Appreciating the Little Things -Finley Melnikoff

My name is Finley Melnikoff, I'm 16, and I'm from Charlotte, North Carolina. I've been paddling since I was 8 years old, thanks to my mom who put me into a boat the minute I could fit into one. Paddling to me has always been about which rivers I could run and not about stopping at one spot to play for more than an hour. Coming to the Keener Program was a big change because we always stop in one place for hours and just surf. Today, we spent 2-3 hours in a wave called Pushbutton trying out new tricks for our competition. I failed a fair amount of the tricks I attempted, but overall the experience of trying them outweighed the failures. Pulling off a new trick really is one of the best feelings in the world. If I hadn't come to Keeners I probably would have missed out on surfing Pushbutton, and in turn, missed out on an amazing learning experience. So thanks to all of the coaches who have helped me stop to appreciate every little thing on the Ottawa River.