"When you teach it, you own it."

Chris Mitchell is a favorite kayaking coach in WAKE. An early member of our club, he learned about paddling as many of the kayaking patriarchs did – by experience and chutzpah. He's now an internationally recognized coach and expert in ocean kayaking, a trainer of trainers. His certifications include American Canoe Association (ACA) Coastal Kayak Advanced Open Water Instructor, ACA Coastal Kayak Instructor Trainer, British Canoe Union (BCU) 5-star award, BCU Coach 4-star sea, ACA Board of Directors, and much more. He was an on-water instructor and lecturer at the Coast Kayak Symposium on Thetis Island in British Columbia. From 2000 though 2004 he was the executive director of the Trade Association of Paddlesports and producer of the West Coast Sea Kayak Symposium in Port Townsend, WA. He currently owns and operates Secondwind Sports, a kayaking school in Long Beach, WA. He’s also a longtime member and supporter of WAKE.

Dawn: Chris you’ve been in kayaking for years. How did you get started?

Chris: A friend of mine and I bought an Easy Rider decked touring canoe in the early seventies. That got me paddling but it wasn't that much fun. So then I paddled a few doubles and concluded that a single kayak would be best. But I've been involved in waters sports forever. I was in scuba diving for years.

Dawn: Where was this?

Chris: I worked in a dive shop in high school and later started my own in Bellevue in 1972. I was always around Puget Sound in the water.

Dawn: Did you close the shop because you got tired of diving?

Chris: Pretty much. I was teaching every weekend. I taught two night classes a week plus I was working at the shop all the time. My partner bought me out in 1972 and I was just as happy to go back to college. Eventually I moved to Skagit Valley around 1988 after living in Australia for four years.

Dawn: You lived in Australia?

Chris: Yeah. Tasmania.

Dawn: Did you develop an accent?

Chris: People said I did. A lot of Australian phrases still come to my mind. Stuff like, "how'd you like the beer?" I got asked that a lot. (He laughs.) The beer in Australia was phenomenal. Coming back to Budweiser-land was really difficult.

Dawn: What did you do in Australia?

Chris: I built houses. In Australia you needed a certification to do anything. I had to become an apprentice to pound
nails. I went through a four-year college in carpentry and cabinet making and was the oldest apprentice they’d ever had. (He laughs.) I was married to a Tasmanian woman. We moved there so she could be with her family. After four years we were sick of it and moved back here.

Dawn: So you got into kayaks after you came back to the United States?

Chris: Yes. I built a Pygmy kayak back when Pygmy had only one model. It was my first boat. I lived in Skagit
Valley when I built it and paddled every single spare moment for several years.

Dawn: In your Pygmy?

Chris: Yep. Right up until 1996. Then I started a retail store for Eddyline in Anacortes. I managed it
for one season and then went to work as their general manager of manufacturing. I did that and also handled all the instruction for the retail store.

Back in those days we didn't think much about skills. It was more important to see what you could fit into your boat for camping. I joined WAKE and basically went camping every weekend. That's kinda what everybody was into. People would just get together and decide to visit Saddlebag or whatever. We had a newsletter, but compared to today's newsletter it was marginal. So it was a word-of-mouth thing.

In 1995 Gene Davis and I went to Canada to train under Mercia Sixta as instructors. Then we both spent 10 years instructing at the Coast Kayak Symposium on Thetis Island. Mercia organized it. She was the first woman in North America to have a BCU certification. She was trained by Derek Hutchinson.

Anyway, each year we went up to Thetis Island and each year more people from Bellingham attended it and coached there. The
Thetis Island symposiums stopped two years ago.

Dawn: When people went to Thetis Island, did they go to get certified?

Chris: There wasn't a formal certification process back then. Mercia wasn't part of the modern BCU. She worked as an instructor and retail manager for Western Canoe. The Thetis Island Symposium was a revenue stream for the Sea Kayak Association of B C. Mercia taught instructors who, in turn, coached at Thetis. At that time, the BCU had no presence on the west coast so the only certification was through the ACA. Gene Davis, Dave Peebles, John Janney, and I brought an ACA instructor up from California and we all participated in an instructor development workshop. This was part of the ACA certification process. In 1996 I became an ACA certified Coastal Kayak Instructor. Back then they had only one category of instructor; one level. Today there are many levels of certification depending on what level you want to teach. The ACA has evolved a lot.

All the certification process really says is that on that given day with this given set of eyes, you met the minimum standards. It doesn't say you're a great coach, it just says that you met the level on that day. It's like the bar exam. You pass the bar
but that doesn't necessarily make you a good lawyer. I've always thought that your effectiveness comes from your students. You want them to get everything you know, plus what they discover on their own. Unlike the things we may learn, the paddling skill set is primarily reactive. You paddle dynamic conditions where you really don't have the luxury to think, ‘hmm, now what's the most
effective way to avoid that rock?’ That takes muscle memory, good experience, and reinforcement. I think a mistake people make is they take a class and walk away saying, okay I can do that now. But they’ve only been exposed to information. They don't walk away with ownership of the skills or knowledge.

Dawn: Were you involved in the development and changes in the ACA?

Chris: Yes, I was on the Board of Directors for two years. I've been off the board now for year, but am currently a member of the Safety Education and Instruction Committee (SEIC) and the newly formed Surf Kayak Committee. Once you become certified as a Coastal Kayaking instructor, automatically you can participate in the curriculum committee for coastal kayaking. So I've had opportunities to paddle with a lot of really great people.

The ACA is a big organization, the largest of its kind in the world. It has been going 125 years and now has probably 65,000 members. At any given time there are between 4000 and 5000 certified instructors in several disciplines such as open water or coastal. Surf kayaking is now a separate specialty. Being certified entitles you to apply for ACA insurance which as we all know is really important today.

Dawn: You are clearly motivated to be an instructor in the sport. Why is that?

Chris: Well, initially it was just to get more skills. There was no formalized training program. You had to learn from whoever was around. I remember my very first time at Hobuck beach, surfing in my Pygmy. The wave would pitch-pole me and I’d roll up and think, well that's sorta fun. (He chuckles.) I had absolutely no idea what I was doing. It was just learn as you go. The kayak dress code was gum boots and some sort of polyester pants with a silly hat. Right off the bat, I put on a farmer john wetsuit and a nylon paddle jacket. I had an idea that I’d be spending time in the water. (He laughs.) Back then, WAKE club members were so generous with their time, their experience, their jokes, and in some cases, their scotch. There were just very welcoming and helpful. I learned a lot.

Anyway, to answer your question of why I wanted to be an instructor, first of all it was to acquire new skills. And then it was so I could go to Thetis Island for free. That was fun. Commercially I was recruited to develop an instruction program for Eddyline. That was work. But I've always liked turning people on to something that I found all-encompassing. It became into a career for me.

Dawn: I've always felt that teaching is very rewarding.

Chris: When you teach it, you own it.

Dawn: The idea of teaching kayaking makes me nervous. There are so many things that can go wrong.

Chris: That’s true; there's a lot of risk involved. And that's part of the difference between learning a skill and learning how to teach a skill. There are a lot of good paddlers who are marginal instructors and there are a lot of average paddlers who are really good teachers. Coaching is about bringing out the best in the person you’re coaching, but you really
have to know the safety parameters.

Wet exits are the most dramatic thing for a new paddler to learn. Tipping over is the primary concern of everyone in paddle sports. Ask any new paddler and that's exactly what they'll say 90% of the time. They're afraid of tipping over and being trapped in their boats. When you teach wet exits, you have to be right next to your student. You have to reassure them. And you never force it. I've never told anyone that they had to do a wet exit. I've seen them put it off until the end of class but eventually they say, I'm ready. After they do it, they invariably say, that was really easy.

Dawn: I have a lot of respect for professional kayak instructors.

Chris: I wouldn't if I were you because I know a bunch of them. (He laughs.) The best coaches are those that are most generous. They just love to share their sport.

Dawn: Kayak instructors take on a lot.

Chris: It’s not like badminton where the risk is pretty well defined and can be evaluated easily. Water is a dynamic environment, as is weather. That changes everything.

Dawn: Well, just look at what happened to those paddlers in Howe Sound. They were exceptionally experienced but two of them still died.

Chris: I was reading about the incident in a chat group and I think an interesting point was made. The Howe Sound paddlers were adventure racers. Adventure racers see the kayak as just one component, like their running shoes or bicycle. It's just a vehicle. They’re used to dealing with static environments like concrete or trails. They don’t always view the ocean from a sea kayaker’s perspective. They don’t see its dynamism. As a result, they're extremely fit and ready, even skilled, but not necessarily well prepared.

Dawn: I think extremely fit adventure racers like those at Howe Sound often see obstructions such as bad weather as more of a challenge. They don't evaluate high seas the same way that an experienced sea kayaker would do it. It’s understandable. They spend their racing careers conquering obstacles. The high seas and wind are perhaps just another challenge. It’s a point of view.

Chris. There's an old saying that the sea always wins. You can't fight it, you have to adapt to it.

Dawn: In the ACA, you're an instructor trainer. So you're a trainer of trainers essentially.

Chris: In the BCU I'm a Coach 4 Sea. In the ACA my rating is Coastal Kayaking Instructor Trainer and I’m certified to train coaches as well.

Dawn: Because you've been around the sport for so long and have done so much with it, you have a breadth of understanding about what it takes to teach people. But what about the informal mentoring that goes on between sea kayakers. Is that still an appropriate way to pass on skills?

Chris:. Yes I think mentoring is great. One caveat to that is the saying that practice makes perfect. The truth is, perfect practice makes perfect. There’s another saying that goes with it -- practice is permanent. I’ve had people come to take a class and they've learned something from someone that has limited their progression. Some part of their technique is habitual and has kept them from improving. So mentoring is important, even essential, but perhaps bad habits could be minimized by a more progressive mentor. The ideal cycle in my mind would be, take a class, then get experience with mentors and peers as you work on this stuff, and then come back if you want more and take another class. There's so much to the learning process that goes beyond the class and that's where kayaking mentors really come in. There's so much information out there, and so many ways to present it.

Dawn: Well yes. Just look at the forward stroke.

Chris: There are several different ways of explaining how to do a forward stroke and lots of conflicting information. My opinion is simply to never take advice on the forward stroke from the kayaker who's behind you. (He laughs.)

Dawn: What is that you like best about paddling?

Chris: The inclusiveness. Everyone can do it. You can do it with a high degree of skill or a low degree of skill and just basic knowledge and awareness of the environment. You don’t have to have a great forward stroke to go out on Lake Padden on a warm, sunny day if you're dressed properly. You just go out there and have a great time. I used to teach disabled paddlers, part of Disabled Sports Northwest. I think that gave me a sense of how freeing the sport truly is. It takes very little effort to get that boat to glide. If you've been stuck in a wheelchair for years and somebody lifts you into a kayak, all of a sudden you're as competent or more so that everybody next to you. It's pretty amazing. Very moving. So the inclusiveness of paddle sports is something I really like. Anybody can do it as long as they're capable psychologically and physically. You don’t have to be anything in particular. And I think that's what I like so much about the paddling community in general. It is really broad-based.

Dawn: I get so fixed on skill development that I sometimes forget to how much fun it is to just go out and dork around.

Chris: There are days when I want to feel waves breaking in my face with all that excitement and energy, and then there are other days that I'll go out and float. It about being connected to the water.

Dawn: Have you ever done whitewater?

Chris: Oh sure. It’s fun.

Dawn: What has kept you focused on ocean kayaking as opposed to other kinds of paddle sports, such as whitewater.

Chris: Well, access primarily. I mean whitewater shuttles are a bit of a hassle. When I lived in Skagit Valley, I'd leave work and be at Deception Pass in 20 minutes. When I was worked for Eddyline I paddled Deception Pass every single day.

Dawn: So you don't get sick of it?

Chris: I practice constantly. I’m always thinking about how the blade is moving through the water. I've rarely had a day with students when I don't finish more excited than they are. Of course the administrative part of coaching is less than thrilling but that goes with the territory. I don't lead trips much anymore. Trips are more problematic.

Dawn: How's that?

Chris: Well, if you have an unfocused group of people with wide-ranging skills, it could be difficult. Back in the old days, the thought was that anybody who showed up for a trip could go. So that put a lot of pressure on the trip leader. Even worse, the people with less skill didn’t have enough understanding to make the judgment as to whether or not they were capable of doing the trip. A few times I've had to tell people they couldn’t go. So the trip thing has a lot of challenging variables. But when it comes to coaching, I really enjoy that.

Dawn: Where do you coach?

Chris: I just got back from Northern California two weeks ago. I go down there at least two or three times a year. Before that I was coaching surf kayaking in Tofino. I do currents trainings at Deception Pass and around the islands. And of course I do surf classes and open water in Long Beach where I live. I've also taught in Georgia and Scotland.

People come up to me and say, I want to learn to paddle in the ocean. And I say, I can't teach you that. And they say, why not? And I say, well the ocean will teach you. No matter what I say, it's not going to be as meaningful as two cubic yards of water landing on your head. Guaranteed. The coach makes sure the classroom is safe but the environment does the teaching.

Dawn: Your surfing weekend at Hobuck last June sure taught me a lot. I had a blast.

Chris: I had sit-on-tops then, correct? With the sit-on-tops, people can have fun even before they take out their sea kayaks. When you do surf training in sea kayaks, it's like learning to survive. But when you use the sit-on-tops, they take away all the hardship. They allow you to play right off the bat, even in tiny waves. So you have fun and get a good feel for the surf. I had great responses to that program and I'm going to enhance it.

Dawn: I'd really like to set up another surf weekend in June.

Chris: Yes, let's do that. Several kayakers I know already own surf sit-on-tops. I'm also looking to build a couple of them. They're just foam with epoxy skin. They don't cost much, they're easy to transport, and you can fix them really easily.

Dawn: What you think that is the most important thing that the kayaker needs to know?

Chris: Respect for the environment. That encompasses a whole bunch. Knowledge is safety but it only comes from experience in the environment. I can assure you, you won't get that kind of knowledge in a class. You just have to get out there and spend time in the water. But remember to be safe and have fun while you’re doing it.

In some ways it's easy to forget that Chris has done so much in and for the sport. He's enormously self-deprecating, low key, and tends to avoid tooting his own horn. That's part of his charm. But when you see him on the water, you know you're watching a master.

Chris will be speaking at our club meeting in May. He's also scheduled to lead another surf training weekend at Hobuck Beach on June 14th and 15th, with an optional open water training the day before. Over the years he has volunteered countless hours for WAKE as part of our Demo Day activities and also at our annual Lake Padden symposium. Chris is all that's good about kayaking. WAKE is lucky to have him as an instructor and a friend.