British Canoeing Coaching Conference 2023

Last weekend I attended the first Paddle UK canoe slalom coaching conference held since 2018. It seems like madness that nothing had been organized until then. Whilst I imagine there are pockets of coaching excellence that happen all over the country there is magic when you put a group of passionate coaches in a room together talking about the sport they love so much.

The day consisted of a keynote from Olympic silver medallist and reigning World Champion Mallory Franklin , short presentations from Mark Ratcliffe (Canoe Slalom Performance Director) and Mike Mitchell of Wyedean canoe club, a choice of 3 workshops as well as a panel Q&A session discussing the future of coaching strategy within canoe slalom. Perhaps even more valuable was the lengthy ‘comfort’ breaks between sessions which enabled a real buzz of conversation about what had been heard, what it might mean as well as what was going on within everyone’s world.

So, what were the top three nuggets of gold that I took away from the day?

1.????? In her key note, Mallory talked about the importance of understanding herself and her ‘why’ whilst also building up a bank of experience. She explained how she’d benefitted from starting canoeing from a very young age, tried lots of different activities such as snowboarding and being part of a family keen to keep her active. Despite being exposed to lots of events like the Peak challenge or disciplines such as freestyle and polo (which created new experiences), her connection and affinity with canoe slalom was strengthened. She had benefitted from coaches who were willing to give her opportunities (like joining training groups when officially she was too young) or because her skills enhanced the environment she had been invited into. Finally, she talked about how whilst in Bosnia after a disappointing result, her coach Craig Morris inspired her to think about who she could become and helped her to reframe set-backs. It was a great reminder how the role of the coach isn’t just to help athletes to become successful on the water, but to also help them grow and thrive as individuals off the water too.

What opportunities might we offer as coaches for very little effort to the benefit of others? It might inspire them to achieve greatness on or off the water.

2.????? In one of the breaks, I caught up with Emily Davies to talk about training and the menstrual cycle. I’d heard her talk on a podcast a couple of years ago so it was a really great opportunity to speak to her face to face. Emily described at various times in a woman’s cycle they may feel like they have heavy arms, feel fatigued or lethargic and even more prone to injury (due to higher levels of circulating Relaxin hormone). However, there are certain times of the cycle when testosterone is circulating in greater quantities and one can benefit from specific strength work. We then turned our attention to the challenge of competing whilst being ‘on’ and how it might be possible to frame such a weekend. Emily suggested for coaches to try and open up conversations about menstruation in order to normalize the discussion helping both the athlete and the coach to discuss how she might be feeling before, during and after her period. For example, noticing headaches and cramps and the effect (if any) this has on one’s ability to concentrate, train and compete. I’m really grateful to Emily for taking the time to chat.

3.????? Finally, I had the pleasure of listening to friend and colleague Ian Raspin discussing the Technical Progression Guide for canoe slalom. This resource broke down the technical components of skilful actions on the river with video stills, subtitles and a voice over. It aimed to enhance a coach’s knowledge of ‘what to coach’. Ian facilitated discussion groups to explore how we might have used the guide or indeed how we might use it if it was our first time. There were some great ideas of it being used as a curriculum, a session primer, homework for athletes as well as enhancing the existing coach education resources by blending the ‘what’ with the ‘how’ of coaching. One of the ideas that came from our group was trying to encourage paddlers to complete the skills in as many different craft as possible (i.e. not necessarily in a slalom boat) to add a fun challenge to a non-slalom session. It was inspiring to see how the resource produced by Ian et al. could be used so creatively to enhance the learning environment for coaches who engage proactively with it.

In the final part of the day, I was invited to join a panel alongside Mark Ratcliffe, Jonathan Davies (Canoe Wales) and Andrew Grudzinski (chair of the BC slalom committee) to discuss the future of sport through the lens of coaching. We kicked off the discussion by sharing our aims for coaching in the next 4 years. The following were the strategic priorities I presented for consideration:

·??????? Accessible – Through regular opportunity, cost and contact time

·??????? Simple – A simplified pathway that blends the how and what of coaching canoe slalom

·??????? Rewarding – Opportunity of ‘progression for succession’, a sense of belonging with the ability to contribute to a thriving sport from boat to bankside.

Delegates from the audience highlighted some of the major challenges associated with coaching. Primarily the complexity and cost of becoming a qualified coach. Mike Mitchell highlighted that his lack of access to coaches is what prevents numbers in his club growing. David Rawding highlighted the drop in participation within canoe slalom and the urgency needed to address the decline. Dave Royle made a comment about the benefits of building a club community where you put back into the club what you have received whether a paddler, coach or parent. This chimed with my recent thoughts about belonging and Andy Grudzinski’s chairs report at the ACM the day before where he encouraged the room to reconnect with the spirit of community.

I whole heartedly believe that participation, coaching, and club development are interconnected. We can’t solve one without solving the others. A wider development strategy is needed for the sport to address the challenges we face. Andy is working with his committee to develop this through the working groups that have been set up. It will be important for each working group to share and collaborate in order to work as a unified body. The challenge will be to take the feedback, discussions and ideas and turn it all into positive action which moves us towards becoming a more robust sport. If I were a cynical person, I would say that we have been here before having failed to convert those ideas into anything other than words….. not this time.

Finally, I am pleased to invite you to a new online initiative for coaches to share, learn and collaborate with each other. Please join the community for informal discussions around how we can collectively improve our sport through competitor experience, community engagement and competition structure.?

Let's build connections, belonging and our coaching practice together in order to help canoe slalom thrive from boat to bankside. To keep the momentum going please follow this link to join the mailing list for the first of a monthly coaching forum starting in January to discuss how we can #saveslalom.