Coaching Spotlight: Chris Maze- on kayaking, coaching, and Victorian Phrases

For Chris Maze, kayaking all started with a $100 Perception AMP kayak bought off a street corner in Billings, Montana. “It was the first expensive thing I’d ever purchased,” he remembers. “That boat immediately started surfing and swimming me down my local river.” That mix of challenge and joy stuck with him, and eventually brought him to the Roaring Fork Kayaking Club.

After moving to the valley, Chris went looking for a way to give back to the sport that’s given him so much. Stepping into the Head Coach role felt like a natural way to grow the paddling community here while sharing his love of the river.

Chris says the best part of coaching kids and new paddlers is “the clicks.” “Watching someone try something new, something they thought was hard, then seeing the moment when it works. They succeed, even if it’s only a tiny bit.”

He’s had plenty of memorable moments this season, including a few unexpected surprises: “My personal lists of Best Stern Squirts and Best Stern Squirt Spots were almost completely rewritten in the last three weeks. Totally unexpected!”

Chris’s coaching style blends technical curiosity with a whole lot of heart. “The devil’s in the details and it’s the little things” he says. “As you work to get better, start looking into the small details of how you’re paddling, questions like ‘what features in this rapid am I using?’ or ‘was that a surf wave?’ help chart a course for experimenting and growing as a paddler.”

And when fear or self-doubt shows up? Chris believes in community: “We’re all trying new things, failure is expected AND so is success. Being in a group that celebrates everyone’s successes, and where everyone is embracing the failures inherent in learning, in practicing new skills, makes the whole process better. We all, as paddlers, as humans, experience those moments of fear and self-doubt, sure they take different forms, but it’s common ground and communal in the human experience. So, I think facing them in community, with openness, and a pile of laughter is the surest medicine.”

For anyone curious about kayaking but not sure where to start, Chris offers both encouragement and a “shameless plug”: “Come to one of our pool sessions or FUNdamentals clinics! They're beginner-friendly, welcoming, and full of folks who are just getting started too.”

When he’s not paddling or coaching, you’ll probably find Chris chasing frozen whitewater on skis or soaking in a remote hot spring. And if you catch him dropping a line like “My dear sir, that was a capital stern squirt!”, it’s just his latest hobby: “I’m transitioning from pirate metaphors to Victorian-era phrases to spice up my general vernacular.”

We’re really grateful to have Chris on board this season.

Thanks, Chris, for bringing skill, humor, curiosity, and community spirit to every eddy!