LAKS Racing Team Kayak Camp in Atlanta

 On March 3-4, George, Will, Tom and Sandrine drove to Atlanta, GA to attend a wildwater training camp led by former head coach of the US junior wildwater team, Maurizio Tognacci. 

We left DC on Friday afternoon ready to let Tom's Little Gray Van take us to Atlanta.  Unfortunately, about an hour from DC, the Super Van decided it would not cooperate.  It did not quite appreciate the heavy rain, which poured on us for most of the way.  Every time the engine would stall, the silence in the van seemed to be screaming: "Is this the end of our trip?" But every time, after a few minutes of rest, the car would start again, allowing us to slowly and gingerly make headway towards our goal.  After more than thirteen hours on the road in dreadful weather conditions we made it to our campground. It was 2:30 am.

Smiley and Smiley

Despite a short night under nothing but a pavilion to "protect us" from the pouring rain, we woke up ready to meet Maurizio and start our weekend of training... but not before celebrating the most important event of the day: Tom's birthday!!  


After a (very) short morning celebration we headed towards our training location.
We were on the water shortly after meeting Maurizio and Tom O'Sullivan, who helped coordinating the clinic.  From then on, the focus was on learning, absorbing, practicing all the techniques, tips and racing strategies Maurizio shared with us.

George Boss, Tom O'Sullivan and Will Harris.

 We covered some wildwater paddling essentials such as Arms-Legs-Torso synchrony technique, fast turns...etc Maurizio also emphasized the racing dimension of the sport (starting a race, race strategy...) and provided guidance in terms of workout improvement.  We also did sprint trials and our various practice drills were filmed and analyzed.  


Over the course of only two days, Maurizio shared with us a myriad of training tips, technical information and racing strategies, and his enthusiasm and zest inspired all of us.  George and Will, in whom he saw some promising talents, came back to DC more motivated than ever to nurture and grow their potential with some hard (but fun) work and practice.

Overall, these two days of training were an invaluable learning experience for our freshly born "Wavehopping team".  It was well worth enduring the long haul and the moodiness of the Super Van and we all made it back to DC ready to take on the racing season.

Maurizio Tognacci surrounded by the LAKS team.