Monday, 2 July 2018

Handsurfing Phils and the Rapid Keener Progression - Haim Lyubeznik

     When I did my first session of keeners (3rd session of 2017), I could barely roll a kayak. Surfing phils hole, one of the scariest and most intimidating holes on the ottowa river, was out of the question. However, by the end of my first keener session, with training and encouragment from keener coaches, I was confidently dropping into Phils hole and even enjoying the feelings of uncertainty and fear that accompany being tossed around by a big hole.
     This past Big Water Beatdown Thursday in keeners, I handsurfed phils hole. Living in Minnesota (the land of 10,000 lakes), there is not much whitewater to paddle. Due to this, I had not paddled at all (other than a little bit of flatwater) over the time period between my Keeners sessions. However, being surrounded by encouraging fellow Keeners and coaches made me go out of my comfort zone and decide to do something that I never thought I would do, and I dropped into Phils hole without a paddle.
     The encouragement and excitement of Keeners and coaches is what makes me go out of my comfort zone on the river, and in other areas of life, and one of the main reasons I love this program so much and have come back for another session of Keeners.

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