Success At Last - Nathan Bond

Over my two years here at Keeners the one trick I have persistently worked towards is the blunt.  A blunt, if you are not familiar, is a hundred-eighty degree rotation around the bow of the boat initiated by edging on a bounce and quickly switching edges.  This trick has given me nightmares ever since I learned of its existence last year at Keeners.  I have been unable to fully achieve it and end up with the less impressive version of the blunt; a roundhouse.  Saturday, a group of fellow Keeners and I paddled down to Minibus for a laidback weekend session.  The lines were short and the rides were almost back-to-back, despite it being the middle of the day on the weekend, allowing lots of quality practice.  Then... it happened.

Needless to say I went pretty huge.  I have no idea what it was that immediately allowed me to get it but right after that blunt I got another left blunt on the same ride.  We went to lunch shortly after my great ride and more than half the group was eager to return to Keenerville.  Me and a few others were persistent and got just enough Keeners to stay with us.  After lunch it happened again.  This time though it was CLEAN, meaning no paddle blade touched the water.  Somehow, overnight, something must have clicked because all the sudden I can blunt and it feels good.  The moral of this story is to continue working towards your goals even if it may seem you'll never reach them because eventually you will just as I finally blunted after a year of failure.

Why I Come Back Every Year- Cat Hardman

I have been coming back to Keeners for the past three years. Some might ask why I come back year after year or don't you get bored going to the same kayaking school. Well, no, I could never get bored coming to the OKS Keener Program, it's almost impossible.

Reason One 

Every year you get to meet about 20 new people, and some of them are from all around the world, I have been able to make new friends and have paddling buddies across the globe. Having good friends is key to a lot of things in life, for example you should have good friends in kayaking. When you go paddling with your buddies on the river you put your trust in them to save you if anything goes wrong. Therefore at Keeners, you make friends, which in the long run you can put your trust in them when you go kayaking. A great thing about having friends in the Keener Program is that you all learned the same safety skills which can benefit you when paddling with each other.

Reason Two

The Ottawa River is fun in general. No matter what level the river is at there is always something to surf. Last year the water level was around zero, which meant Garb and Push Button was in. This year the level has been between 15 and 16 feet. Every rapid is so much bigger or not even there, but what could be in at 15 feet. Wait, what, Mini Bus? No way I thought, like it's July, not April or May when it normally comes in because of all the snow melt. Though there has been a lot of rain and it's in. I have never been so utterly terrified and excited at the same time. It's really scary because the waves on the main channel are twice the size of me and when they crash down on you it hurts. It is all fun because all these new waves are in that I have never surfed and it is always fun the surf new features. This river has big water and it can prep you for bigger volume rivers that you might run in the future. Paddling Ottawa has helped me not be as scared on rivers that have massive waves or holes.

Reason Three

At Keeners you will get the coaching of a lifetime. Over the past three years I have had to chance to be coached by Stephen Wright, Clay Wright, Nick Troutman, Claire O'Hara,  Joel Kowalski, Kalob Grady, Bren Orton, Dane Jackson, Tyler Curtis, LP Rivest, and James Metcalfe. These kayakers are phenomenal kayakers and if you come to Keeners you get the chance to paddle and get coached by these athletes. At Keeners you may not learn a trick completely but here you at least learn the concept of a trick. Also these coaches push you to get beatdown and it teaches how to stay calm in scary situations. For example, 2015 was the first year I went to Keeners and it also was the first year I ran the Upper Gauley in West Virginia. In the first year of Keeners I was taught that it's not always safe to come out of your boat if you have trouble rolling in a big rapid or getting beatdown in a big hole. After Keeners that year I went and paddled the Upper Gauley; there is a rapid on there called Pillow Rock that is a class IV rapid with has an eddy called the Room of Doom that you can get stuck in. To get out, a rope must be thrown to you, the rock that creates the eddy is also a huge undercut rock. I got to the top of the rapid and started paddling down, a wave train hit me and I flipped and slammed into rocks all the way down. Normally I would have pulled my skirt, but if I did I would have been in a lot of danger and could have possibly drowned. Thanks to Keeners I had learned that it isn't always safe to swim and it can be easier to just stay in the boat and try to roll at the end. That is just one of many things I learned at Keeners.

Reason 4 

In my own words I say the real reason I come back is "Why not?" and in the words of LP Rivest "Because we can!"

Car Rides With Joe-william von shilling

Yes, the man, the myth, the legend, Mr Joe Kowalski. My second summer at Keeners has been drastically different than my first. My first year here involved, kayaking and relaxing and hanging out with the other fellow Keeners at Keenerville. However, this year, most of my time is being spent as a senior Keener, which involves working at Wilderness Tours on the weekends. Though, this hasn’t stopped me from having the time of my life. My first workday started off with waking up, rolling out of bed, getting my stuff together, taking a shower and waiting for my ride. Little did I know that I was about to get in a car with a philosopher, visionary, business man and entertaining legend.

As the car pulled up in the turn around circle, all I could think about was how I was going to teach people how to roll their kayaks with no prior kayak instruction experience. As soon as I got into the car with Joe, I was immediately drawn off of my worries and into his ideas on why he wanted to hire us after Keeners. He seemed very keen on having us on staff for next year either on kayak school or as a guide, but on staff none the less. He explained why he liked having ex-keeners on staff and talked about how some ex-keeners are some of his best staff on and off of the river. Yes, this may seem like a pretty mundane topic and most people in his position would say the same things, but he seemed so enthusiastic about it that his energy about working at WT seemed to transfer over to me and next thing I know I am sitting on the beach thinking about where at WT I would like to work next year. Anyone who seems unmotivated to do work of any sorts should go for a drive with Joe and their passion for everything will come back to life. 

The next weekend that I work began the same way, but this time I am not nervous at all about teaching but I am much more nervous about the car ride with my (hopefully) future employer. I was so moved by his passion that he has for the past present and future of WT and all of his endeavours. This ride was much more normal until he asked me what I wanted to do after high school. Of course I answered with University and that I was still in the process of deciding where and what I was going to study but that it was in the business field. As I was talking, I felt as though he was genuinely listening to me and was interested in what I had to say, I thought that that was great. Then, as I found out the previous weekend, there is always a lesson when Joe is in the car. He then shared the story of a man who’s name I cannot remember, and how he had no back up plan with his university degree and felt that he had done the wrong degree and went back to school for accounting. The lesson of this story was to always have a back up plan, and in this case, get an accounting degree with any business degree of my choosing. He explained how accounting an math were a universal language and that it could be used wherever and whenever even if times change. This was the car ride where I began to realize that Joe is always thinking of the future and how he wants to make sure that everyone he meets has the chance to have a bright future. 

The many rides with Joe succeeding these two were full of insightful  topics and wisdom, however one really stood out to me. The lesson that I learned from him that ride was that the world now revolves around politics and how even something as simple as picking a location of an event is all politics. I knew that politics drove governing bodies, events and organization, but he opened up a whole new side on how things work in this world. Being a business man and having to make huge decisions, he is the first person I would trust when talking about how politics drive everything. The main example of the ride was the placement and timing of the Canadian Freestyle Kayak Team Trials in Valleyfield. He was explaining how the governing body does not have to take into consideration how others feel about it and how there is no voting system in place. The real lesson was that to be (and stay) a leader, you must make decisions that most people are alright with. But to be a great leader, you must make decisions that accommodate to everyone, and thats what makes it so hard. 

Other rides included, both of our views on green energy, economics, the Ottawa River, Whistler, Elon Musk, the Grand Canyon, books and the future, some funny, some sad and everything in between. What I will be taking away from Keeners is the work experience, the friends, the kayaking abilities, but most importantly, the wisdom and thoughts that have been brought up during my car rides with Joe Kowalski, the man, the myth, the legend, the visionary, the business man and a quality entertainer.

Thank you Joe. 

Safety on the River by Bryce Aaron

This past weekend we learned first aid and Swiftwater Rescue. What I am going to talk about today is river signs and why they are important.

To start off, there are a few basic river sings that we should all know:

X- Crossing your arms in an "X" means don't come down.

l- With your arms or paddle straight up in the air mean all clear come down.

_-A horizontal line with your paddle mean don't come down too.

When a paddler mean a circle in the air then point in a direction means eddie out on left or right. If it's followed by a number, most likely "1" or "2" means it is a 1 or 2 person eddie.

Whistle blows are also important but vary between groups. 1 is normally look upstream, 2 is someone is getting worked or swam but is ok, and 3 is HELP, eddie out and go help. These calls do vary so it is good to review them before any run.

I hope that these river signals will help you on your next river. As a reminder it is always good to review these signals with your crew before you do your river.

Big water beatdown- Kathryn Walker

This morning I got up, silently groaning at how early it seemed. I slowly got dressed and ran out side on the freshly dewed grass. After playing a team building game, I ran inside to cook up my eggs and bacon. After talking about what a big water beatdown is we decided the plan for the day. I jumped into my gear, eager to go kayaking. After scouting out the Mccoys rapid, we decided to swim it. It seemed very scary at first,  but after I swam it, even when I missed my line, it was really fun! We then hiked back up, and ran it in our kayaks. I decided to surf left side of phill's hole, which had always terrified me. The rest of the day, we spent swimming lots of things that scared me. Then I slowly realized, the real reason of big water beat down days is not to give our coaches some free entertainment, but instead, to learn how to conquer things that scare us. Learning how to conquer things that scare us is definitely an important life lesson, even if it is learned kayaking and swim through massive water, while running into other terrified keeners. It's a lesson I am thankful to have learned.  

The Benefit Of The Fit

THE BENFIT OF THE FIT

Fitting properly into something that you do, such as kayaking or your job is key to your success as well as your team's success. Having the perfect fit in a job position or your boat will make all your experiences more enjoyable and you will not go unfulfilled. To identify an improper fit, you must feel it yourself, no one else can tell you that you aren't quite fitting right because it's all about YOU.

My first two and a half sessions of Keeners have been hindered by a mysterious force that seems to be holding me back from many successes. My height has always been a denying force throughout my kayaking endeavors which limits my boat choices, seating position and overall comfort. It took me around 50 or so days on the water to come to the conclusion that I may not be fit correctly in my boat. I bought a new one as the opportunity arose in hopes to find a better fit for my long legs. When I got the boat, I felt much better and found that the boat was reacting better to my commands. Great! All of my kayaking problems solved, right? No. As I paddled more and more in this new boat, problems arose. I found that I could move side to side to much, and that I was not getting enough leverage through sitting to low and that I had no foot block to support my feet. The more and more I thought about it, the more it bothered me, the fact that I thought I had the perfect boat, but now it just seems like any other. 

I kept putting of the required time to fix my self-diagnosed outfitting problems. This only deepened my problem as my kayaking ability was not improving and I was not having as much fun in my boat as I used to. Eventually I was fed up with being sore and the same old kayaker I was, and decided to put in the work to fix it. The minute I got off of the river I got to work carving out hip pads that would keep me in my boat instead of cutting the blood circulation in my legs. I then got help from Stephen Wright, the guru of kayak outfitting, to help me devise a plan to keep my hip pads in place. After the main problem was dealt with, I stuck a foam pad under my seat to raise my seating position to gain more leverage and added a foot-block to have foot support. At last my outfitting has been fixed and I can now continue to progress my kayaking abilities and be comfortable! Right? No...

As I have found out, there is no quick fix to 'fit' problems, unless you get lucky once or twice. As I sat in my boat for the first time since the outfitting project began, I didn't quite feel right and I thought it could use a few adjustments. I tore most of the fixes out and made some changes and put them back in, and voila! I fit in my boat for the first time since I started white water kayaking! The feeling is unlike any other. Finding the right fit in my kayak was one of the most worthwhile experiences that I have ever come across. I can now enjoy my time on the river more and regain my 'will' to learn new tricks and won't be afraid of falling out of my boat.

Finding the right fit for my kayak has been an eye-opening experience for me because I realized that this can have huge applications in real life. Finding your perfect place to live, or your perfect job or the right things you should  be doing, often aren't things that come easily or without effort. Finding THE perfect place to live often is not YOUR perfect place to live. The Same idea goes with jobs, it doesn't matter how the rest of the world sees a job, it's about how you see, experience and enjoy that job. The job you get at first may not at all be the right job for you, but find out stick with it to find out what's wrong with it then find a new one that is a better fit for you. If you stick with the job that you don't enjoy or can't seem to find the passion to learn or get better in, there is a pretty high chance that that job may never take you to the places you want to end up. Even if the second job, or the third, or however many you need to try to get it right don't fit, there are always infinite ways to make minute changes inside one of those jobs. This can open new windows and really allow you to dial in the amount you enjoy, or how passionate, or how much you love the job. 

This experience is one of the biggest lessons I have learned in Keeners and probably one that I will take with me as I go on with my life without keeners. Nothing comes without effort and it shows you to not give up on one thing because there are millions of different ways to fix it.

The Most Important Skill

The Most Important Skill 

You can be the freestyle paddler, or run the biggest drops, or be the happiest person on the river, but none of that is conducive in life if there is no time management. Time management is the most important skill or trait to possess as a human being because it allows you to be punctual, to make good group decisions and to allow for a stress-free time wether it be on the water, on the way to a meeting or just to meet your friends. 

Being punctual is great to use to impress others both on and off the water through being punctual. Being punctual is a wonderful trait to have in everyday life because it shows people that you can be trusted to be there when needed. Applications of this trait can be demonstrated through always showing up on time to meet your friends, always getting your assigned work in on time, wether school or work, and/or just being reliable to get things done. With punctuality comes respect and with that comes a multitude of other things that only makes life better for everyone.

Making good decision on behalf of a group is one of the biggest things that a great leader needs to do to be productive with his/her group. As a leader, people look up to you in many ways, and one of the ways is knowing what the group is capable of. An example would be an extensive hike into the wilderness, and you have a group that maybe isn't quite up to the standards of the hike. What would you do? A good leader would shorten the hike as best as possible while still gaining the full experience of the excursion. This will allow the group to be back on time and avoid a prolonged adventure where the group may fall apart.

Making these time management decisions on and off the water allows for a fun, stress-free time getting from place to place. With no rush to get to where you are going or being afraid that you are going to miss the shuttle or the train or the plane, you can soak up whats around you wether that be the big city, the mountains or just floating down the river watching the current swirl below you. Getting from place to place with no rush allows you to not only take in the moment, but it allows you to do things you wouldn't have otherwise done like stop somewhere new, or find a new line down a rapid or meet someone new.

All of these wonderful things all stem from the same trait and skill, time management. As a Keener, we are introduced to this skill through watching the instructors plan the day and make decisions on wether or not an activity will fit into our day and how they can teach us on the way down the river instead of rushing to the takeout or just paddling faster to get somewhere. All of these things add up to be a big part of being a strong leader. That is why I think that it is the most important skill to have as a human. It leads to enjoying more moments like these...

My Senior Keener Summer Goals - Willem von Schilling

My Senior Keener Summer  Goals

This Sunday, July 3 2016, marks the end of my first of 8 weeks on the Ottawa River with the Keeners. Through out this first week, I have experienced every emotion possible, happiness, sadness, fear, envy, you name it, I've probably experienced it at some point in time this week. This first week has allowed me to regain my bearings as to where my skills are and have set goals for my nine weeks wether it be freestyle, or off the water. My main goal overall is to begin to believe in trust with my teammates, co-workers or paddling group. I think that trust is the single most important trait to have on and off the river, and if I develop that trait, I would consider my experience at Keeners a success. One of my other goals for the summer is to gain work experience through working at and with Wilderness Tours on my weekends without Keener instruction. This practical work experience will allow me to hopefully get a job in the industry next year. My final major goal for the summer is to commit myself to the goals I make throughout the summer. I think that I should learn to set and commit to achieve these goals to progress not only in the field of whitewater, but in my everyday life as well. I am looking forward to spending time with a multitude of fellow keeners and a wide variety of coaches through out the summer and would love to use every bit of knowledge they have to offer in order to achieve my goals.

-Willem von Scilling