This Teaching Thing

I taught on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday, and I must say it was a joy. To begin, the winds were mild and old Lake Michigan (inside the break water) was 70 F. This made for a near by location without the drive out to an inland lake.

Thursday was a session with a paddler with whom I'd worked before, and it was a joy to see how much more comfortable he was in his boat. We moved on to more advanced strokes, and he did well.

Sunday was spent with a father and son (2 pics above). They were both athletic and worked well together. Some how Alden, the younger, had been rented a rather clumsy craft, but he was still able to make her turn (when he kept his tongue in his mouth). At the end of the session, I asked him to try Dad's boat. The change was dramatic, and he looked like an experienced paddler as he put it through its paces. Youth is wasted on the young. On Saturday I had the pleasure of working with two couples. All four had good energy and wonderful senses of humor. They had that wonderful ability to laugh at themselves, and the wives had that ability to laugh at their guys. Although they had all done a little paddling on their own, they had come looking to get a handle on the basics...and they did. That, in turn, brings me to that teaching thing.

All these fine folks allowed me the privilege of teaching them, and teaching is my passion. More over, some of them, in getting past their fears, showed trust and a willingness to stretch themselves in order to get better at the sport. Most of all, seeing the changes that took place, even after one short lesson, was personally rewarding. That, my friends, is that teaching thing.

Paddle safe...

DS