Leading up to the Battle of the Paddle at the end of September, I had trained and pushed through some pretty serious tendinitis in an effort to prepare for the biggest race of the year. By the end of that weekend, my condition was worse than it had ever been, but I had a nice long stretch of off-season to rest and try to heal my injury. This is harder than is sounds. No paddling, no surfing (even if there was waves to surf) and limited cross-training.
But I must admit that the timing was rather impeccable. Fall of my senior year is crunch time, with huge reports, accelerated schoolwork and, of course, college apps! My number #1 choice for college is the University of California San Diego. It's got strong academics, a really cool campus layout, and it's walking distance from the beach! I'm applying to a couple other California schools and instate universities as well, but UCSD is definitely my dream.
Being off the water made me restless and bored, and that's the kind of situation that leads me to overly ambitious ideas. As a result, I decided to launch my latest (and hopefully greatest!) idea- the Florida Junior Stand Up Paddle Team. This is an idea that I've been sitting on for a while, but the time has never been quite right. It was at the Fall Paddle Festival this year that I finally realized that the time is now to capitalize on youth in stand up paddling. The Fall Paddle Festival was the first race I ever competed in. At the time, I was the only junior in any division. The following year, there was maybe 3 or 4 kids racing. But in 2013, there were several juniors in just the open and elite races, let alone the kids race! Several of these kids were making podium overall, not just in their age bracket.
I saw all of this potential; good kids trying to make the most out of an adult-dominated sport. There was no strong infrastructure for them to relate to each other, no way to branch outside their own success and be part of a group experience with their peers. I realized that I was in the perfect position to change that and bring these kids together and start something awesome. I've been in their positions as a junior trying to learn the ropes of a new sport and navigate my way through the challenges that accompany undertaking such a challenge. Plus, I'm only 17 myself-kids listen to kids before they listen to adults telling them what to do.
It's really important to me for people to understand the the FL Jr SUP Team is in no way exclusionary. Does it require an invitation? Commitment? Dedication? Yes, yes, and yes. But that being said, it's equal opportunity for all those who wish to join. All the kids have made SUP a real priority in their lives; training, surfing, and racing. My ultimate goal is for other kids entering paddling to look to the team members and aspire to be like them. I would love to encourage kids to take their paddling to the next level, and go for the team themselves. The roster is going to be updated frequently, but only those who show serious commitment to paddling will be included.
As important as it is for the team members to be proficient paddlers, it's doubly important for them to be role models. All the kids on the team have good grades, are super nice, and show great sportsmanship. What more could I ask for?
Team Roster
Taylor Jalving, 15, Fort Meyers
Connor Rush, 14, Orlando
Milla Navarro, 14, Miami
Izzi Gomez, 13, Jupiter
Lindsey Geiger, 13, Satellite Beach
Will Marston, 12, Bradenton
Tanner Chechak, 12, Destin
Dekai Navarro, 11, Miami
Gracie Marston, 10, Bradenton
Hailey Marston, 10, Bradenton
Dylan Geiger, 10, Satellite Beach
Lina Bowers, 9, Clearwater
Lucy Allan, 9, Clearwater
No comments:
Post a Comment