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Veterans get paddleboard ; therapy on Spa Creek

Capital - 6/2/2017

An Annapolis paddle rental company made the right kind of splash with veterans from Walter Reed National Military Medical Center on Thursday.

Capital SUP hosted five veterans with physical or emotional injuries and challenges at its headquarters on Spa Creek to give them lessons in riding stand-up paddleboards, known as SUPs, and kayaks. The program is designed to give back to veterans through a fun and therapeutic activity with a performance-based aspect. The veterans plan to return to Annapolis about every two weeks to train, and Capital SUP's coaches will prepare them to participate in a paddle race in the area.

The veterans had practiced balancing on SUPs in a swimming pool at Walter Reed where Capital SUP coaches would visit once a month during colder seasons.

But most of them had not rode on open water until Thursday.

"It's some of the best therapy, being out there on the water," said Bryan Edwards, a U.S. Army veteran. "You just kind of forget about everything."

"And it's more about having fun," said Barrin Davis, also with the Army. "Out there it's not like, 'Hey, do this many sets. Hey, you got this much to go.' It's just, 'Look, have fun.' "

Capital SUP's co-owners - head coach Chris Norman, CEO Brian Meyer and CFO Kevin Haigis - instructed the veterans on safety measures and how to start paddling before leading them around Spa Creek for the better part of two hours.

Harvey Naranjo, adaptive sports program coordinator at Walter Reed, sees "huge value" in the men's participation.

"Outside of the physical and mental rehabilitation, it's the social aspect," he said.

Veterans get the opportunity to do something fun on the water, Naranjo said, but also it helps that Capital SUP's coaches are about the same age as the veterans.

"It's almost like they're peers," Naranjo said.

Capital SUP was founded in 2014. The business opened locations in Salisbury and Washington, D.C., this year, with plans to expand to Baltimore in 2018.

Meyer, Haigis and Norman had volunteered at Under Armour-hosted Wounded Warrior Project events in Baltimore, teaching paddle sports.

When they helped a double amputee complete a 6-mile paddleboard race, they were inspired to give back in even greater ways. They created the nonprofit Live Water Foundation that aims to improve the community's well-being through water sports.

Their location on Spa Creek and passion for water sports guided them toward their vision as well.

"Especially here in Annapolis, a lot of people have been connected to water somehow or other, and we want to find that connection," Meyer said. "Whether for some people it's their outdoor fitness element, whether it's just more of the therapeutic element or just people who love being on the water."

Besides offering the training program for veterans and a more recreational program for their families and caregivers, the owners also try to invest in helping underprivileged youth and run a clean water initiative.

Naranjo, Davis and the rest of the veterans are already looking forward to returning to Spa Creek to continue training for a competition.

"I need to come a couple more times to get myself ready (for a race)," Davis said. "But I'll definitely do that."

Credit: By Adam Zielonka

Caption: Capital SUP's Kevin Haggis, foreground, explains how to use a paddleboard to a group of disabled military veterans during the Annapolis company's program at Spa Creek in Annapolis on Thursday.

Marine Corps veteran Chris Cowan, right, and Army veteran Mike Schweitzer try out paddleboarding as a form of therapy.

Wounded military veterans get their first taste of paddleboarding in the Capital SUP program on Spa Creek in Annapolis on Thursday.

photos by Joshua McKerrow/Capital Gazette

Joshua McKerrow/Capital Gazette