Sprint Canoe-Kayak athletes: For its own long-term sustainability, the club requires that a large percentage of coaches have a deep knowledge of Sprint Canoe-Kayak (the Olympic sport). Sprint expertise includes, but is much more than, any standard introduction to recreational paddling. There are no short-cuts to acquiring this knowledge, because it is mostly experiential.The longer the child has personally applied themselves as a participant in Sprint, the better they will understand and master all of the elements of the sport. The depth to which they have experienced Sprint is directly related to the potential they will have as a canoe club coach. It is not possible to acquire this expertise in any other way than actual participation in the Sprint program over several years.
Lifeguard-athletes: The club adds lifeguard-athletes to its complement of Sprint Canoe-Kayak coaches. Over the years, we have found that lifeguard-athletes are a good second choice after Sprint coaches, for three reasons. First, they have shown some measure of perseverance in sticking with the lifeguard training, since that process takes several years to complete. Having worked towards a long-term goal makes these employees far more valuable, because they have discovered (again, experientially), that consistent work + determination = success. Second, they bring real skills and knowledge to the table, since they have spent several years sharpening their situational awareness to quickly identify and eliminate potential safety hazards. Third, when we hire athletes (especially from team sports), we know that they already have experienced the value of working alongside other people towards a common goal.