Posts in Category

Practice

Let’s talk about confidence. I’ve been thinking a lot about it lately and so I decided to look into the relationship between confidence and performance. Why? Because I am frequently doubting my own abilities and I am always intrigued by other paddlers I see who seem to be incredibly confident. I really began to wonder not only how this affected my abilities, but also how I could get some of that self-assuredness. I truly hesitated publishing this post. In fact, I’ve been stewing on it for over a month. Examining

When I first started paddling, I’ll admit it, like most people, I truly had no idea what I was doing. I mean, I really, really had no idea whatsoever. I enjoyed my time on the water, and when my team’s practice was finished, I would get off the boat, socialize with my teammates, maybe go grab a bite to eat with some of them, and then head home for a shower. Other than showing up to practice, I didn’t even consider my own role in my development as a paddler.

We all love racing. We wouldn’t be paddlers if we didn’t love the thrill of the race and the joy of the winning. But yes, it happens. There are at least a few on nearly every team; those paddlers who love the glory of racing (and posting the multiple photos to Facebook while posing with the trophies), but they don’t seem to truly understand how important training and team practices are. They show up to training sessions sporadically and when race selections are announced, they don’t understand why they haven’t been