Clubhouse Tour- Coach Alyson (Gig Harbor, WA) [Gig Harbor Canoe Kayak Race Team]

Today coach Alyson walked us through the new clubhouse! This new space will give the paddlers a place to hang out before/ after practice (especially helpful during summer 2 a day practices) and also gives the coaches a place to hold meetings and video review (technique adjustments for the paddlers). Watch all the way through to see how this all came together. Many thanks to everyone who worked on getting the team into this building.

Alyson grew up locally in Gig Harbor with a family of 3 brothers and a sister. She used to show horses in 4-H from 3rd grade until mid high school when she chose to focus on competing in sprint kayaking for GHCKRT after already paddling for 3 years. The sport led her all around the country and world for competition and became her passion very quickly.

Mainly due to the incredible influence of Coach Alan and Jon on her life, she chose to pursue the same career as a coach. "My character was so shaped by Alan and Jon in a positive way that I wanted to gain the skills and knowledge to be able to do that for future generations." She had dreams of racing at the highest point possible so she moved to Oklahoma City to help coach the local kayak team there and train with the fastest women in the country after graduating high school in 2014. Shortly after moving to Oklahoma City, the university cut programming with the sport resulting in Alyson finishing her time there as a rower in order to help her obtain her Human Performance degree.

Since the fall of 2018 she has moved back to Gig Harbor to coach this team. She loves people sincerely. The best way she does so is by building them up and challenging them to grow to be more than just great athletes, but to be people with strong character withstanding what life throws at them.