How to play in whirlpools by: Joe Bowers

While at Keeners you might get the opportunity to kayak and swim in whirlpools. Most of the time whirlpools are fun things to mess around in but if you're not careful and break some of the keener whirlpool rules you might get hurt. Now here are the Keener whirlpool rules:

1. Only one person allowed in a whirlpool at a time.
2. If you are swimming in a whirlpool at higher water levels two life jackets may be required.
3. If you are swimming never go into the same whirlpool as a kayak or you might get bonked in the head.
4. If the water level is super high and the coaches say don't swim into the whirlpools, DON'T GO INTO THE WHIRLPOOLS. (At higher levels the sea monsters get angry when you're swimming in the whirlpools)
5. Sometimes the coaches will tie a rope around you and then pull you out if the water is super high and if there is a chance that you might hit a convergence.
6. This is the most important rule. Always listen to the Keener coaches they know what they are doing and will keep you safe as long as you follow their instruction.

Living with all the Keener Girls by Alex S.

Through all my time at keeners I've come to appreciate how well all the girls have been getting along. What are the chances that you put 10 girls together for 3 weeks and they all come out friends?  The reality is it that it all depends on how each of them decide to present themselves for the time being, even with as much time as you spend on the water a good deal of time is still spent with your cabin mates. Whether you choose to hang out and socialize at all with the people you live with can totally change your time at keeners, and I believe spending that time the best you can is completely worth it.  If you're not sure how to do so then you're in luck, because today I'm sharing with you my steps to having the best cabin time you can.

step 1- socialize
The first and probably most important step of getting along with your cabin mates is to get to know them, it is pretty much impossible to get along with people really well if you don't know them.  Sometimes getting to know people can be intimidating but don't worry you don't need to ask somebody's life story to get to know them. In fact it could be as little as watching a movie together or playing a game, although my favorite and most affective way to hang out is to have a dance party.

step 2-doing your chores
Chores are a very small part of keener living and due to that they're generally over looked, however doing them is a very important step to keeping a good cabin relationship. Chores are actually very easy if you complete your part, but they become a lot more complex once somebody decides that it wouldn't hurt if I don't do this, and suddenly one person is stuck doing a pile of dishes that aren't theirs.

step 3-be agreeable
It may seem obvious to you but another huge part of getting along with your cabin mates is being agreeable. So if the majority of your would like to watch a movie don't decide that you should watch a different movie. Keep in mind that you all have a common goal when living together and that's getting along so don't work against each other, work together, if it helps create a system, what ever works for  your cabin.

In conclusion like I mentioned earlier its not very hard to get along as long as your trying and though those are only 3 steps they'll probably give you a good start to getting along with your cabin, and soon enough you'll all be friends if you aren't already.

Our Trip To The Petawawa -Kaelin Friedenson

On Wednesday morning we got up at 6:30 and loaded on to a the bus and a van to drive 2 hours to the Petawawa river. When we got there we had to walk an hour hike to get to the put in and when your hiking with a Zen it really hard. But after that the day hit awesome we got in our boats and slid into the river. The first rapid was really fun it was about a 8 foot drop which we ran a few times. On the second rapid there was an easier line down the left side of the island and on the right there was a steep slide into a big hole. When I ran it I started of right and paddled hard and when I can to the shallow part I stopped and flipped over. Luckily I went through the hole upside down which helped me go through the hole instead of getting stuck. When I got to the eddy I looked at my boat and saw a huge gash in the bottom of my boat. Luckily it wasn't all the way through and I was able to continue. After that there were some more rapids that were really fun but one that really stood out was the last one. It started out really shallow with little waves and as I was going through I saw someone who got pinned. So I cot an eddy and jumped out of my boat ran up to him and flipped him over. He was fine and we both went into the eddy behind an island right before another 8 foot drop. I went off first and it was pretty fun. After that drop there was some fun wave trains until the take out. When we got to the take our we loaded up, got dressed into try clothes and drove back to Keener vile. 

My journey to keeners by Cian Butterly

Last year when I heard about keeners I knew instantly that going would be the best experience I could possibly have to take my paddling to the next level. So I asked my parents and unsurprisingly they said no. Flying across the Atlantic to kayak was just not sane in their eyes.
Autumn came and I became focused on attending events in Ireland and school took over my weekdays. Keeners slipped to the very back of my mind. Then at the end of the year as the Christmas holidays came to a close I looked online and saw that session 2 was sold out. I knew that if I wanted to go I had to act fast. I gathered all of the necessary information, I prepared my speech and I presented it all to my parents in a serious manner. This time they realized I was serious and willing to commit to work for my shot at coming to keeners. After a few weeks deliberation I had flights booked and was on my way.
In my mind everything I did from January to August was all just leading up to something that I could hardly believe was going to happen. Every cent I earned I saved, every training session was to get me up to the standard that I felt I should be at coming to keeners.
Now as the end of theses incredible three weeks nears I look back and see how far I've come since I first heard of keeners. How much I've learned on and off the water. Even before getting here, keeners was teaching me valuable motivational skills I never had before.
I have gotten the chance to paddle with some of the best kayakers in the world on one of the best rivers in the world and for that I am so thankful. I worked hard to get to keeners but I'd do it all twice over for the most amazing three weeks of my life.

The Importance of Paddling With Your Friends-- Jonah Bussgang

During my time at Keeners, I have made amazing friends and tried new, crazy things. I have grown as a kayaker and I have learned a plethora of new tricks and skills. I can honestly say that none of my achievements could have been possible without my peers encouraging me and helping me out with new tricks. To be perfectly honest, I am a big fan of peer pressure (within reason of course). It is important to have friends by your side to encourage you. While you obviously don't want to be pressured into doing things that you know aren't safe, or you are not capable of, it's important to challenge yourself. With the encouragement of your peers, you will be surprised what you can accomplish even if you never thought you could do it. In addition to doing things you never thought were possible, kayaking with your friends makes the experience so much more enjoyable. Paddling in the flat water together and telling jokes, cheering each other on when someone is getting beatdown, and getting exited when your friends sticks a cool trick, is what makes the sport of kayaking so fun. At Keeners, I have learned to spin, cartwheel, double pump, loop, and round house. The coaches at Keeners have been amazing in teaching me these awesome tricks, but when the coaches are not around, it is my friends that explain the movements and techniques to me. These friendships that I have made at Keeners will last a life time on and off the water. 

Yakistan is so lit, it is in flames - Abby Holcombe

Fire it is something that you typically don't have to deal with being a kayaker. However, there are some situations where you might be baking for your very much so loved keener mom, Anna, a birthday cake. I decided to go ahead and preheat the oven while making the batter one of my friends, Anne walked in and noticed this smoke. I turned around noticing a smell myself to see Anne opening the oven with flames. I started to scream fire fire fire! And then I ran out the door to go find Anna or another adult. 

So I was running to the common room, the Thunder Dome, screaming, “YAKISTAN IS ON FIRE YAKISTAN IS ON FIRE!!!!!” I come up to the Thunder Dome and start yelling at all the kids saying, “GO GET ANNA YAKISTAN IS ON FIRE HELP HELP HELP!!!” I was so concerned and luckily I found our coach TC and he ran back to Yakistan with me. As soon as I walked back in the door the fire was out and Anna and all the amazing people in Keenerville were surrounding the oven. Long story short we still made a cake but decided to use White House’s oven instead because ours was smoking hot since we decided to store our food in the oven. So if you ever go to Keeners make sure you stay in Yakistan because it is so lit it is in flames!

How to be a Keener-By:Andrew Burgoyne

How to be a keener

Step one: You need a keener shirt

The keener shirt is a reflection on wilderness tours. You want to wear it proudly and respectfully.

Step two: meet the coaches

Their is Anna Bruno, Steven Wright,   Clay Wright, Dane Jackson, Dren Orton, Nick Troutmen. So you have met the coaches

Step three: The next day. 

So you wake up at keeners and you have a kitchen that you share with some people, if you are with good people they will make breakfast for everyone eating with you. So some great breakfasts to make are Pancakes with eggs and bacon. 

Once you are done breakfast the people that didn't cook get to clean the dishes. Don't eat and leave do the dishes. 

Step four: Go Kayaking

So after all the breakfast you need to go to the thunder dome, Anna or Steven will tell you what you what we would be doing for the day. After everyone races to everything be last in the water because if you are last in the water then you get to wear the water wing of shame. 

Step five: Lunch

Finely food. So you would be stoping at the lunch site and you ether can cook lunch for everyone or you can get food that other people made for you. I do cook for everyone because one you stay warm back there and two we say "give more then you take." I love that saying and I agree with it witch I love cooking for everyone in keeners and the raft trip. Just before you leave you need you pick up at least 10 peaces or trash.

Step Six: getting off the water

Once you get to the takeout you can do two things one do flat water tricks or two get out of your boat brig it up to the Trailer and load all the boats. It didn't sound fun but you learn how to load a trailer and you could be invited to go on trips with you because you know how to load the boats the right way.

 Step seven: off the water 

So now you are off the water and now people will start to unload the trailer and when your boat comes down you grab your boat and paddle and you put it in the boat rack that we have. After you go to your room get changed and ready for dinner. You will need your keener shirt of sweatshirt. Once you get back you can have some free time where you can watch a movie or make a video edit or text/ call your parents or friends. Until 10:15pm. At 10:15 you will go back to your room and get ready for bed.

That is most of the things that happiness at keeners. 

Why keeners won't be the same without Anna- By Savannah Westeinde

As some of you guys may of heard, Anna (our amazing keener mom), may not be joining us again here at keeners next summer. Although this is understandable as she has been with us for so long and it may be time for her to move on, it is still sad to think of what keeners might be like without Anna. Here are a few reasons why keeners will never be the same without her: 

1. Who do we go to if our cuts are infected? 

Now although this question may seem a little stupid as of course there will be someone to fill in for anna, it still won't be the same.. and I'm sure this new person will not react the same awesome way Anna does. You see instead saying ewww that's so gross, she cheers and seems almost excited to be able to treat some of the gnarly cuts that we keeners get (and to take us to the clinic if they are really bad)   

2. She tolerates our messy and unhygienic selves (for the most part) 

Let's just say keeners are not the neatest people. We leave messes, and clog our toilets, sinks and well anything that can be clogged. Although (most of us) shower and brush our teeth most of the time, there are some moments where our personal hygiene is definitely not one of our higher priorities. However other than the occasional frustrated (and understandable) yelling about unclean kitchens or people not doing their chores, she manages to keep her cool and encourage us to get the job done in a happy and positive way (although sometimes push-ups are involved). 

3. Her motherly instincts

Although Anna may not actually be our mom, and does not in fact have any children of her own, I swear she has the strongest motherly instincts I have ever seen. It is like she can predict when something is about to go wrong  and can take the proper precautions to prevent it before anyone even knew what was going on. Also she manages to keep track of 24 kids, and all of their infections whether it be cuts, ears, foot rot etc. 

4. Her morning yoga

Morning yoga (although painful) helps us all out when we are super sore from paddling. The fact that Anna knows so much about yoga and how our muscles work, helps us keep our muscles strong and healthy so we can keep kayaking. 

In conclusion, being Anna is not easy and neither is her job. Yet she is able to always be positive and happy (even when we set our ovens on fire) and makes all of our experiences at keeners so much more enjoyable. There are so many other reasons that I could add, however I don't want to be rambling on forever, so those are just the first four that came to mind. She really does not get enough credit for all the behind the scenes maintenance and work that she does. So Anna if you are reading this, thank you so much for everything you have done for the keener program, I think I speak for every Keener when I say how much we appreciate you and everything you do. Now if the person who is to fill Anna's shoes in the future is reading this, please do not worry, I am sure you will bring some new fun qualities to the keener program, and have a positive affect on it in your own unique way. 

Thursdays in Keeners - Haim Lyubeznik

Over the last 2 weeks, Thursdays have grown to be my new favorite day of the week. This is because in the Keener program, a regular old Thursday isn’t just a regular old Thursday. It is a Big Water Bacon Beatdown Thursday. The day begins just like any other beautiful day on the Ottawa River, but the energy is different. As I rush through breakfast, consisting of eggs, pancakes and most importantly : bacon (AKA edible courage), my mind is focused on one thing and one thing only - the major beatdown that I am about to receive. And I know one thing for certain - that there is no avoiding it. This is because Thursdays in the Keener program are all about challenging yourself to do the things on the river that scare you most and that you never thought you could/would do. Before running a scary line or dropping into a massive hole, my adrenaline is pumping and I am usually terrified, but by the end of it I always come out smiling, and that is what I love about Thursdays. I always go in afraid and I always come out feeling incredible that I was able to do something on the river that I thought was way above my skill level. Wether it is dropping into Phil’s hole or running hard lines through Coliseum, I always end up happy that I pushed myself to do it. All in all, Big Water Bacon Beatdown Thursdays in the Keener program have pushed me to become a better and more confident paddler, and has pushed me to become more and more comfortable in big whitewater. 

How to Stay Happy and Healthy at Keeners - Olivia Norman

One of the best things about keeners is the on water time,so when keeners get sick or injured, having to take time off the water is definitely a bummer. Keeners is a very safe program, but the warm water on the Ottawa provides bacteria that some other rivers just may not have. This means that many things are possible including ear infections, athlete's foot, foot rot, and infected cuts scrapes and bug bites. As scary and gross as these sound, they are easily preventable, and pretty easy to treat. as a returning keener, I have encountered a few  of these issues over my time at keeners. Namely all of these things that I mentioned earlier, plus a couple special minor injuries that people as uncoordinated as me have on the regular.

To prevent ear infections, you can buy ear drying aid, and put it in when you get off the water, or use the keener ear mix, which works just as well. If you feel any ear pain you can talk to Anna and get antibiotic ear drops, which should cure it within a few days.
If you want to avoid foot rot, take off your shoes at lunch to let your feet dry out, and make sure you wash and dry your feet before bed and when you get off the water. Check your feet regularly and treat them accordingly.

Infected cuts and scrapes are very important to keep clean, because they can escalate quickly. One day you will be looking at a normal cut, and two days later it can be inflamed and infected. If you have a cut keep it clean with water and rubbing alcohol, make sure there is no dirt, and keep it covered so that dirt and bacteria can't get in it. Once you get diagnosed by Anna as having an infected cut, make sure to cover it, and put polysporin, or neosporin on it. Let Anna know how it's doing so you can help it heal. The same goes for bug bites, but don't scratch them, they can scar, and you can get different kinds of infections. Keeners is a very safe environment but injuries can happen anywhere, just keep clean and check yourself for all of the above.

Rest Days Are Awesome - EJ Rimerman

Adventure sports are, hands down, the most awesome and fun things in the world. Whitewater paddling, climbing, skiing, mountaineering; these are the things I look forward to every day. I'm lucky enough to have easy access to all of these amazing activities through school, home, and Keeners. However, no matter who you are and no matter how much you train and how strong you are, you will eventually burn out. It's a simple fact of life. After two weeks of paddling big water rapids seven hours a day, I'm exhausted. I'm sore, sunburnt, covered in mosquito bites, and so tense I can barely lean forward.

That is no issue. Even when I climb so hard that I can't curl my fingers and my skin is ripped and bleeding, I just tape it up and keep going. My body aching is part of the game. Even so, it does take some enjoyment out of the sport I love so much. That's where weekend rest days come in. 48 hours to sleep, watch movies, stretch, and be a total couch potato? Awesome.

And here's the most important part: no matter how much I enjoy an activity, eventually I get bored. It happens with everything. Taking a day or a weekend here and there forces me to do nothing, get tired of doing nothing, and allows me to come back fresh, strong, and pumped to paddle hard and get better. Rest days are awesome.

Paddle hard.

Why any young paddler should come to keeners by Ava Christensen

A lot of keeners come into the program not knowing much about freestyle but still benefit as much as those who do. So far all kayakers  interested in coming heres why you should.

1. You will make over 20 new people who will become some of your closest friends. This session there were a lot of keeners from North Carolina. Now when they go back home they have even more people to paddle with than before they came. And your friends from other states can show you down their own favorite home rivers if you go up and visit.
2. If you come with a creaking or even a slalom background keeners will improve your paddling. You learn how to get out of challenging holes, get more comfortable being beat down, and running challenging and scary lines.
3. You learn how to have a ton of fun no matter where you are on the river. Before keeners I didn't know anything about flatwater tricks and disliked going on flatwater. But each morning we do warm ups on flatwater and in between rapids we work on learning flatwater skills we can use in the whitewater. This past week I've been working on getting a flatwater loop every chance I get. Having something to work on makes everything more fun.

Learning the Ways of Freestyle- Ali Markoff

After two weeks at keeners I have realized how there are two very different types of kayaking. One, which is creek boating and the over being freestyle. Both are equally fun but different. And I have experienced mainly creek boating since my family owns a kids kayaking camp which takes kids down rivers and teaches them the basic kayaking skills that they need to go down rivers. But I am really enjoying learning a different sport you can almost say since they are both so different. I think that all this freestyle practice is really helping my roll and control over my boat. I have also began to be able to do the basic tricks, and am working up to the harder ones. I started with the lean clean, it is not an advanced skill but a basis for a lot of more challenging tricks.  I believe this is a style anyone in a creek boat should learn. Not only because it is extremely fun, but it also teaches boaters great techniques to help develop a better understanding of the river. 

The Most Unique Shabbat Service - Anne Khazzam

Question: What do you do when a third of all the 24 Keeners are Jewish?

Answer: Celebrate, of course!

On the second day of Keeners, after all our icebreakers and after everyone had met, I was talking to Haim on the bus, and asked him if he was Jewish. He laughed, and said he got that a lot (the "h" in his name is pronounced like a "ch", and often when someone's name has that sound they have Jewish heritage). Turns out he was! I was so happy to find a connection with another Keener here, and others were too! By coincidence, everyone sitting around us was Jewish as well. It was a ____! After all the excitement of us finding out each others' religions died down, someone had the wonderful idea of having a Shabbat service on friday (Shabbat is a holiday every friday sundown to saturday sundown celebrating G-d's rest day from creation, where we sing and eat and have lots of fun!). And so we did.
Half of us plus Savannah (Shabbat services are welcome to everyone, not only Jews!) went out to a wave called Babyface to surf for a bit, waiting for the sun to set to have the Shabbat service we had all been waiting for.
Normally, for Shabbat services, we sing prayers and traditionally eat a special braided egg bread called "challah", pass a cup of wine/grape juice for everyone to take a sip, and light two candles to bless the week. As we did not have these resources at hand, we improvised. We had a loaf of white bread for the challah, a grape Freezie for the wine, and two Glo-sticks as candles. We sang, ate, had lots of fun, and taught our customs to our enthusiastic non-Jewish friend (Savannah), and had a wonderful time.
In conclusion, after coming to a camp not knowing anyone (although I did know two people), you are going to find connections with everyone, even if you don't expect it. Not only with religion! You just have to be open to meeting new people, and you'll soon find out how small our world really is. Music, sports (kayaking is a given here!), books, and tv shows are only a few of the many things you can connect with other people with. The world is your oyster!

How To Be An Off Water Beater - Anya Sachs

Keeners has been an amazing experience. I have loved everything about it. Well, almost everything. Throughout the last two weeks I have been beaten up pretty badly. This doesn't happen to most keeners. It's just that I am very accident prone and clumsy. I have too many cuts and scrapes to count. These are from falling, tripping and slipping multiple times. Even my face is banged up from flipping in my kayak while going down the kayak ramp. In other words, I managed to flip my kayak on dry land. I love kayaking but I have to admit that it takes a lot of willpower to get out of bed in the morning when you feel like one big bruise. There is however a secret which I find makes cuts heal faster. Suck it up and ignore them. It's amazing! It's almost as if they aren't there! This works fairly well while kayaking on weekdays while I'm on the water, but when I'm off the water and the adrenaline of kayaking is gone, I am extremely tired. So throughout the weekend and and after paddling I over exaggerate every cut. I had a blister on my middle finger, so I proceeded to immobilise my middle and ring finger completely. It was a lot for just one blister, but it helped more than you would think.
I would have loved to kayak this weekend, but I knew that if I did I would run myself down completely. So I took a nice chill weekend and let my body heal and re-energize. I watched about 6 movies throughout the weekend. It's better to save your energy for the weekday when you're paddling with the instructors so you can learn, and not just kayak. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be energized enough to not only kayak, but to learn as well!

Why You Should Playboat if You're Not a Playboater - Andrew Palim

                 Creeking is my favorite part of kayaking, running tight, technical rivers and doing so on the most difficult whitewater I can manage. So, I was a little skeptical of playboating when I arrived at keeners. But beyond the insane fun of bouncing around on big water and throwing (or at least attempting, in my case) massive tricks along the way is not only a great pastime, it's  also extremely helpful for all other kinds of paddling, making gains in three important aspects of kayaking, the mental, the physical, and the technical.

                 Freestyle kayaking is great for a boater's mental game, consistently forcing them to stay calm, cool and collected while getting beat down in huge features like Phil's or surfing a powerful wave like Garb. This skill is essential for any budding creek boater, whose life, limbs, gear, or ego might one day depend on him surfing out of a ledge he failed to boof or simply correcting a bad line instead of losing his nerves or swimming.

                 A kayakers physical fitness can also be improved upon through freestyle, whether it be a frantic paddle back to the corner wave eddy in painfully slow boats or recklessly throwing the boat around on flatwater trying to perfect a cartwheel or loop, playboating is exhausting and works muscles not used much in other disciplines, correcting imbalances that could otherwise lead to injuries like a shoulder dislocation. Improved physical fitness can help you no matter what you are doing on the river, whether making a difficult ferry on a Class V river, racing on easy water, or simply wanting to enjoy longer days on the river.

                A paddler's technical prowess is what determines whether you beater or style a run. A solid boof, airtight edge control and paddle dexterity can turn your kayaking from surviving on the brink of an accident to making moves and being in control on the river. Playboating gives you immediate feedback on all three, accelerating your learning curve as well as bombproofing your roll. If you can keep your edges under control in a massive hole,  you can anywhere else, and if you can't, you immediately windowshade, making your inadequacies painfully (and embarrassingly) obvious to you and your friends. Same thing goes for floppy strokes and a clumsy paddle, less noticeable on rivers, but obvious when you can't catch a wave or catch your paddle on the green water, instantly causing you to flip and flush off the feature. Have you ever tried boofing in a playboat? All the forgiveness of a creek boat is not present, and unless your technique is perfect and your weight is forward, you'll become much better acquainted with the hole than you probably ever wanted to be.

                 In conclusion, going outside your comfort zone in easy water by surfing huge features or river running in a small boat is a great way not only to have fun, but to train to be a better kayaker no matter what discipline you pursue.

Corner Wave Classic By Maddie Kimmel

     Last Friday, I competed in the Corner Wave Classic at McCoy Shute. It was a low key competition organized by Nick Troutman, when locals and other professionals that were in the area came to compete. I got to compete against my life time role models, such as Emily Jackson and Claire O'Hara. When I was little I used to watch kayaking videos of them paddling all around the world and I wanted to be just like them when I grew up. I also had a ton of fun competing against my Keener Mom, Anna Bruno, and a friend of mine, Kathryn Walker. I was nervous at first because I can't do many tricks on corner wave. I can spin but most the time I flush. I decided to just have fun and do my best.
     Everyone had 6 rides on Corner Wave and the best ride counts. On my best ride, I had a spin and roundhouse, scoring 25 points. As a result, I finished 4th out of the 5 girls. Emily finished first, anna in third and Claire in third. I was super stoked with my performance, after all I was going against world champs. Corner wave is a very tricky wave because you have to land and time your tricks perfectly. Even when you do everything right the wave could surge on you and flush you. In the men's Dane was first, Nick in second and Clay in third. 

This competition was very different than other competitions I have done in the past. You had the best kayaker a in the world competing, yet they weren't "competing" it was more hanging out at Corner Wave and having fun. 

Julia Frangenberg- Challenging Yourself

               Keeners is a program for young paddlers to challenge themselves and improve immensely in just three weeks. Here, in the end of the second week, I have learned to push myself to try things I want to learn. The first significant barrier I had to get through was flatwater. Although it may seem strenuous and useless if you're first learning it, learning flatwater can be one of the most beneficial things you can do for your paddling ability. It toughens your core, and helps you have less of a reliability on the feature to do your trick. However, despite all these pros to doing flatwater, before Keeners I hated trying flatwater whether it was a simple lean clean or the double pump I never tried. So, when I started doing more flatwater at Keeners for warm ups and in between rapids, I was surprised with how fun it was! All of m fantastic coaches helped me more an more on my double pump, and gradually I got closer and closer to a bow stall. At long last, my double pump into a face plant became a double pump into an actual bow stall!! I was so excited, and of course when you're good at something you want to try it more, so over a couple of days I got to be able to hold it for a long amount of time, practicing bouncing up and down for different tricks. At one point in the day I got super close to a flatwater loop, so of course I paddled over to Claire and TC, my coaches of the day, and showed them what I'd done. However, instead of simply getting close to a flatwater loop, I completed one, all the way through!! As the weeks progressed I was able to double pump more consistently, perfect my flatwater loop, and get a flatwater loop by double pumping rather than plowing into a bow stall. Overall, my point is that no matter how badly you think you are going to do, no matter how embarrassed pun are to mess up, keep trying! Challenge yourself by pushing the limits and learning technique. It may seem insignificant in the grand scheme of things to not try something, but overall it makes a huge difference.

How to Have the Best Meltdown EVER!!! –Bryce Aaron

So, you wanna get meltdown, but like, really MELTDOWN. Well, if you follow these steps, you’ll get the deepest, longest, craziest and scariest meltdown EVER!!!

**Disclaimer**

Do this line at your own risk. There is a chance that you could go over the Big Kahuna ledge and get hurt. Always make sure to scout your line and have safety protocols in place in case anything goes wrong.

1.     Try to go when the level is around 3 and not higher or else you can get seriously hurt, even at 3ft, you can get hurt so make sure you are a confident paddler and have a strong skirt that will not implode.

2.     Get out and scout it before you want to go. Look for a boof on the right, then a seam on the left. You want to put your nose of your kayak right on the seam and lean forward and a little right.

3.     Hop in your boat and start to paddle to the meltdown line. Slow down and look for where the boof ends and meets the seam. You want to have about half of your boat going over the boof and your nose in the seam. Then, GO FOR IT!!!

4.     You’ll get sucked down then, depending on how well you hit your line, go super deep!! The important thing to remember is to not pull your skirt if you get freaked out. You, in your boat, have more buoyancy than you in a PFD.

5.     You’ll pop up downstream before Big Kahuna. Make sure to hold your excitement until you’re in the bottom eddie an safe!!!

Hope this helped!

See you on the River,

Bryce

The Perfect Keener Breakfast - Kaelin Freidenson

        

So Keeners is a great place because you get to go kayaking every day. Now don't you think if you go kayaking every day you would probably get really tired which is why eating a good breakfast is extremely important and here is how to make the perfect Keener breakfast. So first you put two slices of toast in the toaster and wile that's cooking you crack two eggs and cook them. Second you take the eggs and the toast and put them on a plate then you take 5 strips of bacon and cook that up as well. Wile that's cooking you take butter and Jam. You put butter on on of the slices of toast and Jam on the other.

Next you put the eggs and bacon on the toast and make your self a sandwich. Now that is how you make the perfect Keener breakfast and also how you can have energy for a big day. 

Kaelin Friedenson

Overcoming Fear By Abby Holcombe

Beatdown Thursday is pretty notorious and if you haven't heard about it you probably haven’t heard of Phil's Hole, which is a gigantic hole on the Ottawa river in Ontario, Canada. Phil’s is unique because it is very retentive on one side, right side, and not quite as retentive on the other, left side. I was absolutely terrified of Phil's. I didn’t want to have anything to do with it so to say I was a little shocked when we all were going to swim it is a understatement! 

I was incredibly nervous but I knew that it would flush me through. My only goal for swimming the rapid was to avoid Phil’s. I was swimming to the lip of McCoy's when I was suspecting I would be in the complete clear of Phil’s. Oh how much I was wrong. Instead of avoiding Phil’s I went straight through the middle of left side and felt something hard brush against me. This was one of those moments where I remembered Stephen telling me it was relatively shallow around Phil’s and I realized that I had just hit bottom. Have you heard of hitting rock bottom? Yeah it was like that just in real life no metaphor, just being swept down the river and sinking to the bottom. After that it took me a little longer than expected to resurface and I started to panic. Once I surfaced I continued to swim quickly to shore! I was scared I would get sucked down by the whirlpools in whirlpool eddy, I was scared I would miss whirlpool eddy, I was scared of all of these ridiculous things that probably wouldn’t ever happen. That was the moment that more than ever was I thankful to be wearing a PFD/lifejacket. 

That in itself was a learning experience because I noticed how much negativity impacts me. I thought of all of these negative points that didn’t change the moment. Had I focused and given Phil’s and Football eddy my game face maybe I would have had a different line or a different perspective and maybe I would of had a different outcome. One that enjoyed that rapid, one that wasn't scared of swimming, and one that was confident paddling into right side. Negativity took advantage over me so I couldn't focus on the task at hand. So once we finished swimming Phil's I became frustrated, angered, relieved, and excited because I had just did the worst thing that could possibly happen to me and very angry and confused for the same reason. I was so nervous that I became mad because I did the worst thing that could happen during beatdown Thursday (swim out of my kayak) and I was fine. Sure I might have panicked a little but it wasn't the end of the world.  

So now I knew that I had no excuse for why I couldn't go surf Phil’s. Which made me even angry. So we ferried across to the other island and I decided to watch my friends get beatdown. And the crazy thing is at the end of every beatdown they would have a huge smile on their face. Some might have coughed out some water but once their lungs were filled with oxygen rather than water that huge smile appeared. So after talking to one of my coaches, Clay Wright, for a long time to analyze the rapid I decided that it was my time to go surf left side.

 I went and I dropped in the far left corner and caught the wave for maybe two seconds and flushed. Then, I decided that it wasn't that bad and I should go into left side again. So after running safety for a couple of minutes I walked back up to get a “better” beatdown. This time I caught the gut of left side and got window shaded and flushed. Now maybe this isn’t the best beatdown story in the history of beatdowns but it is what everyone goes through before they warm up to surfing right side. And I think that the impressive thing with keeners is that no matter what you feel comfortable with or you skill level there is something for you to do to challenge yourself. 

Why keeners is awesome by Ryan Eckhoff

My name is Ryan Eckhoff and I am from Breckinridge co. I have been kayaking ever since I was 10 years old so about 7 season. Living in Breckinridge gives me 3-4 months out of the year to kayak depending on the snow melt. This is my second year being a keener. I love being a keener because it teaches you just about everything you will need to know to be a good and safe kayaker, for example big water beat down Thursdays teaches you how to get out of really sticky holes and how to be calmer when getting worked, There are many sticky and fun holes on the Ottawa at lower levels named satlers, Phil's hole right side and left side and blacks. Some other awesome paddling skills that we do is race day Wednesday and freestyle Friday. I especially love freestyle Friday because you get the chance to compete on world class waves with world class coaches. All of this and more makes it fun and safe to learn and do. so if you want to become a really good kayaker and advance quickly you should definitely come to Keeners. it's a program that is 3-4 weeks long and you get to kayak with some of the best kayakers in the world like, Dan Jackson, nick troutman, Stephen write, clay write, mathu domula and kaleb grady. These coaches will teach you everything you need to know to be a good and safe kayaker. Another thing I love about keeners is you get to meet and paddle with a lot of cool kids all around the world. 

Why Keener coaches are the best- by Joe Bowers

I learned from my first week at Keeners that the coaches are the best. Steve-O, Clay, and James have helped me become a much better kayaker since I got here. These ten reasons are why all three of these coaches are the best.

1. The coaches push you to accomplish whatever goals that you have by making you write down what you want to achieve on and off the water.
2. Taking the time to help you personally do a trick or just improve your paddle tricks or your surfing technique.
3. The coaches here have the best attitudes you will ever see from anybody they always are smiling and having fun.
4. These coaches bring all the keeners closer together which makes it feel like we are a family for three weeks which is great!
5. We wake up at 7:45 to some sort of morning activity whether it's yoga or soccer it's just always something fun to wake up to.
6. They all have a ton of experience and wisdom that they want to share with everybody as long as you want to hear it and want to learn and try something new.
7. They encourage every keener to try a new line or something that might scare them at least one time that day or at least think about it.
8. They don't make you do anything that you are not comfortable with all you have to do is let a coach know that you don't want to do whatever it is we are doing and they will find an alternate thing for you to do.
9. The coaches here actually care about every single keener here and they help you accomplish any dream that you set for yourself.
10. The coaches here encourage failure because now you know what not to do and what you need to fix so you can execute that trick right.

Big Water Desensitization- Julia Frangenberg

               Here at Keeners we learn and develop a lot of skills that benefit us immensely by keeping us safe and thriving on the water. We learn to familiarize ourselves with many different water levels and rapid types. A large aspect taken away from Keeners is big water desensitization, which is, for example, running humongous rapids that scare the beejeebies out of us and then coming back to something  smaller and feeling much more confident. This skill came in handy when I attended the first session of Keeners before session three. The water levels were unusually high (12-17 feet) and everything on both channels was humongous and at first incredibly intimidating. However, as the weeks flew past we all began to feel more comfortable on rapids that none of us would have even thought about running before, being able to challenge ourselves without panicking. After the session ended, I came back home to find that I was so much more willing and inspired to try things that challenged and scared me. I got my loop, worked on my double pump significantly more, and overall was more confident in my skills. So, when I returned to Keeners after three weeks for third session, the lower and less frightening rapids no longer scared me. I was able to challenge myself and attempt things that I never would have tried before. I just recently got my double pump, my first wavewheels, a kickflip, and a roundhouse. All of these factors originated from the fact that I was used to the kind of water I was paddling, and wasn't afraid anymore to do things that scared me. The key point is, make yourself scared. Do things that you want to learn. All these factors will make you such a good paddler, one who is willing to do (safe) things that terrify them.

Rocks are our friends by Cian Butterly

When I came to keeners something that I was looking forward to was not having to worry about rocks. In Ireland it's near impossible to go from the put in to the takeout without hitting a rock. Even at a play spot there never seems to be enough water to have continuous water levels for the entire session. Which normally means tagging rocks every time you plug. So when I arrived in keenerville and saw Initiation rapid right beside us and was told "under no circumstances run that rapid it's too shallow" Then later running butchers knife we were told; stay left to avoid the rocks. Despite this I have yet to hit a rock while running running a rapid, surfing a wave or being beat down in a whirlpool. So I have come to the conclusion that after spending too much time paddling on the Ottawa even the best kayakers become so afraid of rocks that even seal launching becomes too terrifying to even attempt. You can tell these people apart from the rest by their carbon boats. Stephen is a great example of these paddlers. Despite being a decent paddler I have not seen him once seal launch into the water. On the other hand I have only been on the Ottawa one week and have seal launched every day. In conclusion even though Stephen has paddled all over the world he has become desensitised to rocks. Next time he runs the river I would advise him to find the biggest gnarliest rock on the river and sprint full speed straight into it. Alternatively he could come to Ireland and enjoy our rock hugging lifestyle.

how to get through your first bwbbdt - hunter vincent

On big water bacon beatdown Thursday the best thing about Thursdays it you get to eat as much bacon as you want because you get food restock the next day, and lets be honest who doesn't like bacon! I knew going into keeners that I was scared to death just about the fact of getting beat down, let alone doing it on purpose.

       Then you go to the coaches meeting that morning and they told us that first we got to swim from the top of phill"s hole to the football eddy which was super fun. Then when you think it cant get much scarier,  you're wrong because they then tell you to go surf phills.

    so then when you think you are going to die a terrifying death in phills they tell you that you get to pick 2 lines to do so then you go from being so scared to being so stoked and never want to leave.
If that wasn't enough you get to finish off the events by swimming the pour over at garburator for 30min or so. In my first week of keeners I have went to being scared to being cant wait for Thursdays in all one one day and can guaranty that you will love Thursdays over every other day of the week.

My First Week At Keeners - Haim Lyubeznik

As I first arrived at Keeners, I was nervous and a little bit scared. When I entered the river and began to paddle around in the flatwater,
I was so off balance that even doing a couple forward strokes was enough to flip my kayak. Within 30 minutes, practicing some forward and
backstrokes with the coaches, I gained some level of balance and flipping in the flatwater was no longer a problem. My next challenge was
actually running through rapids. As we ran the river on the first day, I would stop in front of each rapid and ask a coach or a more experienced
Keener what the easiest line through the rapid was, usually in a state of panic. I would then proceed to flip somewhere near the top and run
most of the rapids upside down until rolling up somewhere near the bottom. Since then, I have tried harder and harder lines daily and my confidence
as well as overall kayaking ability has greatly improved. I can now easily run many rapids that were once very difficult for me (most of the time
without even flipping). I have also become a lot better at surfing waves/holes, and through learning how to control my edges I have have also
acheived one of my biggest goals coming into Keeners: doing a spin. My flatwater skills have also continued to increase and I have learned how to
doublepump and am very close to bow and stern stalling. Hopefully I can continue to become a better paddler and acheive more goals over the next
two weeks of Keeners.

How Paddlesurf can transfer into Surf Freestyle - Nathaniel Laplaud

-The first way one can utilise paddlesurf experience in surf freestyle is that you develop a good understanding of waves and wave mechanics. This allows you to locate your whitewash, shoulder and greenwave respectively on a wave. Using this knowledge you will be able to use the wave efficiently during your freestyle ride. Locating the shoulder of the wave allows you to ride back up the wave, you can then carve over to the peak of the whitewash and drive back down. This would be considered good cycling of the wave and would give you ample time to time your ollies and throw some big air tricks.

-Some more skills that transfer into surf freestyle from paddlesurf are,
 Rails: This is essential for surf freestyle as it allows you to move your boat away from pointing  directly upstream, allowing you to surf sideways without getting a beatdown. They are also used in  moving around the wave which helps you both stay on the wave as well as cycling the wave.
 Trim: This is used in surf freestyle by aiding your ability to catch and continue to surf a wave. For  example it's much easier to catch a wave while trimming your boat forward in conjunction with  trimming the boat backwards. The problem with this in surf freestyle if you are trimming too far  forward you will likely plough your nose into the wave and perform a beautiful flying squirrel.  leaving you more than likely kicked off the wave.
 Carving: This is the act of moving from side of side on the wave. This is done using a mix of these  different skills such as stern rudders and use of rails. This will come in very handy for cycling a  wave and just surfing in general as often times the wave doesn't always do exactly what you want it  to and you need to place yourself where you want to be rather than where it wants you to be. 
 Stern Rudders: These are greatly improved while out paddlesurfing as they are the primary stroke  used while surfing a wave. This is true for surf freestyle as well as this stroke allows you to change  the direction of the bow of the boat while in a front surf. This comes as a massive benefit while  cycling and surfing a wave.
 Bracing: While out on the surf you will likely find that your edges get caught very frequently along  with many other things trying to capsize you. As a result of this your bracing is vastly improved.  This comes in great use while freestyle surfing as is both aids you in staying on a wave and not  beatering every 30 seconds.
 Cycling:  This is the act of riding up and down a wave, using the shoulder of the wave as your lift up  and the whitewash as your ride down. This is performed using strokes such as the stern rudders, trim  use, and rail use. Reading the wave also comes into play while cycling a wave as to ensure you don't  drive out too far into the green of it or making sure you actually drive out into the shoulder enough.
 Flexibility: All of these strokes and techniques help work towards a great deal of flexibility.  Flexibility may be one of the biggest factors in surf freestyle for it is required for about every trick  there is in the sport, whether it be in the form of a wind up while throwing a blunt or being on the  back deck for an airscrew it is used everywhere.

-Paddlesurf delivers a great deal of confidence, in many different forms. When surfing a freestyle  wave you will find yourself less scared as you will have experienced about everything you are  feeling before in sea surf. You will also have a good understanding of what is going on and why it is  happening. This will lead to a clear, uncluttered head allowing for nice surfs and well timed tricks.  Rolling confidence is also greatly improved. Since you capsize so much while out paddlesurfing you  will have developed a very solid roll. Knowing this you are much more likely to push yourself a little  bit further as you are no longer afraid to capsize. A final way in of which paddlesurf can aid your  confidence on the water is that while out paddlesurfing you are guaranteed to get beatdown a lot.  This means when thing start to go astray during your freestyle ride and you start windowshading a  thousand times instead of being scared and tempting to pull your skirt you are having a blast and are  enjoying ever minute of it as you know the feeling and know that things will likely be okay. All of  these confidence factors together lead to a very clear head and epic rides.

-The final point I will cover in this blog on how paddlesurf skills can transfer into surf freestyle is  that paddlesurf gives you a great deal of experience out on waves. This means that there is very little  that a river wave can throw at you that you won't have already experienced out at sea, whether that  be in the form of beat downs, temporary blindness from massive whitewash or over edging and  rocketing out of the wave you will have felt it all. This helps break that feeling of uncontrolledness  that is perceived while starting in a new area of kayaking. Also due to all the practise out in  paddlesurf you may find that you have some tricks that you can transfer into surf freestyle such as  top turns, bottom turns, super controlled carving or maybe you will find a situation in of which you  can perform a cut back. And who knows maybe if you are a god you will already have your airscrew  or other freestyle tricks already aced in sea surf and can easily transfer them onto the river.

These are the skills that I find can be transferred from paddlesurf to surf freestyle.

Alex Scheifele- How to own your time at keeners

                    Whether you're a high level kayaker or someone who has just learned how to do a whitewater roll, you're fully capable of owning your time at the keener program. If you feel that you're already having the best time that you can at keeners or feel that my post is the same or lesser version of every other post that's great, just don't read this if not read on for my guide to owning your time at the keener program. Please be aware while reading this lovely post, that I've been here for just a day short of one week, but despite my lack of time here I have learned a fair amount.The most important thing that I've learned here is how to truly enjoy your time here.You're probably wondering how I couldn't be having an awesome time and to be honest I was, but I wasn't owning my time here as I should've been.Since then  I've been enjoying myself so much more  than at the beginning of the session and I didn't necessarily even change my  approach to day to day life at keeners. All I did to change was be more cautious of being relaxed, being confident and having fun.To begin your journey to making the most of your time here you need to take a deep breath and realize that your literally at one of the best summer camps and you have nothing to worry about. Step two, be confident, know your abilities and don't hold back, just go for it. If you're really unsure about doing a line then take a step back, don't be afraid to drill the basics, you'll be a lot more confident if you know your prepared.Step three have fun because that's why your here,you love kayaking.If you don't particularly like the task you're doing, then focus on the positives, find a part you love and if not make one.

Diversity of Rocks and Rivers- Ali Markoff

There are so many rivers in the world. All of them have their unique qualities, some are big and some are small. The main difference between the rivers are the type of rock. There are several different types of rock. I have explored many sections of river and now I am at keeners spending my time on the Ottawa.
The Ottawa is a river for all levels unlike most rivers. It is formed from a precambrian bedrock, that enables good formations of waves and holes. The volume of the Ottawa river is equivalent to the volume of all the rivers in Western Europe combined. The Ottawa has world class waves no matter what the volume is. The river is a pool drop method which is good for beginners because it is a good time for rescues and safe swimming.

Back home, I grew up on the Potomac River. It flows on rocky surfaces, high walled cliffs and drops 76 feet. The river is made of metamorphic rock including schists, gneisses, and metaconglomerates. These rocks create the holes, waves and waterfalls that the Potomac has that makes it unique.


No river has the same rapid, If all the rivers were the same there would never be any surprises. All rocks are different that make the rivers great, and we get to experience them.

Why it is important to embrace the small successes- Savannah Westeinde

Here at Keeners we have so many amazing coaches to help us learn new tricks or take us down new lines. We also have a variety of different people, with different personalities who learn at all different paces. There may be somebody who comes to Keeners with little paddling background, then by the end of the session they are able to airscrew on garb. Or there might be someone who comes to Keeners who has been paddling for quite awhile, yet by the end of the session it may seem like there has not really been much of a drastic improvement. This can be super frustrating, especially when you are really making an effort to learn new stuff , and it does not seem like any improvement has been made. This is why it is important to embrace the small successes. Just because you don't learn how to do a bunch of new fancy tricks, does not mean that you have not improved at all, For me personally, I get very easily frustrated when I don't get the hang of things right away. This makes it even harder for me to learn new tricks because I get in this mindset where I just start to think that I will never be able to do huge loops, or be able to mcnasty. It is impossible to learn something if you do not actually believe that you can do it. This mindset has held me back in the past, but now I am back at Keeners for a third session, and I am finally able to realize what was holding me back. Now that I have this idea in my mind that it is possible for me to learn new stuff and really improve, I am realizing that just because it does not come quickly, does not mean it will never happen. I came into this session wanting to learn how to loop consistently, and learn some other hole tricks in order to prepare myself for worlds in Argentina. Before this session I had never successfully done a loop and stuck it. My plugs were also not consistent and I was in the habit of just doing the "plug and pray" tactic, where you just reach forward and try to plug your bow. This does not usually work as often times the bow will pop out to the side. Now, after the first week of Keeners, although I have only successfully done 1 loop and stuck it, that is still one more than I had done before I came here. Even though it seems like I am just falling on my face all the time, when I look back I realize I have still made a bit of improvement. For example: even though I have been falling on my face all week other than that 1 loop, I have started placing my paddle in the water as I plug so the bow does not pop out to the side, which means I start to jump straight up. Now I just need to work on throwing it. The fact that I am starting to realize that improving slowly, does not mean that I suck, and definitely does not mean that I am not improving at all; makes my time here at keeners so much more enjoyable. I spend less time worrying about whether or not I will ever be good, and more time visualizing what I have to do to get there. This week has been one of the best weeks I have ever had improvement wise. I stuck my first loop, did my first blunt, and finally got my dry head back deck roll. Although I still have a lot of work to do to get to the level that I want to be at, I am so happy with myself and cannot wait to see how the rest pf the session goes. So please if anyone who is reading this ever feels frustrated with themselves because they can't get a new trick, take the time to look back at what you could do a month ago, or even a year ago and I can almost guarantee that there has been some sort of improvement in your paddling whether it is big or small. Because getting frustrated over something like that is a waste of time that could be spent working towards your goals.