Gig Harbor kayak team summer camp teaches basics of sport

Kids in the harbor are enjoying the opportunity of learning the basics of kayaking this summer with the Gig Harbor Canoe and Kayak Race Team’s youth summer camps.

The camp is currently in its second session, and ends Thursday (June 30). The next session runs through July.

Members of the Gig Harbor Kayak and Canoe Race Team help youngsters learn the basics of kayaking three days per week, in three-hour sessions.

“We’re just introducing them to the sport, making sure it’s fun,” said Austin Warren, a 2015 Gig Harbor High School graduate.

Twenty-year-old Ryan Mechini, a New Jersey native, first learned under current GHCKRT head coach Holm Schmidt in Pennsylvania. For him, the chance to introduce kids to the sport is a special opportunity.

“A lot of people don’t even know what kayaking is,” Mechini said. “My friends just think I row. They’ve thought that for the last 12 years.”

The young kayakers go out on the water for the first 30 or 40 minutes of the session, come back to Jerisich Park to eat lunch and play some games before heading back out onto the water for the final portion of the day. Campers participate in races and fun events during the day, putting the skills they learn to the test.

“At the end of the three weeks, the two groups will race each other on that last Saturday,” Warren said.

For the Gig Harbor Kayak and Canoe Race Team, it offers a chance to expose kids to the sport at a young age. The ones who like it often end up joining the team full time.

For Mechini and Warren, the most rewarding part of the experience is working with the kids and seeing their progression over a three-week span.

“I’ve coached kids in the past that right now are training for international competition. I coached them when they were yea-high,” Warren said, gesturing with his hand. “That’s really cool to see them learn and stick with it.”

Mechini agreed with his peer.

“I was that kid once,” he said. “It’s cool to look back and see how we’ve progressed.”

Visit ghckrt.com to register kids for the July or August sessions of the camp. Cost is $195 per session. Boats, paddles and life jackets are provided.

This story was originally published June 30, 2016 at 10:45 AM with the headline "Gig Harbor kayak team summer camp teaches basics of sport."