to skip Nationals as she is planning to attend the Masters Marathon World Championships in Argentina in October, we had only two entries at the Nationals this summer; our dedicated youth paddler, and me (Coach Drew). Our youth paddler’s parent volunteered as an official, too.
At the Nationals, our youth paddler got a silver medal in the U16 K-2 with his partner from River Town Racers. This is not a small achievement as this age group is one of the most competitive. He also established several personal best times. Hard work pays off! Many thanks to River Town Racers for their support and friendship.
It is obviously a huge challenge to get and retain paddlers who want to be serious about sprint paddling. The sport is challenging and takes time and effort to learn. Unlike in the 1970s and 1980s when club founder and coach emeritus Bill Bragg recruited athletes from Balboa Middle School where he worked, we have to rely on word of mouth, or people finding us through web searches. While I have written previously about the challenges of starting a canoe club in America, I had not yet come to fully understand that nearly all of our small club would be unwilling (or unable) to train for the competition and racing at Nationals. When Bill Bragg ran the club, it would have been unheard of to skip going to Nationals. Everyone went as it was the highlight of our season and focus of nearly all of our training.
This new understanding has meant adjusting our club’s expectation and workout to be set for two very different groups; one being Competitive and the other Developmental. With direction and help from our Board, the coaches have written an Athlete’s Handbook that spells out more clearly the expectations of these two different groups, and also what it takes to move from one group to the other. As head coach, I have stepped up the setting of goals for each paddler, regardless of level, providing greater scaffolding and support for how to write effective goals. I will be making quarterly reviews of these goals for everyone. The focus of my coaching needs to remain with the Competitive group and helping our Developmental group transition to being Competitive.
Our Competitive group’s training plan is now far more detailed and deeply outlined than in past years. It is important to note that the club’s focus has not shifted from being a competitive sprint racing club. Rather, it is now more sharply defined even if our number of serious paddlers is small. Nationals will be in Oklahoma City at the end of July in 2027 and hopefully Ventura Canoe & Kayak Club will have more paddlers in attendance, with more medals won, too.
Photos from the 2027 Nationals
Credit: Dale Edwards Photography images 3-7, Drew Story images 1 and 2. Thanks to River Town Racers and the Washington Canoe Club for being partners in our team boats and providing us with “homes” at the Nationals.
