We just got off the water from a great freestyle training exercise. Today was Freestyle Day. That means we focus on 2 or 3 different freestyle moves and learn how to practice them and how to push yourself. We take 5 rides on each move. In these rides we are only doing these moves, this allows us to focus completely on the task at hand and not get distracted by wanting to try other tricks. Once everyone is on their free time they will feel comfortable trying these tricks in their ride because they will have gotten past that awkward stage of trying a trick and not hitting it every time. Check out some of the shots from the session!

Enjoy,

Coach Tino Specht

Taylor airing out her roundhouse!

Nick, Smiling but exhausted from the on water treadmill, cornerwave.

Ride the lightning

Jacob going for the Air Blunt

Jordan about to go and kill it.

Hunt bouncing around on Corner Wave

Zoe Ross throwing a Shuvit

Wayne Hitting his Roundhouse that we have been practicing!

Lore and Kira paddling back up to Corner Wave

Lorenzo Coaching

Tino coaching Jacob on how to throw right on Corner Wave

Tino enjoying the green, fast, amazing Corner Wave

Coach Tino Specht writing in to tell you guys about an awesome new part of our Morning Workout!!!  Kira Tenney, our talented english teacher is also a great Yoga teacher! She led morning workout yesterday and the athletes got the chance to stretch it out in the morning. The reason we are incorporating Yoga into morning workout now is because a high percentage of injuries in kayaking are related to not stretching enough. I myself had a bad back injury this summer because I don’t stretch enough. Our goal is to protect everybody in this program from any injuries! Yoga is just another great way to do that.

Enjoy,

Coach Tino Specht

Reach!

The Cobra

Kira helping our athletes push themselves

I don't know what this is called but its a great challenge!

I called this the Warrior

I think Kira called this one the Eagle

Checking in here from the banks of the Ottawa River to keep you up to date on the happenings at New River Academy! Yesterday was Hit Your Line Day. Hit Your Line Day is the day where we all go out to a specific rapid and scout it as a group. Then we talk about the best ways to look at a rapid and break it down into pieces. This helps everyone to understand exactly what they need to do in the rapid without getting completely overwhelmed. Then every athlete picks a line that they think will challenge them and meets personally with the coach about it. Once they have ok’d their line with one of the coaches they go up to the top of the rapid with a partner and try and hit their line. Because we are all about safety here at NRA, the kids also learn how to set safety on the rapid correctly whether or not it be standing on the bank with a rope or running the safety from your kayak, waiting in the eddy below the rapid. They have to take into account how big and wide the river is, where the kayaker will go if they swim, what is downstream and how to get their gear back to them. All very important lessons. Here are some shots of our Hit Your Line Wednesday!

Enjoy,

Coach Tino Specht

Wayne going for the tongue through Phils hole on McCoys Rapid!

Senior paddlers Clay and Taylor taking the initiative to run safety for the group in the eddy below the run!

Dave Throwing a Wavewheel into Phil's Hole!

Errik going for the tongue

Wayne, All Smiles!

Hunt on the way to his second run!

USA team member Jordan C1 Freewheeling into Phil's Hole!

Julia punching Phil's Hole!

Kai floating down into the rest of McCoys Rapid

Your's truly talking about how to safely use your throw rope on the river

Tino doing a throw rope demonstration

Tino Punching Phils Hole and sweeping the rapid. Sweeping means that your the last person down the rapid. It is this person's responsibility to make sure everybody has made it down safely.

Just checkin in here from our second day of school to update you on how awesome this year is starting out. We are here on the banks of the Ottawa River relaxing into our new year here at New River Academy. Classes have started and I’ve already heard the student bragging about who’s schedule is better! Kayaking wise, we have been taking the first half of every afternoon session to practice our safety technique. First we worked on our throw rope skills with Lorenzo and myself as the instructors. Lorenzo grew up on a very difficult river, because of this he has a higher understanding of throw rope rescues than almost anybody I have ever met. Lorenzo put the athletes through an intensive dry land training to prepare them for our training on the river. When we got to the river we had everybody pick a partner who they would be responsible for saving and roping out of the river. So one of the people would jump into the river and the other would be waiting downstream. It was the responsibility of the person waiting downstream to hit the swimmer with their throw bag and pull them to shore. Our second day we practiced aggressive swimming in a rapid. The reason for this is that everybody swims out of their kayak from time to time and its better to know what to do once your swimming in a rapid and perform a self rescue to the best of your ability. Lucky for us we have the safest trainging ground in the world! The warm friendly Ottawa River. Today is choose your line day. This consists of everybody looking at the same rapid and choosing a line that is challenging for themselves and then talking through the line with the coaches. This is designed to help the athletes learn to read rapids for themselves and make good decisions!

Here are some shots from the last few days!!

Best,

Coach Tino Specht

Kira and Nick in AP English

Kai and Wayne in Math class on the banks of the Ottawa River

Julia already engrossed in her reading

Spanish class with our Native Chileno Lorenzo!

Video class with Tino Specht, NBC just picked up Tino's last film!

Warming up before dryland throwrope practice

Lorenzo about to demonstrate the correct way to jump into a river

Lorenzo demonstrating the correct way to enter the river, body flat, hand on your shoulder straps.

Jump!!! Hit with your back or your side first!

Hayley goin for it!

Taylor swimming for the eddy, Kira running safety below to make sure nobody floats to far downstream

Kai dropping in!

Orientation at Keenerville

Dave Speaking about the rules of the school

Lining up for the game!

Mid Play!

I bet your wondering what the rules of the game are...haha

The winners!

Passing out delicious prizes!

Now off to the river for safety training!

Best,

Coach Tino Specht

Welcome to a another exciting year at New River Academy. We have arrived safely and soundly to our first outpost on the banks of the mighty Ottawa River. I thought I would snap a few photo’s of some of the new faces in the program for you all! Lots more to come!!!

Best,

Coach Tino Specht

Kira Tenney, Our awesome new English teacher!

Chris Smith, Our new history teacher brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to the program

Zoe Ross! Go Team Zoe!

New Addition! Haley Stewart

Kai-Wen is our new math Genius in the program!

Clay, happy to be back on the Ottawa River. Ready to throw down!

Part of our group, geared up and ready for action!

Taylor, all smiles

Julia ready to fire up McCoys Rapid

Taylor and Alex enjoying Corner Wave right next to our base!

Calendar Page- This is where you can find a consistent list of dates and events. Use this as your source for booking reservations.

Arrivals: Below you have several options for your arrivals:
A. Fly to Charleston, WV
8/27 Charleston, WV Airport Arrivals- 8/27 between 4:00 to 6:00 pm
B. Drive or carpool to Fayetteville, WV
8/ 27 Fayetteville, WV Base Arrivals- 8/27 between 4:00 to 6:00 pm
C. Meet school en route from WV to Ottawa. Contact David Hughes to arrange meeting point. Route is: I-79 N to I-90E; I-90E to I-81N; 416 N to Ottawa; 417 W to 17 W to Wilderness Tours.
D. Fly to Ottawa City. If you are flying from the west to Ottawa make certain your return home flight is from Charleston, WV 10/10 between 8:00 to 10:00 am.
8/28 Ottawa City, Canada Arrivals- 8/28 between 10:00 to 12:00 am
E. Drive to Wilderness Tours
8/28 Ottawa River Arrival- You may be at Wilderness Tours or Keenerville base anytime prior to 1:00 pm.

What do I bring? See attached packing list. Packing list is also being published on David Hughes’ blog.
A. Do I bring a laptop? If you have a video or photo class then yes you will need it.
B. Which boat do I bring? You will only need your play boat. This fall quarter is dedicated to safety, river running, and freestyle development. We will discuss Chile boats at later date.
C. Which camera should I bring? If you are in video class contact Tino Specht via- mcspecht@yahoo.com
Photo students may direct camera concerns to David Hughes- hugeh2o@yahoo.com.

What can we expect? Those arriving from the south will spend no time in WV. You will arrive, pack, and be on the road to Canada. Once on the Ottawa everyone will contact home to inform families of your base and road tired condition. We will begin with a safety and team building activity to wash away some of the road travel.
The first few days of school will focus on school orientation, team and confidence building, and utilizing a shortened school schedule. Oh yea… kayaking. You will be based right on the Ottawa River just a three minute paddle from fantastic waves.
You will be part of a mentor team planning a mentor team activity and a weekly meal.

What about school? Just like any great academic program once you show up you can expect exciting and intriguing lessons to be offered. Students will be taken on a department store run for those last minute school supplies. Teachers will discuss class expectations and give a list of class needs like, “uhhm you’re going to need a 3 ring binder, a compass, and a good attitude.”

What if we don’t have our passport yet? Here is a link providing more passport info. http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1082.html

Do we need travel insurance? You will want to contact your insurance provider regarding international insurance options. New River Academy utilizes a traveler’s insurance plan for our staff once in Chile. The great thing about travel insurance plans is that they often cover broken, stolen, or lost equipment. We use www.WorldNomads.com.

Spend a week at the Seven Teacups Waterfall Camp. There are more than 70 clean waterfalls in the area. Your parents are going to love your photos and videos. Wahoo!!!

10. Taking a break may make you more productive? It’s not actually a break but it is a change from the “school system.” Research has shown that gap students are more likely to graduate college. The semester off kind of gets the lazy bug out of your system as you mature.
9. Learn Spanish. How cool is it to learn Spanish by speaking with your host family, negotiating your river shuttle, and speaking with Chileans your age.

Click here to learn more about “Chile Gap Year.”

8. Earn College Credit. New River Academy is an affiliate of the Seattle Central Community College. Through this program you have a pay/credit option for your Spanish course.
7. Discover your academic niche. So you don’t know what your career direction is. Well that is a big deal and that alone makes it hard for you to be motivated. The gap year addresses career options as you gain new perspectives.
6. Are you ready for college? Do you know how to study, schedule your time, wake yourself, budget, and cook. The gap year places you in an environment where you begin to work with peers planning group budget, meals, and learning how to live on your own.
5. You love to kayak. The Andes mountains are the second largest mountain range in the world. Melting snow flows west a couple of hundred kilometers to the Pacific. Hmmm, melting snow + gradient + short distance = OMG! I love to kayak Chile!
4. You’ve always wanted to learn photo or video. This is the time and the place. Video and photo courses prepare you within a new professional skill to earn money. That’s right many of our students immediately begin working for commercial companies making $$$.
3. You realize you need to mature. OK so you don’t care about making money, school, or career stuff. Trust us… that will come later. For now, let’s have a few discussions about what are your career and school options.
2. Gain a new perspective. The point is that you will gain more from your gap year than in any single year of university. Many students only begin to realize how much they learned and experienced during the university and career years after the gap experience.
1. Fun, fun, fun. A Georgia high school athlete survey asked, “What is the number one reason you participate in high school sports? The answer was not to win or to be a champion. The number one answer was, “to have fun.” Chile’s Patagonia is simply fantastico. You will make Chilean friends that will last a lifetime and explore in ways beyond your imagination.

It’s “Easy to Apply.”

Learning safety and kayaking with friends is part of the fun. Now you are living life.

The answer is not in your kayaking skills but in your heart. If you love kayaking and being active, you’re ready to start. As all Huge Experiences students discover, it’s not how good you are before you begin, but the enthusiasm and dedication you put into it after you’re there that makes a difference.

Ninth grade student Zoe Ross began the year working on her roll and gaining confidence in class III. After a month Zoe ran this 12 footer on the Seven Teacups.

A big advantage to studying at New River Academy is the opportunity to paddle every day under the supervision of great coaches. Young paddlers learn all moves and skills right the first time. This saves a tremendous amount of time, energy and frustration. The best time to join New River Academy is just as a young kayaker begins to feel ready to try and play in rapids. Coaches teach a progression from basic to advanced moves. Each move teaches skills necessary for mastering the next move in the sequence. This builds a strong foundation that keeps paddlers from the frustration of trying to learn moves beyond their ability and allows them to advance at their own pace.

On the river, the New River Academy team breaks up into small groups. This allows paddlers at different skill levels to train on the sections of river best suited to them. An advanced athlete will train with a coach on one rapid while another coach takes novice paddlers to a more forgiving section.

Are you good enough? New River Academy will make sure you are.

“And that has made all the difference.”