Lets give a shout out to those that create and promote talent in our sport. These are the people that want to share the gems that they have searched out.... or have been taught.
I just want to say that Maui Kjeldsen is the bomb when it comes to sharing what he knows about the art of paddling..
He treats everyone as an individual and searches out what will work best for each individual.
One size does not fit all, must be one of his philosophies.
Maui ran a weekend course for our club. No one in our club, had made the finals at the sprints.
Our 2 year goal was to get as many teams into the finals.
65 paddlers attended Maui's seminars and all of those 65 paddlers took home medals from the Nationals sprint Titles. That was six months after the seminar!
Three went on to represent NZ in OC1 at the Worlds and one of those set a world record and won gold in the OC1 sprints at the worlds.
Two others won golds in OC6 races. Many have made NZ selection since the seminars.
One message that Maui pushed, was the sharing of knowledge. If he shared something with us, we were to pass on the gem to others. That is how our sport was to grow. Share and share alike!
Matahi Brightwell is another NZ coach that has made a difference.
Matahi has probable trained more paddling world champions than any other on the planet...or, in any sport, for that matter.
That may be only correct in my part of the world, but please let me know who has made a difference to promoting excellence in your part of the world.
Oh Aussie has it's Talent too. Robyn Saultry took her crew to Gold in the Open and Masters in Tahiti worlds. In my mind Robyn probable has some of the best training programmes ever written/created.
I have watched Robyn train up to 10 crews at once on the Brisbane River.
The skill level ranged from social to competitive, and all adult grades were probable covered, male and Female.
Robyns sessions are scientifically sound and interesting to boot.
I saw leap frog games and every one was getting a work out.
Chris Maynard has weaved some magic over the last couple of decades as well. He has much "Mana" and I see simular traits of Maui in his personal approach.
Rambo is a sharer. He can recognize a gem and has no hesitation in passing it on, to those that want to know.
I have seen footage of Walter Guild and The Foti Brothers sharing the gems of the wisdom, so I know that there are good people doing great things out there.
Lets create a hall of fame to hounor those that are passionate, skilled and are able to communicate such skills.
Who can you recommend for the "Mana Hall of Fame"
