Coaching the Mind - Performance Psychology Theory into Practice

For the last couple of years I had been pondering running a Sports Performance Psychology course.  I had attended the British Canoe Union (BCU) Coaching the Mind course as part of a coach up date and had really enjoyed it.  But there was no time to really reflect and see how I could put the theories into practise.  Since them I have made time and had started thinking about providing a 2 day course.  one days theory and a 2nd days practical that would allow time for an individual to experiment with new ideas and see what actually worked while having the opportunity to gain further feedback and input from a couple of experienced coaches.

Lee Pooley I had worked with and I delivered a couple of BCU 5 star Leader training courses for and we had got on really well.  He was an active paddler and sounded like he also new the material well.  The initial thought began to grow.  Now to see if there is any interest?  Within two weeks I had sold the 8 places!

The content of the first day was a mix of short inputs, work groups, individual work and out door short sessions to highlight various points.  The aim was focused with the individual and In brief covered the following:

Reflect and develop upon understanding of performance and arousal

discuss application of control strategies such as attentional focus and imagery

Explore factors and influences of personal motivation and how an individual/coach/leader can influence the motivational climate

Investigate how personal though/non verbal can influence behaviour

At the end of the day, an action plan was created for the following day and a control strategy was chosen.

Day 2 was the application and with a F4/5 W, with wind against tide, Rhoscolyn was chosen.  Working in teams of 4, between Lee and myself and then regrouping at lunch to share the mornings progress and results.

It was really greta to hear and see so many smiling faces ... the song 'happy shinny people' by REM came to mind ... stuff was really working!!

As a couple of people said after the weekend ...

Opportunity to put things into practise and to try a bit of trial and error before your memory gets fuzzy will I’m sure mean that the weekend will be far more effective than a single day in the classroom.

Importance of goal setting and the need for this to be aligned to one’s intrinsic motivations.

The need to be positive, to control the controllables and to eliminate doubt as far as possible.

And ... I am very pleased with the way the course built on the paddling I had recently done with Coastal Spirit  to improve my confidence and performance.

And ...

Thank you both for a really excellent weekend which exceeded my expectations in every way.

I'm keen to run this weekend again as the 2nd day was a pilot and because of this it was aimed at Intermediate to Advanced paddlers.  Is there interest from IntroMdiate to InterMediate or another InterMediate to Advanced?  

Early Autumn would be the aim or late spring.  Let me know if your interested ...

Thanks, Roger

www.coastalspirit.com

info@coastalspirit.com

5 Star Leader Training Sea - Sunny South Devon!

Its the 2nd 5 star leader training Ive now run in sunny summer conditions and Ive got to say its fantastic!!  

South Devon and working with Lee Pooley and with a forecast of F4/5 over the weekend and 1.5-2.1 mt swell running from the W/SW was always going to bring a smile to my face.  We headed for Salcombe and South Sands and Bo's cafe.  

After some discussions and comparisons of tidal plans we headed out ... tricky as it was just after 1200 and I'd been snacking so i needed to keep a close watch on the time so we could have a proper lunch!!  We had decided after last year to start at 1100, due to having to wait for darkness to arrive. 

Gully rescues with contact tows and towlines ... building up too

 .... rocky landings and surf launch swim back out ...

At Bolt Head and some super confused conditions  ....

Outside Bolt Head and a good wind and swell against tide ...  ;)

We did a couple of loops, and then came back in and discussed top tips and handy hints .... and assessing individuals before deciding to run down into the race ... which was significant!!

Back towards south sands The Bar was working really well ...

We did a few short navigation sections from 2030 onwards after a super warm dinner in the fading sun, up towards South Pool and as the darkness fell upon us, the nigh nav began!

The following day we headed back to this super venue.  Leadership sections with or without a scenario were worked through and as we came across a new venue between Lee and my self short work shops were delivered.

Landing an incapacitated a paddler in a raft and through some small surf - a rescue that needs good practice and in my opinion other options need to be explored before deciding on this scenario ...

After a short lunch, the surf was calling us back out and a few nice waves, were rolling in ...

Debriefs over ice cream (well at least for me any way) ... with another top group of guys, wrapped up another fab 5 star leader training. Note to self,  run more 5 star leader trainings in the summer  .. ;)

Thanks to Lee and Jo for putting me up - it was great to work with Lee again.

Roger

roger chandler
www.coastalspirit.com