Does your canoe club have a junior section?

The place to discuss slalom development issues specific to England

Does your canoe club have a junior section?

Yes - and we meet at least once a week to paddle
6
60%
Yes - but we only meet once a month to paddle
0
No votes
Yes - but we don't have our own dedicated water time
2
20%
No - but a junior section is planned in the near future
0
No votes
No - and there is no demand for one due to the lack of juniors in the club
2
20%
 
Total votes: 10

Mark Shaw
Posts: 166
Joined: Wed Jun 25, 2008 11:13 pm
Location: Lancaster

Post by Mark Shaw » Wed Sep 03, 2008 9:04 pm

Right or wrong, I don't really care where the money comes from or even what it is directly used for as long as the end result is the recruitment of new blood to the sport of slalom and the retention of those already in slalom.

I would be interested to hear the views of ordinary club slalom coaches who have worked alongside the newly appointed 'Club Coaches' to see how they are benefitting from the additional input. Having someone to learn from/with must be good news, if only to share the responsibility of coming up with the aims/plans for coaching sessions and their delivery.

Maybe the 'Club Coaches' should not be put in to established slalom clubs, but used to generate an area of the country that doesn't have a significant slalom presence. I'm certain John Kent down in the South West would grab a 'Club Coach' with both hands if he could get hold of one.

Mark
The above is the personal opinion of Mark Shaw and does not reflect the views of either the BCU or England Slalom Committees.

jke
Posts: 119
Joined: Mon Oct 24, 2005 7:33 pm

Post by jke » Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:03 am

I would welcome the opportunity of working with a "Club Coach" for a couple of sessions or even just observing. The key issue is session organisation and if you're working in isolation you run out of ideas. Typically I have a group of between 8 and a dozen on a club evening working on flat water with a set of 8 gates. One possibility could be a form of mentoring where I write down what I do and someone provides feedback.

The subsequent challenge is to get them to travel any distance to race but that's another topic.

John Kent
John Kent

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