Kayaking is one of the coolest things families can do together in New Mexico.  Kids love it because it's a new way to play on the water.  Parents love it because it builds courage, confidence and character.  It's great exercise and gets kids active and away from idle activities like television and video games, and reconnects them to nature and non-material things.  As their skills improve, kayaking becomes a great way to explore the outdoors, access new campsites, hiking trails or fishing holes. 

I have to say, Kelly covered EVERYTHING!  I've taken this weekend class twice to absorb everything that goes into whitewater kayaking.  Since my class, I've paddled on class III whitewater and felt like I had a great sense of what [maneuvers, compound strokes or techniques] to do, when to do it, how to do it, and why to do it!   What Kelly teaches would be pretty much impossible for a self-taught paddler to figure out alone.  I feel safer, and more confident each time I'm on the river with a foundation of strokes and concepts to practice outside of class, and most importantly, I feel in control on the water.

Bob Pennington  -  home-builder

I want you to know how much I benefitted from your white water and roll classes.  Kelly your presentations Saturday and Sunday were always clear and packed with vital information.  The way you sketch out the hazzards and river features makes them surprisingly easy to remember on the river.  On the river you worked hard with each of us and I thought we class members got far more feedback and individual attention than in other kayak classes I have taken.  Glenn and Michael also seemed genuinely interested in our progress and were always willing to answer my questions and provide good feedback.  All in all the class was both challenging and a lot of fun and I feel it greatly accelerated my development as a white water kayaker.

Reed Mencke  -  Retired

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Kayaking is one of the coolest things families can do together in New Mexico.  Kids love it because it's a new way to play on the water.  Parents love it because it builds confidence and courage.  It's great exercise and gets kids active and away from idle activities like television and video games, and reconnects them to nature and non-material things.  As their skills improve, kayaking becomes a great way to explore the outdoors, access new campsites, hiking trails or fishing holes. 

Kelly is a great instructor. He starts with the basics and keeps building on from there. We started in a pool of calm water on the river, as we became comfortable with that we moved closer to the moving water, then into the main current working on peel outs, ferrying and edging, then down the Rio Grande. The second day starts by talking about the first day then on to paddle placement and timing in different aspects of the river. Back on the river we fine tuned our peel outs, ferrying, edging and worked on paddle placement as we go into and through the rapids. I could not belive my improvement from day one to day two! I highly recommed this class if you want to feel comfortable with negotiating class II and III rapids. You may not end up an expert but will have the tools to become one.

Mark Nissen

Kelly is a great instructor. If you live in the Albuquerque area and want to learn kayaking, attend one of Kelly's classes.

Mark Nissan

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