Rebecca's Final Blog

Keeners is a special place to be. I've always known this. Last year when I came to Keeners I didnt know quite what to expect. I gained so much confidence last year and learned a lot and decided I wanted to return. My only regret is that I'm only here for one session. Even now I feel more confident in my abilities as a kayaker and as a person.

Over the past two weeks I have gotten a offside roll, a hand roll, gotten better at controlling surfs and even doing tricks now. Keeners doesn't just exist to help you as a paddler though. It is also designed to help you grow as a person. Every Monday we have speech night. This being the last speech night for this session everyone staying for only this session did their farewell speeches. I've always gotten something from Monday's Speech night but tonight I got a little more. There was a realization of what all this program has done for me. Last year I came here and found myself scared of many of the rapids and had to overcome my fear. That was difficult to do but I managed it. This year I still had a little bit of fear but it was so much easier to overcome it.

Listening to Keener Coach Tyler Curtis. 

Overcoming that fear has allowed me to improve my paddling without worrying about things that I shouldn't be worrying about. Today I decided to surf Garb, even though it scares me. Although I had some interesting attempts and only caught it upright once (most times the current sucked me in and I wasn't paying attention) I survived and had some good laughs. I may still be scared of certain aspects of the river but I've also survived all of them. I'm not nearly as scared as I previously was.

Speech night truly inspired me and other Keeners to continue paddling and taking not only the paddling skills but also the life skills that we've had to learn as well such as "Give more than you take" and being supportive of the people who surround you. Some people have been working on huge tricks such as airscrews or blunts and others have been trying to catch the wave. But when someone goes out and at least tries to succeed they are supported by the people around them. I'm sad to say I only have four days left on the water with the rest of the Keeners and the coaches but I'm happy to have been a part of it. All I can do now is make the most of the remaining time I have here and enjoy it.