Skip to primary navigation Skip to content Skip to footer

Guest Instructor Clinics

Each season we bring a few of the top kayak, canoe, SUP and swiftwater rescue instructors from around the country to the Deerfield River to teach special topic clinics. These guest instructors are nationally known and respected in their fields. Their depth of knowledge and enthusiasm for their topics make their classes both dynamic and informative.

Mike Mather

ACA certified Swiftwater Rescue instructor trainer educator

Mike Mather is an ACA certified Swiftwater Rescue instructor trainer educator with over 30 years of rescue experience in West Virginia, Colorado and around the country. He has taught classes around the world by request, has experience with teaching courses for the military and has set up high rise construction site rope safety. He is a wizard with ropes and provides some of the best river rescue instruction in the United States.

Ben Morton

Advanced Whitewater Paddling Instructor

Ben is a native of Orange, Virginia where he grew up playing around in and paddling on local rivers. Over the past 13 years Ben has been fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to work alongside numerous paddlesport instructors and coaches at various paddling schools and outfitters throughout the U.S. and abroad. While Ben’s background is river kayaking, he enjoys spending time in diverse environments on paddleboards, canoes, and sea kayaks. Ben’s biggest joy outside of spending time with his one year old daughter, Gia, is sharing his passion for paddlesports and learning alongside the people he works with.

Chris Stecc

ACA Whitewater Canoe & SUP Instructor Trainer Educator

Chris Stec is currently the Director of Auxiliary Programs at Fredericksburg Academy. Prior to that, he served for 12 years as the Chief Operating Officer of the ACA, the oldest nonprofit paddlesports organization in the U.S., focusing on paddlesports education, stewardship, recreation and competition, including the Olympic paddlesports of Slalom and Sprint and the Paralympic discipline of Paracanoe. In addition, Chris holds numerous paddlesports instructor certifications and enjoys spending time on the
water with his wife and two kids, whether it’s racing downriver canoes, kayak fishing, or
surfing SUPs in the ocean. He currently serves as the Past Chair of the National Safe Boating Council.