WINNING AT LIFE

*WARNING - Possibly a little on the sentimental side.*

So the last 3 months I’ve been left to my own devices…

After missing the criteria to make the British Canoeing team this year I had a blank canvas. This could’ve gone either way – what do I do? How do I keep myself motivated? For me it was an opportunity to really enjoy my paddling and take a chance to gain more experience in my coaching. Within a week after selection I had organised a 3 week trip to Europe, boat in hand obviously (a very successful trip) and my first international trip as a coach later in the summer – which went exceedingly well.

Alongside my love of the sport I’ve been trying to find a better balance between the two [coaching and training] and doing more outside of CANOE SLALOM - where #inwaterwelive pretty much defines my life – not that I’m complaining. Regarding the last statement I’ve pretty much hit the Nail on the head. It was hard and first breaking such a disciplined routine i.e. bedtime, stretching, diet etc but I weaned into it slowly and found by missing one stretching session or having one late night or that cheeky pizza night, inevitably benefited my happiness and actually relaxed me. Letting a hair or two out of the pony tail has done me a world of good. Less is more sometimes, I’ve been so much more carefree and my confidence has grown in all aspects of my life. On the water I’m almost fearless with the occasional “grow some balls” feedback when I’m not quite committing to some ‘scary’ moves, where inevitable I’m just focusing on the consequence than the process of doing it. In my coaching I took the responsibility of guiding my group of paddlers down the Lee Valley Olympic channel, hyping up my own ego in the process. In myself I’ve finally accepted who I am as a person – I’ve been through thick and thin in the past – I know what I want in life now.

Confidence has been the back bone of my failures (always learning from) but it’s nice to finally feel I have enough!

Some say that sports people sacrifice a lot, but is it really sacrifice when you choose to do something you love and enjoy.

Onto more winning…3 months after selection I also had my first National Ranking race… I WON!!!!! I feel like over summer and having time away from a disciplined routine has given me time to work on ME (recapped above.) I sat on the start line without a doubt in my head and a confident mind, most of all I was enjoying the moment. The calm before the storm.