Why did you want to do the Performance Coach award?

I enjoy coaching and want to become a better coach, whatever that means! We have a lot of new members at PSKC and I want to be able to motivate them to learn to become better kayakers. This would be good for me and also good for the club and would help to make the club more sustainable and less reliant on me.

I was already a Sea kayak coach and had been thinking about the next level for a while. I had been a long term student for a friend on their journey to becoming a Performance Coach in Open Canoe so knew what was involved. However, it was only when I filled in a funding application for sportScotland for funding for a building for PSKC that I made the final decision. In the application form I had to say how many coaches we had now and how many we planned to have in 2-3 in years time. I said we had no coaches at Performance Coach level currently but would have at least one in 2-3 years time. I realised this had to be me since I was the only qualified coach at the time!

How did working through the process help you develop?

This award relies a lot on self-motivation and determination and at times I felt a bit on my own. The community event was great for starting off, particularly for meeting other candidates and also for meeting tutors. It was good for motivating me and getting momentum going. However, I would say that getting the right mentor and getting regular mentor meetings setup is really critical for keeping momentum going. Personally, I did not want to hurry things along and needed time to absorb things I read and to work on my coaching practice. The key for me was believing in myself as a coach and concentrating on the people I coach and trying new things. My mentor was good at giving me support and advice.

The community event was very enjoyable. The best part of this event was meeting other candidates and tutors. It was a great opportunity to learn and enjoy paddling with people from different disciplines. My brain could not really absorb all the information I was presented with, but this is a good way to start off the performance coach journey.

Getting the right mentor and coach developer was important for me with regular contact. I found that more regular short chats with my mentor, either by phone or zoom worked best for me. This kept momentum going and forced me to keep to a structure. I also think that having a coach developer who lives not too far away helped me so that I could have a number of touch points. This forced me to plan out what I wanted to do and give me the momentum I needed to complete the award.

What was the assessment like?

The assessment itself was an enjoyable day on the sea. I just did another coaching session like many others I had already done. To be honest I enjoyed it and did not feel under pressure. I did not really notice my assessor and just got on with coaching my students. My assessor floated around and did not really impact the coaching I was doing. He made me feel very relaxed and I forgot that I was being observed and just got on with the coaching.

Here is some feedback on Richard's coaching:

Stephen:

"This was a fantastic experience - I attended most of the coaching sessions and they really helped my paddling develop, with appropriate amounts of careful and well-thought through coaching, coupled with the opportunity to practice and cement the coaching points in expedition settings. I'm a more confident, better equipped and safer paddler thanks to being involved in Richard's coaching sessions."

Robert:

"Richard's sessions have been exactly what I needed. My basic boat handling skills are well ahead of my sea experience. I lacked some specific sea kayak handling experience, and my general (overly extreme) fear of the sea environment I knew to be an issue. I've made significant progress in regard to all these matters. Some elements of what made these sessions successful might be easy to miss. These include that: the group was small and there were sufficient sessions to allow us to connect, chat, be friendly, and learn about each other's skills as we progressed; Richard chose a good selection of different conditions and environments, providing flat calm, more challenging surf, more open/exposed water, tidal flows and eddies, rocky and sandy backdrops, etc. Conditions have challenged our skills, but always felt entirely under control - which for me is particularly significant. After each session Richard has seemed genuinely open to learning what had worked well or less well."

Calum McNicol worked with Richard as his mentor and assessor, and says:

"It's wonderful to hear that Richard found the Performance Coach experience so rewarding. I'm sure there were moments when he questioned what the Performance Coach award adds to his existing Sea Kayak Coach qualifications, but his curiosity and commitment to growth are commendable.

"Having mentored Richard through this journey, I can wholeheartedly agree that regular, focused, and concise interactions were key to keeping the process on track. These moments allowed us to clarify critical points and align our goals along the way.

"Each paddler’s path to assessment is unique, but one universal truth is that clear and open communication between mentor and mentee is essential for success. The community events were clearly a highlight of Richard's journey, underscoring the importance of communities of practice, something I feel we do well with the small workforce in Scotland.

"Richard was also tuned in to the importance of intrinsic motivation as both a cornerstone of the process and a hallmark of the award.

"Richard’s growth as a coach has been great to watch and be involved in. Throughout his development, he consistently demonstrated a desire to develop a strong technical understanding of paddling and an adeptness in applying tactical coaching behaviours. His assessment felt like a natural extension of this growth. From my observations, Richard skillfully utilised his learning to run sessions that were constructive, engaging, and effective in advancing his students’ skills and maintaining their enthusiasm."

The next Community of Learning event will take place 8 & 9 November at Grandtully Station Park.