I love paddling with old people!!

At the risk of sounding not so "politically correct," I love paddling with old people. It isn't quite the same workout as when I'm paddling with a peer group, or with masters, but it's definitely rewarding to say the least.

I've taught many senior citizens how to paddle over the last several years in my capacity as adult coach at Lanier. It amazes me how easily they will step out of their comfort zone. I've had more than a few 75 year old men climb into a sprint k-4 with a bunch of 18 year old studs and come off of the water smiling. "What do you think?" I always ask. They'll answer, "awesome!" "Wanna do it again?" I ask next. "Nope."  Lol.
It's almost like they feel like one of the guys, and then it takes 5 minutes to bend the leg enough to get out of the cockpit, and reality is back.

I speak with a lot of older folks about why paddling is the most awesome sport there is for them. And children of older adults are always looking for something to keep their parents active and in a healthy social environment. This is the perfect medicine. I tell people that I feel the kayak is the great equalizer. Whether you're eight or eighty, once you're in the boat, the awesomeness, the powerful feelings, the "wow" factor, it's all the same. No lie.

A couple of years ago I had a gentleman named Larry Church in my class. He was 76 years old, and his wife was confined to a wheelchair and had cancer. He actually lives very close to our club, and finally broke down and took the class. He couldn't bend his knee, so it took the both of us to cram him into the cockpit of the big green rec boat.  He pushed off, and had a moment of freedom that I could see on his face.  No pain, and he was propelling the boat in the water while looking around at how beautiful everything is. I do remember that somehow later that practice, he tried to step into the boat and didn't lift the leg high enough, kicking the boat away and taking the first step into the lake instead. it took 3 of us to calm him down and pull him out, but within five minutes he was back in the boat joking about baptism.


During one of the final sessions, we were paddling a rec k-2 together and he told me about how once upon a time he raced the Tour e Georgia, a bike race through the state modeled, of course, after the Tour de France. It was at that moment that I realized that seniors are precious commodities, with wonderful rich lives and stories. It was then that I decided that I needed to hear those stories.

I love paddling with old people. And I vow to do much more of it.

TKM