Fall Kayak Camp leaves a lasting impression on HCKT athlete.

I was so lucky to have the chance to go to the Olympic Training Center in San Diego in late October. I had been training at HCKT for THREE MONTHS, and was very nervous about how I would perform at OTC. Some of the best junior girls in the country were going to be there and I just thought the worst once I got there. I thought that they would be expecting me to be the good, and I had nightmares for every possible bad situation that could happen. But when I got there, I felt that every girl was just trying to help out everyone so that we could be a better team overall . I once thought that the coaches would be screaming at me every 10 seconds, but even after the first meeting of the very first night, I knew that they were there to help me in every way. I felt extremely privileaged and honored to be able to meet them and to be coached by them.

After our first day of work outs, I was never so tired, but I was never so fired up! Tati, Victoria, and I spent as much time as we could everywhere, just trying to learn everything! So we were often the last ones out of everything, especially the locker room and cafeteria. The letters "USA" and the Olympic rings were everywhere. It was really an inspiration. Just being at the camp made me strive to be better and work harder.

There were so many favorite moments at OTC, like laughing it up with the other girls who came from all over the country or waving my ID card and getting all kinds of delicious food from the cafeteria. One of my favorite moments with the mainland girls was teaching them the words "shoots", "chee", and the shaka to them. I think by the third day we got Mac Hickox to say "shoots" and do the shaka. Chee! But punching through a wake in a K-2 with Tati was the bestest. Some motor boat created this huge wake across our 500 meter course, and we were not going to let this wake tip us over. We picked up the pace and pounded through it. We got soaked but didn't flip! Also another great thing that happened to me was that I actually met Maggie Hogan, a national team kayaker (she offered us surfboards since we were going to La Jolla ( <-- which was such a beautiful beach with a sweet swell!)). She showed us some extra strengthing/ stabilizing/ core exercises. I even got to try some. I recall coming home and literally shouting "Oh my gosh! I'm Maggie Hogan's friend on Facebook!" to my mom. Thanks Maggie!

"The Hawaiians", as Tati, Victoria, and I were called, made friends with all the other girls attending the camp. It was such a positive experience, I didn't want to come home. But when I arrived back home, I felt really motivated to keep up with the training schedule that we had at OTC. I want to keep working at getting stronger and faster at K-1, K-2 and K-4. So I have to thank all the HCKT coaches - Robyn, Blane, Brandon, BJ, Aunty Kathy, and Kati - for making this opportunity possible for us. I also want to thank the girls at the camp for showing such aloha to us and I promise to bring more chocolate macadania nuts for them. And of course, I want to thank the OTC coaches who taught me sooo much -- Mac, Shaun, Aasim, and Graham. This trip was truly a chance of a life time.

Rachel Kincaid is a member of USA Canoe/Kayak and Hawaii Canoe/Kayak Team.