DieselFish Launches Surprise Attack at Lake Merced

To be honest, I wasn’t sure what DieselFish’s chances would be like at this season’s opening race at Lake Merced. The organizers changed the date, and this mishap forced many of the team’s experienced paddlers out of the competition. To complicate matters further, this season’s crew is very new. But somehow, everything clicked on race day – the remaining veterans leapfrogged into a higher division, and the rookies paddled away with their first win. It was good day for the team!

DieselFish’s veteran “Salty Fishes” made the most of their unfortunate situation. In the weeks leading up to the race, Head Coach Birk recrafted his lineup to take the losses into account, and created a number of innovative training methods the team had never seen before. As a result, the Salty Fishes were well prepared, and paddled with strength and confidence. Ultimately, they exceeded last season’s performance by fighting their way into a higher level of competition.

The team’s rookie paddlers had their work cut out for them as well. DieselFish recently experienced a recruitment boom that yielded almost an entire boat’s worth of rookie “Fresh Fish.” Going into the race, many of them only had, at most, a couple of months worth of experience. Despite this rawness, the Fresh Fishes remembered their training, and paddled long and strong. They ended up placing in their championship race, a feat worthy of applause and high fives.

The Lake Merced race should have been, at best, a warm up for the Salty Fishes and a learning experience for the Fresh ones. The team’s planning, training, and desire prevailed, however, and the race instead became a sobering warning to everyone at the lake that day – DieselFish is faster than ever before!

The Fresh Fish and the Proudest Minister of Newbie Happiness


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