Today we taught a couple of Intro the Sea Kayaking classes for Geneva Kayak Center in Geneva, Illinois. Geneva Kayak is one of Chicago’s newest paddling centers, but owner Ryan Rushton quickly put it on the national map through a combination of a beautifully stocked shop, extensive calendar of lessons and trips, and an annual symposium, the Windy City Kayak Symposium.
Not everybody loves teaching beginners, but we do. Why? Partly because it’s an opportunity to be an ambassador for an activity we love. We’re aware that a person’s first experience is hugely influential. We know plenty of people who had a bad first experience and decided never to sit in a kayak again, or who had a good first experience and were hooked for life. But also because they have a wonderfully steep learning curve. As an instructor, you can make a huge difference in a beginner’s skill in just a few hours. We’ve seen students begin a three-hour class wobbly and insecure, barely able to use a paddle, and end it capable of moving themselves where they want to go, with huge grins on their faces. That’s tremendously rewarding.