The team proved it's World Class status by entering this
past season with me going outside the norm and changing everything they ever new about the sport over the past 2 1/2
decades. Changes to the entire technique, training regimen, race strategy, race commands and even the paddles they paddle
with. As the Head Coach for the 2009 World Games, I knew we needed to be as prepared as possible for this very prestigious
event. At World Games, the only division being contested was that of the Master Mixed Division (the best of the best with
no age restrictions).
As a coach, I could not have been happier with the results. These athletes were
able to adapt and refine their skills in order to keep pace with the rest of the world while competing at the highest level
the sport has ever competed at - The World Games. We arrived a week early and conducted a mini training camp in Northern Taiwan
then traveled to the South where the Games were held.
World Games are run under the patronage of the International
Olympic Committee and are held every 4 years on the year following the Olympics. The sport of Dragon Boat Racing is the second
largest sport in the world. Second to only soccer. That said, once at the world level, teams are advancing in technology every
year with the way they approach racing. World Games set the stage for the World's best.
With a truly National
Team with representative from all over the United States, Team USA made incredible strides towards perfection.
For the 2009 season, I took the same approach with the Youth
Team. Practices were tough and the kids treated like adults. They practiced with the men all season and it showed on race
day. They raced like pros!
In early May, I visited Portland, Oregon and worked with the
Wasabi Dragon Boat Club in an effort to have paddlers prepared to join forces in both the adult and youth teams. This proved
very successful and the racing was fierce.
It is my intention to reach out to youth from around the country in an attempt to unify the sport and get more kids
involved. I feel it is extremely important for the sport to do this both on the youth and adult level in an attempt to help
grow the sport and make Team USA as strong as it can be when it takes on the rest of the World at the next World Championships.
That's what team USA should be all about!
The 2010 season is already underway and we are working towards
fielding Men's, Women's and Youth Teams for the 2010 ICF World Championships being held in Budapest, Hungary the end of August.
Anyone interested in becoming a part of Team USA for the ICF World Championships being held in Budapest is encouraged
to reach out to me.
