photo by Kevin Hancock

GROUP INSTRUCTION

While one-on-one coaching provides a level of customization and adaptability not easily accessed in a multi-student setting, there’s a magical potential of learning and progression available to a student when part of a group session. Beyond offering an attractive price point for the budget-minded, group sessions afford students the opportunity to learn alongside other students. Cross-pollination of ideas, the encouragement of others, and group support often allows us to push ourselves beyond what we are normally capable of, and to feed off the stoke of the group to achieve new goals. Group sessions also allow us to team up together to create programming that wouldn’t work so well in a smaller setting.

Cost of group sessions vary. Custom groups are typically priced at $280 for the first person and $100 per additional.

Below some typical group programming options are described, but if you don’t see what you’re looking for there, fill out the form at the bottom of the page and let us know what you’re thinking, and we can cook something up!

Technique & Fundamentals

Here we take the style of experience available to a student taking a private lesson and expand it to the group setting. The first portion of the session is focused on stroke technique, drills, and fundamentals on flatwater, before paddling downriver and applying concepts to moving water through water reading, line selection and execution, and repetition. There’s lots of room for adaptability and steering the session one way or another based on student preference and feedback. Location TBD based on conditions and geographic consideration.

photo by Steve McGrady

The “Work It” Series

The “Work It” Series sees the group experience moving straight into the meat of making moves on the river. Little time is spent on fundamentals and strokes, and instead we jump right into identifying challenging movement and then workshopping as a group, focusing on repetition, feedback, and refinement. These sessions see great opportunities for creativity and working hard physically, and are bolstered by group support and positivity. We get better with practice, but the practice is often better together, and this is a great option for those looking to be inspired by others and to work hard. Sessions are available during the winter months at the French Broad, Obed, and Big South Fork, as well as in the summer months on the Ocoee, Hiwassee, and Pigeon Rivers.

Beatdown Sessions

Now well recognized in the southeast as THE session to join if you’re looking to test your plan B skills, A Beatdown Session with Ace is guaranteed to stress test your roll, mental game, and dealing skills, with a “Challenge by Choice” framework that allows a range of student ability to all be accommodated in one session. Sessions can be offered both for groups looking to solidify their roll, as well as for more advanced paddlers who have a solid combat roll but who wish to gain more comfort surfing holes, extrication from holes, and general mental training in tough situations. When you are at a Beatdown Session you are in the “No-Judgement Zone” - a safe place for repeated failure and self-learning, and we will support and encourage one another. While Beatdown Sessions are typically offered at the Ocoee River in the summer, any venue or season can work, so reach out if you’d like to put something together.


photo by Jordan Sherman

Self Reliance Training

The average skill-set for paddlers has never been higher than now, at least when it pertains to the physical chops required to get down rivers in one piece when following a guide or more experienced paddler. But when you remove the security blanket of having a guide who picks the river you’re going to paddle, knows which side to hike out on if things get real, and know what’s around every corner and how to run each drop, how do You deal?! A group self-reliance training session is all about empowering you to be capable of all of this on your own. You may be shocked at how many notches in difficulty you’ll need to drop in order to safely and sustainably move your crew down an unknown river without making big mistakes and getting into trouble. If your paddling group is chomping at the bit to take the training wheels off and start making your own decisions and scouting your way down unknown rivers in a self-sufficient manner, reach out and we’ll help
you cross this necessary threshold in whitewater paddling. Location
TBD based on conditions and geographic consideration.

Creeking Session

A group creeking session focuses on the skills required to run steeper, tighter whitewater like running slots, boofs, and ledges, as well as group management techniques, boat scouting, setting safety, and other skills. Location TBD based on conditions and geographic considerations. In order to gain from a creeking session, it is recommended that students have already developed a solid foundation of river-running skills as well as a solid combat roll. It may also be of interest for you to organize a group of paddlers who already regularly paddle together.

Self-Shuttle Session

Shuttle logistics and the economic and environmental cost of driving multiple cars all over creation are some of the downsides to the sport we love, and moreover it’s just not always an option to bring multiple cars to the river and spend half the day setting and unsetting shuttle. Enter Self-Shuttle paddling. Riding together to the river we’re paddling, we’ll stage boats and gear, drive to the take-out, and then either bike or hike the shuttle together on a trail. There are many classic self-shuttle rivers in the south, such as Daddy’s Creek, Big South Fork, The Obed, and many others. Often enough revealing a completely different perspective of the area and lots of aesthetic sights along the way, a good self-shuttle will have the creative paddler wondering whether the foot portion was shuttle for the river trip, or the other way around. This shift in perspective sees us using our outdoor gear not just as toys, but as tools that allows us to build a more nuanced river experience. Fill out the form below to express interest in a self-shuttle session.


photo by Eddie Simone

New School Slalom

Slalom paddling has been around forever, and has been a leading source of skill development for our sport. However, few people live close to a training course with gates, or own a 12-foot long fiberglass or carbon kayak. The truth is that the spirit of excellence and precision that slalom fosters can be practiced the in the boat you already own on the rivers you already paddle. The New School Slalom program is mainly held on the Ocoee and French Broad rivers, but other venues are possible. As a group we’ll identify attainment loops and sequences of hard moves as we move down the river. Students and instructors both will be timed on their completing of the sequence, before we conduct a brief workshop session, where feedback and strategy will be shared with each student on how to tighten their game and drop their time. Then we’ll try two more runs to see if we can improve our time. It’s a fun,
competitive, and challenging session for those unafraid of failure
and commitment to excellence. Reach out if you’re interested!

Fill out the form below so we can best know how to help you!

Group work is so fulfilling! I’m forever grateful for the countless amazing experiences I’ve had working with groups of men and women, young and old, from all walks of life. Being a teacher is absolutely being a student. I can’t wait to meet your group and for us to grow together!