Wednesday, October 14, 2009

OGDEN RPKS CLASSES

Here are a few videos from our 1st session of lessons that we have taught in Ogden. I can't believe how fast we got this crew to learn how to roll. It's super rewarding to instruct kayak classes, especially when you're there to see somebody hit their roll for the first time. It's a good feeling to know that you helped out.

Sunday, July 12, 2009

ONEIDA RIVER TRIP

This past Friday we took a few of our students up to the Oneida Narrows. We couldn't have asked for better weather, it was hot and the water felt so good. The Oneida is a class II river great for teaching beginners. It is calm, all roadside, and has great little eddies to practice things such as ferrying, eddy turns and peel outs in.


Those that were there with Jackson and I were Wynn Ormand and his 13 year old son Liam. We also had 14 year old Parker Measom along with us, and my wife cruised along in an inflatable kayak. We did two laps on it and had an awesome time. Hopefully the flows stay good enough so that Rapid Progression can organize a river lesson there in the near future.

Saturday, July 4, 2009

INTRO TO KAYAKING COURSE (JULY 16 - AUG 13)

So Rapid Progression just got done with the Hyrum parade and it was a blast!! It was fun being in the parade and hopefully getting the word out that Logan has a kayak school. The only downfall is that the candy we bought ran out a little over half way through. I guess our candy throwers got involved in all the excitement and unloaded all the candy to the kids in the first half of the parade. We had over 1,000 Otter Pops to throw out, but when i went to get them out of the freezer, they were still liquid. Too bad!!

So if anyone is visiting this blog spot because they were handed one of our flyers in the parade, thanks for expressing interest in the school. We are taking class sign-ups right now and spots are going to be filled up fast. If anyone has any further questions they can email me at rapidprogressionkayak@hotmail.com or call us at 435-764-4927. I also recommend checking out our website at www.rapidprogressionkayak.com The summer session of classes starts in less than two weeks! We hope to get a ton of people involved and show them a fun time! So whether you want to get ready to go down a river or just paddle on a lake, come join us and learn the skills that will get you going. We'll go over basic strokes, technique and most importantly.....the roll! Spread the word and come along with a friend for a good time.

Thursday, June 18, 2009

Wynn showing us how to be persistent

Spencer, Amy, Cheryl and Liam showing us how it's done!!

Rapid Progression opens in Logan

So i thought this might be a good way to help get the word out about our kayak school here in Logan. Kayaking has been a passion of mine for a number of years now and I've wanted to help people get into the sport. After a lot of planning and work, we finally have things underway here in Cache Valley.

The idea of a kayak school has been on my mind for a few years now, but i got serious about it last year around August. I talked to some friends of mine (Pitt Grewe and Mark Greenwood) that I paddle with and pitched them the idea of Rapid Progression, and they seemed to be into the idea. I told them that I'd open a school here in Logan and asked if they'd be interested in opening up a school in SLC where they live and use my school's same. Well, to make a long story short they went along with it and now there is a Rapid Progression Kayak School in Logan and Salt Lake. I have to add that I asked Jackson Couch to jump on board with me to run the school here in Logan. He is an awesome friend and skilled at not only kayaking, but at art and graphic design too. He spent a lot of time with me coming up with a logo and I'm glad he was so patient during that process.

So, last October we took a trip out to Boulder Colorado where we spent about a week taking an instructor certification course put on by the ACA (American Canoe and Kayak Association). We spent a lot of time in our boats and got to paddle some fun stuff while we were out there, including Gore Canyon!! We learned safe and correct teaching methods and were excited to put it into play. But we still had a lot to do, like line up pools, get gear and things like that. We all spent a lot of time last winter getting things figured out and it finally came together in April when our first set of lessons started.

It's been fun to watch people progress in the classes. The majority hadn't been in a kayak before and so watching how much improvement there was from the first lesson to the final lesson gave us a great feeling of accomplishment. We had a blast teaching our first set of students and look forward to helping others embrace this sport. We are here to help people get on board and learn how to paddle, whether it be on lakes, creeks, reservoirs or rivers. Wherever there is water, there are endless possibilities for kayaking enjoyment. Hope to see you on the river!!

Andy Thunell