We'll be kicking some ass
Not my team, but you get the point
Outrigger practices are well under way and the boats are feeling great! I'd just started last year and was in the novice co-ed, recreational group, so the boats felt kinda heavy most of the time. This year though? Our canoe club has started a new race program with a professional coach and things are feeling great.
There've been a couple times the coach has singled me out in a good way. He told me last week that I should really consider entering a solo race (we usually race in six-person boats, but boats come in sizes that fit from one to eight people). And then last night after a particularly grueling practice, he said that we could put together a men's team that would have a really good chance at the top spots. And he singled myself and one other guy out as being especially strong paddlers. Awesome! Plus, one of the club's owners said that as soon as they saw me in my intro course last year, they thought, "that guy's a natural".
Even though I realize I still have a lot to learn and my technique still needs some honing, I must be doing really well. Plus I'm one of the strongest guys in the club and I push myself as hard as I can. It doesn't hurt that so far I'm appearing to be one of the most dedicated people on the team, showing up to every single practice even this early in the season. I think the people in charge are really noticing and I should get good placement in team selection. Woohoo!
The first race we'll be competing in is sometime in May, so we've got plenty of time to push the practices up several levels. By the time racing season kicks into high gear, we'll be in awesome shape. I think we're gonna kick some serious ass, and I look forward to being a big part of that.