Day Two

We started by looking at homework, a Golden Threads mapping exercise done in discipline groups, Sea, White Water, Surf and Canoe, The notes are shown below.

The impact changing one element has on performance was discussed. That may be a related element further up the Golden threads that is the true issue, rather than the issue that presents to us initially.

Balance and trim is the tool we use to use and change the hull shape effectively so the top of the pyramid might be hull shape, direction, environment, power, down to a skilful performance at the bottom end.

Technical Understanding

Video your self

Video others

Books

DVD

Work with other coaches

Never stop learning

Oli Grau Book

Surf Kayak Skills web site

Sea – Doug Cooper, Nick Cunliffe, Gordon Brown

Eric Jackson

Ken Whiting – Playboating

Developing a Skilful Paddler

“The Ability to select the best technique to achieve optimum results in that situation”

TTPP

Tactical Technical Physical Psychological

Tactics are applying the right package of techniques in the right time and place.

Developing skill as a process

Technique

Varied Adaptations of Technique

Varied / Random Applications

Skilful performance

So that was an interesting class room session on how we or our students become skilled.

Next we moved on to Fitts and Posner Skill development levels, give a sheet with the six levels on, we went out and in three groups, paddled a variety of boats including white water racers, slalom boats, sea kayaks, k1 sprint, freestyle boats, spec c1. We assessed to the levels with much discussion. Our tutors introduced the observation funnel, from holistic through deductive processes to analytical via task setting on a clearly defined scale from 1-6. 

All this was in the pursuit of high quality observation and analysis to find the root issues to coach (as worked through with the golden threads exercise.

All this tied together our technical knowledge, observational skills, diagnosis, understanding of skill and more. Worthwhile.

Indoors again.

How we make it stick

On the board we had the memory model of Short Term Sensory Store,  Short Term Memory and Long Term Memory.

Short term lasts seconds, some is filtered to short Term Memory (working memory) then some filtered again to long term.

Pete Catterall used his lack of motivation at school to learn things and the subsequent gaps in his knowledge as he trained to become an instructor as an illustration of the need to motivate students with a reason to learn and thus get information into the Long term memory. Another nice illustration was the case where he was asked to help motive students who where failing at school but wanted to be instructors, he went through subject by subject the important elements for a career in the outdoors. Their schoolwork and motivation improved. We have had a similar experience with a work experience student ready to drop out of school, who is now in college studying outdoor ed.

Then followed a couple of memory exercises, first remembering a sequence of letters.

NGBLTADUKCMCUKCC

Some learnt by rote, some by silly acronyms, some by breaking down into groups of four or five, some by relating sequences to familiar sequences

The second exercise was to remember a group of about 20 images with results from 3 to 13, some purely by looking at the image repeatedly, some by making up a story with the items, some relating them to familiar locations etc.

Motivation was again an issue, Phil Hadley was turned off by the prize being a well done, but when he saw familiar sequences in the letters he switched on again.

Evening Session – Action planning

Time to start

We were shown five different action plans from level 5 trainees to get a feel for different approaches from memory map types, to lists to tree diagrams with date set goals, with mentions of outlook reminders and screen savers. The two re doing their training where clear that three years goes very quickly.

NB Working with your mentor / tutor is key to getting to assessment.

Some thoughts from these plans,

·         Be a beginner again

·         Get coached

·         Talk to other coaches

·         Get personal boating

·         Coach more canoe

·         Coach someone better than you

·         Video yourself for a model of good boating