Coaches - what can you do right now?
April 3, 2020
Coaches - what can you do right now?
“Anyone can hold the helm when the sea is calm”
As I sit down to write this piece, I get the sense that amid the maelstrom around us, things are beginning to settle, to become more still perhaps while we adjust to this new temporary ‘normal’. Coaching and being a coach is not an easy job, whether you’re a dedicated volunteer squeezing in your coaching around a hectic day job and family life, or a full-time professional dealing with constantly competing demands on your time and skills. So while our previous definition of normal coaching might have to be put aside for the time being, there are lots of good ways of continuing to support your paddlers, invest in yourself and most importantly to look after yourself during this time.
Coaching Remotely
“Change brings opportunity”
Like many of you out there, our SCA coaches working with our sprint and slalom squads have been adapting and adjusting their working approaches to give the best support possible to the paddlers. Here are a few practical ideas for working remotely with your paddlers:
- Be realistic but creative. While going paddling in big groups is not advised at the moment, it may be possible to create land-based training that can help your paddlers to build strength, mobility and endurance. Think carefully about the demands of paddling your discipline(s) and think if there are ways you can deliver equivalent sessions online and/or at home.
- Routine. Particularly if you are working with younger paddlers, they are used to routine so this change will have completely disrupted these well-established routines. If you are delivering sessions at home (see our section on online platforms) then try to deliver these at the same or similar times as normal. We’ve had great feedback from our young paddlers about the simple act of having some clear times in the week when they’ll be doing particular sessions.
- Physically distant but closely connected. Try to use online platforms to bring paddlers together, both for training sessions as well as for social occasions. Building on the regular routines above, regularly connecting people is really good for their mental health as well as making it easier to get through hard sessions together. If you have any suggestions on how the SCA can improve on communications, please get in contact with us!
- Build and manage coach-athlete relationships. Sophia Jowett, world expert in coach-athlete relationships has produced some specific guidance for building and managing relationships when working remotely that we recommend taking a look at.
- Do the things you never have time to do normally. As a coach I have lost track of the number of times I have said “it would be great to get into the details of how this works but we don’t have time…” so why not write a list of them and get on it. They might be really simple things like teaching people about equipment or certain principles. One of our slalom coaches is going to show his paddlers a video of an unfamiliar river then get them to work out where all the features are and design a plan to get down a course using their model so be creative!
Doug MacDonald, SCA Coach and Pathway Developer
Please also have a read of our Tips for Clubs during the COVID-19 lockdown or click here
if you are need of ideas for learning and development during social distancing.
HIGHLIGHTED EVENTS
VIEW MORE
Coaches Community Event 8 & 9 November 2025 at Grandtully Station Park
Save the date!
Adventure awaits! The Scottish Women's Paddle Symposium (SWPS) is just around the corner, and while many sessions are fully booked, we still have a limited number of non-residential tickets available for a fantastic range of paddling experiences.
Are you passionate about paddlesports and eager to share your knowledge? We’re offering two upcoming Tutor Orientation Events that could be the perfect next step on your journey.
