Paddlesport Coaching and Leadership Conference: Workshop announcement

The 2022 Paddlesport Coaching and Leadership Conference will take place on the 19th and 20th November at the excellent facilities offered by Eastwood Hall, Nottinghamshire. During the Sunday programme, delegates will have the opportunity to select workshops in the topic areas that support their development.

Check out three of the workshops on offer –

Physical Preparation for Paddlesports

This workshop will examine some of the key concepts around physical preparation and its application to paddlesport. This workshop is aimed at those looking to gain further understanding around strength and conditioning and the impact this can have on both athletes and coaches alike.

Ben Lewis has recently joined Paddle UK as Pathway Strength and Conditioning Coordinator from his position as Head of Strength and Conditioning from Nottingham Trent University. He has worked with Olympic athletes alongside Commonwealth Games, World and European medal winners. Ben has a master’s degree in exercise physiology and holds UKPaddle Scotland accreditation.

Coaching for all: Inclusion in coaching

This workshop will take a look at why inclusion is an important consideration in coaching and how it can impact on and benefit their practice; what resources are available to coaches to help improve their understanding of this topic; and what coaches can take away to implement and consider in their practice.

Helena Russo is the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead for Paddle UK, and is also a coach herself. She holds qualifications in three different sports, and is currently a volunteer coach at her local netball club, where she also plays. Helena has a background in sport development and inclusion, and understands the importance coaches play in creating welcoming, inclusive and accessible sporting opportunities for all.

Multi-Craft Leadership

An opportunity to get to grips with some of the considerations to factor in when leading a multi-craft trip on sheltered or open water. We will explore some of the behaviours and strategies we might want to employ when delivering student-led journeys. As well as the more hands on elements, for example; “Is a SUP quicker or slower than a sea kayak” – how do we accommodate this? How can we modify our rescue techniques for different craft?

This workshops is ideal for anyone who is thinking about taking an assessment in one of the multi-craft Leadership Awards. Or perhaps you only paddle a single type of craft and have recognised that there are just more types of craft on the water nowadays; and it might be useful to understand a little more about them. This will be a very practical, wet workshop, with just the right amount of chat…but not too much.

Darren Sherwood has been paddleboarding for over ten years and has been fortunate enough to paddle extensively across the UK, with several trips further afield such as Europe and Africa. Based in the South West, Darren spends most of his time SUP surfing and exploring the North Devon and Cornwall coast on his SUP and sea kayak. He’s been known to dabble in a bit of white water on his local rivers which is always great fun.

As a qualified teacher and experienced coach, Darren enjoys nothing more than working with people and helping them achieve their goals – something he’s fortunate enough to do through his job as technical director for Channel Training and as a National Trainer for Paddle UK.

 

Book online here where you can also view the full programme of workshops.