Paddlers itching to hit Palau waters

After months of preparation and countless hours of wondering whether they will have enough funds, the CNMI paddlers will finally put their skills to the ultimate test as they will soon hit Palau waters in the 2005 Palau South Pacific Mini Games.

According to coach Ed Johnson, both the men’s and women’s teams have been engaged in intense training for the past seven months in preparation for the Mini Games, which Johnson said is a huge building block especially since the majority of the members are high school students.

“This year’s team is, I think, by far the youngest team going to the [Mini Games] because they’re all high school kids,” he said. “They all came out of the public schools and have gotten their experience from paddling in high school events, and we want to take them to a higher level. It should be a really good experience for them.”

“It’s a very big building block. Once they get that under their belt, then I’m setting my sites on the SPG in two years…that’s the big goal,” he said.

But for now, the team is focused on their Mini Games mission.

“The short-term goal right now is to get them out there, get some experience and let them know what’s the highest level we can see, and motivate them to keep continuing the sport for the next two years and we’ll go for the SPG,” he said.

Johnson said the team’s youth would lead to nothing but a positive outcome.

“We’ll go down there hoping for the best, but I’m sure we’ll do pretty well as far as the Micronesian teams are concerned, and considering that these guys are really young, but the experience they’ll gather from that will only make the sport of outrigger in the CNMI much stronger with the youth,” Johnson said, citing that the skill level of the members has improved “a whole lot” since the team began practicing in January. The team works out off the shores of Civic Center as early as 5:30am.

The coach said having a young team was also an advantage, explaining that the members “can train harder and got more drive.

“The only thing they’ll be lacking is experience. As far as the Polynesian teams and the Micronesian teams, they got a lot more experience than we do,” he said.

As reported earlier, the canoe federation was among the last teams confirmed to take part in the Games, with funding its biggest obstacle.

“We were always optimistic that we would find the funding,” Johnson said. “We weren’t going to let that stop our training. Our training kept continuing as intense as it came even to the last minute where it looked like we weren’t going, but we were still out here pounding away and having faith in our sponsors and the people and the community to help get in the support to go to the Games.”

Meanwhile, Johnson said one big key for the team while competing in Palau is to be in sync with each other.

“Being in sync is everything,” he said. “It’s like the caterpillar whose got a million legs but don’t move very fast because they don’t touch the ground at the same time, or the cat, who just springs every time he touches the ground.”

With that, Johnson said the members communicate well with each other and that team chemistry is good.

“Working together is great,” he said. “They’re really committed. They come here, exercise, watch their diet, and they put their heart into it. I’m happy at where we’re at right now.”

Members of the delegation include Carter Calma, Carlos Feger, Andrew Roberto, Sam Moses, Na Lim Heo, Florence Mizutani, Na Hee Heo, Shaynna Kileliman, Diane Elayda, Wyman Rechucher, and Sachiko Adachi.

Johnson also extended appreciation to the community, sponsors, and the parents of the members.