Slalom Instructor/Coach Profile: Shaun Smith.
As the upcoming Associate Head of School (in the field principal) of the New River Academy’s slalom semester David Hughes asked me to introduce myself.
I approached David regarding the possibility of leading a slalom semester this past spring. I explained, “I want to lead and coach for a year prior to med school. This might be my last chance to give back to the sport that I love.” David was excited and we made a plan.
“I led a teen kayak trip with Shaun in Costa Rica in 2004 and observed what he did with the Chattanooga kids program.. I was impressed with his maturity and personal
time he offered to each student. He took pride in providing students with skills to progress.”
–David Hughes, Director
As I have developed as a racer, I have always enjoyed giving back to the kayaking community in the form of teen kayak programs. I started coaching slalom while living at the NOC during the late ninety’s. Later, I moved to Chattanooga to finish my degree in education. While in Chattanooga I proudly worked with and helped develop one of the nation’s top beginner/intermediate recreational kayaking programs http://www.outdoorchattanooga.com/94.htm through the City of Chattanooga’s Parks and Rec.
After Chattanooga I moved to Charlotte, NC to train for the Olympics one last time before my wife and I begin Medical school in the fall of 2008. Due to an elbow injury that dream has passed but I want to take advantage of the time I have hear in Charlotte to help start a unique high school dedicated to slalom athlete students.
Combining an excellent education with the worlds best slalom facilities can only bring academic as well as athletic success to junior slalom kayakers. It is my goal to aid any junior slalom racer in achieving their life goals through this program.
Here is some more information about my slalom kayaking history:
I am a third generation kayaker and second-generation slalom competitor. I started kayaking when I was three years old and started racing when I was eight. Not long after I began racing my dad moved me from the great state of Texas to live and train with Bill Endicott and several national team members. Bill, at the time, was the current national team coach. By the time I was thirteen I had won two national championships in slalom and one national championship title in down river.
Since then I have received the opportunity to represent the USA in kayak slalom at World Cup events throughout Europe. In 2004, I made the kayak down river team and competed in the World Championships in Garmish, Germany. The following year I led the US junior team to compete in the Junior World Championships in Italy. Four of the seven juniors on that team were athletes I coached from the Chattanooga Rec. program. Last summer my teammate, Ben Kvanli, and I were the first boat on the US C2 team and competed in all of the World Cup events throughout Europe.
I hope to meet all of you in person soon. Feel free to give me a call or email about this opportunity.