The ART of teaching kayaking . . .

 I have been asked this many times, smiled and just said, "yep, isn't it great".

Over my 10+ years of teaching kayaking, I have never thought of it as "just a summer job to get me on the water".  For me, teaching and instructing has always been MY PROFESSION! I trained under amazing instructors, I took all the necessary safety, rescue and first aid classes and I spent the money to certify as an American Canoe Association (ACA) instructor and truly learn "how to teach effectively and safely".  My hope was that my knowledge about the sport and my ability to communicate effectively to my students would help THEM progress quickly and be successful.  

After teaching for many years, it was just a natural progression to move from the level of teaching the 'student' to teaching the 'instructor'.  I am going on my second year of being a Kayak Instructor Trainer with the ACA.  My goal is to provide paddlers the knowledge and tools to be more confident in their paddling, but also confident and safe in how they teach other people to paddle.

The ACA Kayak Instructor course is geared towards any paddler wanting to improve their personal paddling skills, teach for local clubs/organizations/kids camps, or to become full-time (professional) kayak instructors at a kayak school.  

This past May I held an annual ACA Instructor Course in the Midwest.  This is one of my favorite communities to work with, as it is the place where I first got immersed into the sport.  The community is full of passionate individuals who LOVE kayaking for the sake of just being on the water with friends.  Over the last 3-5 years, this community has grown and I look forward to continue sharing my passion and knowledge with them and watching their community continue to thrive.

Heather Herbeck

Team L6