Youth Paddle Clubs forming

With the anticipation of the improvements in Parc des Ponts in downtown Breaux Bridge, as well as many other access improvements for the Bayou Teche Paddle Trail, some schools, organizations and communities are talking about starting their own youth paddle club or team.

It is no surprise that the first group to do so was from the Chitimacha Tribe in Charenton which has been participating in the Petit Tour du Teche, the youth race, for the last two years. The Chitimacha Tribe has a top-notch youth recreation program led by Billy and Jeri St. Blanc who, along with their daughter, Madi, are avid paddlers.

St. Bernard School joined the fun with its long history of being on Bayou Teche and formed the first school-supported paddle club last spring with the help of Coach Cory Werk from Bayou Teche Experience. The team ranged from kids who have experience in competitions to kids who have never been in a kayak before.

With so many towns and schools along Bayou Teche, we imagine it won’t be long before there are many youth paddle teams competing in a number of paddle events and the TECHE Project wants to help facilitate and promote this. We are looking for parents who are paddle enthusiasts with kids at a school or group in the area and want more information on how to get things started. We can share how we did it at St. Bernard school and how we intend on keeping it alive.

Cory Werk from Bayou Teche Experience, located next to Parc des Ponts, is a United States Canoe Association (USCA) certified instructor and would be happy to provide advice on what to include for a team practice.

If you know someone who may be interested in starting a youth paddle club/team or if you want more information, contact Brent Miller at brent.w.miller@pfizer.com.