Here is an excellent post from Canoe Slalom World about why you should never train alone:
http://canoeslalomworld.com/news/311/never_train_alone
Having a group to train with benefits you in many ways. You can learn from each other. Without someone to bounce ideas off of, you do not grow.
You can watch others and this is a form of feedback, just like coaching is a form of feedback and timing is a form of feedback and video is a form of feedback. It's usually best to vary the forms of feedback to learn more. You learn something from each type of feedback.
People are social animals. It is more motivating to train with others. I like to help develop a good group atmosphere so that when the athlete goes to the workout, he knows he is going to see his friends. If an athlete feels that he needs to leave his friends to go workout alone, then he is less likely to want to go. So, not only should you have a group to train with, but it should preferably be a group that gets along with each other and likes each other.
In some areas, the one boat per country for the Olympics rule can create an atmosphere where everyone feels they are competing against each other, instead of cooperating to help everyone get better. In these types of situations, it's good to make deliberate efforts to develop positive energy within the group, such as going out to eat together after workouts, organizing parties together, team uniforms, having athletes help coach each other, etc. so that there is a more supportive environment in which to train.
Most of the top athletes come out of group training situations. Few champions train in secret isolated environments and come out to win international races. Most top racers have seen the other top racers paddle numerous times and have learned things by watching the others. If you don't, you may miss out on technical innovations in the sport.
Having a group to train with helps make the whole journey worthwhile. You have someone you can share your ups and downs with. And after your racing career is over, paddling partners sometimes remain lifelong friends. Their children end up paddling together in some cases. This all comes out of the group training experience- we all know and understand and care about each, which gives it all greater meaning and purpose.
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