Paddling : One Of My Favorite Passions

Paddling came to American shores to punish slaves without scarring them. Slave owners and slave traders began paddling because they didn’t want to damage the people they saw as their valuable property. In Virginia, they substituted the pliant strap and the scientific paddle. Recent historian further explains that “a scarred slave was a troubles and no one wanted trouble.” Mrs. Mann of Missouri, was known for “6 pound paddle,” she wielded with her hands. Slaves were given hundreds of strikes with the paddle and left near dead. Report suggests that a portion of American soldiers used paddling as early as the Revolutionary War, to

When I was five years old, I joined the Carroll Aquatic Swim Team. I stuck with it because I loved being underwater, feeling the refreshing water all over and the sensation of touching the wall, finishing first hearing the people holler. When I got older I just didn’t have much care for it. So, I decided that I wanted to give up. Then, my mom told me that I should finish the season than I could determine, nevertheless, I did as I was told. At my last meet, my mom signed me up to swim the IM which is when you swim all four strokes. I was convinced that I couldn’t do it because I had never done it before. I told my mom that I couldn’t and I would fail, but my friend convinced me that I should do it. She told me that I would only disappoint people if I gave up; consequently, I swam and received first place. In conclusion, I ended up feeling the same exciting feeling as when I was five.

As I looked backed at what seemed to be a decent sized wave, I started paddling with all my might, digging through the water, deeper and deeper. The wave came closer and I felt a push from my cousin as I caught the wave. “Stand up” my cousin yelled behind me as the monstrous wave began to swallow me up. I stood up, rode the wave all the way to the shore, and fell in love with the sport of surfing. Since that day, I have loved everything one could ever love about the sport: The salty water as it touched my body, the push of the wave as it stood me up on my smooth yet sticky board, and the exhilarating rush that I felt after every perfect ride. But not quite everything about the sport came easy to me, it took a long ride to find the love I have for the sport today. When I first started competitively surfing, I

Now that you have gathered all the materials, it is time to prepare yourself. To prepare, you can do yoga. Yoga will help you gain upper body strength allowing you to paddle and pop up on your board faster. Besides yoga, you also need to practice your balance. Spending some time on a wakeboard or skateboard will help. After you practice this, you need to find your stance on the surfboard. To do this, get a skateboard or a surfboard, and stand parallel to it. If you are using a surfboard, put something under it to keep the fins off the ground. Place one foot in the back and the other

It wasn’t until my sophomore year of high school that a group of seniors first asked me to go surfing. I mean, I’ve lived on an island for 12 years. How could I have not tried surfing? I had this fantasy in my head that it would be the easiest thing in the world. However, it was anything but. Even on the tiny four-foot waves, I could not stand.

My parents tell me that I took to swimming like... a fish takes to water. It is a safe place where I can float free of worries. Driven by passion and dedication, I decided to begin swimming competitively. Competitive swimming requires an intense level of determination and discipline. Forcing myself to get out of my warm bed at 5:30 in the morning to put on a still-slightly-damp swimsuit and stand in 40-degree weather waiting for practice to start. Putting up with limited lane space and irritating swimmers who think they are faster. Making a conscious effort to work on my stroke form, turns, touches, and techniques. The water becomes a whirlpool of injuries, losses, wins, friendships, enemies, and sickness. The water becomes home.

All my life, I have been fascinated with the aquatic realm. It began with my adolescent admiration for the Little Mermaid, and flourished when I joined and became the captain of my swimming and water polo team at North Miami Beach Senior High School. Therefore, when glancing at vimbly, I automatically went to the tab of explore and active outdoor. Just how I adore sitting and spending time reading a book on a day of leisure, being able to devote a day out under the sun and having an adrenaline rush is what ends up being a memorable moment in my book. To my delight, there was a section solely for water sports. As I scrolled through the pages filled with various pastimes, my eyes focused on scuba diving. I am infatuated with the countless tales

Once you've got to your point, it is time to pivot your board so as to face the shore. When you see the swell of water about twenty to thirty feet from you, it is time to start paddling towards land. This is definitely not the time to be slow! Instead, put all of your force into it, otherwise the wave will not catch you, but instead, weave around. When you feel your board teaming up with the current, bring your leading foot up front, then let the following foot slide back. Lift your hands off the board and slowly stand up, remembering to keep your balance. The main thing

“Regan,” says Sam, our new head coach, pointing at me. “Lane five.” Walking over to my lane, I tried not to fall over with exhaustion. The coaches put you with people who they think swim your pace, and generally lanes five and six are typically for the fastest swimmers. They worked about double of what everyone else did, and they were expected to be the best. I definitely didn’t think I was one of those people, but apparently Sam did.

First, we picked out our boat, and did some "ore yoga," and practiced how to move the paddle. Next, we got out in the water and practiced grouping together at a pole. Then once we starting paddling, we went around Indian Rocks, or also known as Bird Rock. After we went around the rock, we came back to where we started, and had a competition on who could stand on their kayak the longest. I only lasted a few seconds, but it was a lot of

When it’s lacrosse season, I know I have to make sacrifices and manage my time wisely. It is important to me that I remain dedicated to lacrosse when I make the choice to play because I not only made the commitment to myself, but more importantly to my teammates and to my coach. Swimming is another activity that exemplifies my dedication. I have been swimming on Three Village Swim Club since I was 10 years old. There is no doubt that Three Village requires the highest level of dedication. With deciding to continue to swim each year, I commit myself to practice 2 to 3 hours a day, 7 days a week. Over the many years I have been a team member, there were definitely times I wanted to just quit and give up, but I knew this was something I loved to do and I would have to overcome the hard times in order to continue doing what I loved. Swimming allowed me

I am captivated by everything swimming and it is my ambition to share my enthusiasm with everyone on deck. Unfortunately, this is harder said than done, as I am not a boisterous individual; however, through small pep talks on deck and genuine compliments to fellow teammates I work to make steps towards my overall mission.

The journey of competitive swimming started at the age of eight for my local `neighborhood team. I exhibited great potential for the future, for I won nearly all my races. This seemed like the sport

In the picture I chose, I am doing one of my passions, kayaking. I have been involved in kayaking for 5 years. It is a large aspect of my life as I spend between nine to fifteen hours a week training and have traveled across Canada for various competitions. When I started kayaking, I went to a weeklong summer camp and fell in love with the sport. I then joined racing program, which lasted the entire summer. During this time, I had the opportunity to begin training in various team boats. As I spent more time training, I became stronger and faster so my coach invited me to join the developmental high performance group. In this group, I spent more time training vigorously and became

Understanding the fundamental relationships in mechanics, helps form a foundation for the analysis of human movement in surfing. The main principle or law of motion I am going to look into is Newton’s Law of Action and Reaction. This law of motion is mainly applied when paddling. It helps me understand how the application of force to my arm and hand determines the speed and movement of my surfboard and this allows such movement to become more efficient.