My goal is to help potential members feel more at home at the club, make their first Never Dry friends, and motivate them to stick around and learn more by joining the club and participating in broader club activities. Below are some ways I hope to do this:
- By sticking to a roster (i.e. students will be the same in all three classes, giving people time to get to know each other - a first step in building a network within the club) and setting the expectation that everyone is should attend all three courses
- Organizing the courses on a non-club-night, so we would have plenty of space and few distractions, especially for the first one or two classes.
- Setting up a whatsapp group for communicating outside of class, to reschedule in case of bad weather, share photos, build comradery, stay in touch etc.
- Defining a flexible lesson plan (more on this later)
- Managing expectations about what you should know at the end of the course, and which parts of the course are just a sneak peak into more advanced paddle techniques
- Organizing some follow-up activities to help integrate new members into the club (in progress!)
See "Intro to Kayaking" under the "Resources" tab above, or click here to see the new page.
We also enjoyed a drink/snack/chat after each class, back in the cozy club house, when we would plan our next class and ponder what we could practice next time. I'm a bit sad that it's over, but we're already organizing our first real paddling trip, so stay tuned for that post soon :)