So all this standing on the deck stuff had me thinking. If you ever look at all that ACA coaching material we get details on how to model a stroke, how people learn, and all sorts of word plays and initials for all sorts of methodologies. Great stuff. But recently I’ve been thinking there may be something missing. I’m wondering, what do we do as coaches to “inspire”?

When I walked away from my first BCU symposium I was jazzed. I couldn’t wait to get home and solidify what I was learning. Way back in an early blog, in fact not long after I started my little ramblings I did a post about how impacted I had been. My first class with Shawna Franklin was well, inspirational. I’d never seen a coach just so damn happy to be a coach. It was like a golden aura that enveloped everyone in the class. “Wow, if just teaching this stuff was such fun, imagine what the rest of the sport must be like.” I thought. I was certainly inspired.

Since then I’ve been so lucky to spend a bit of time in classes or whatever with a bunch of great coaches and been constantly re-awakened to everything I love about the sport, and introduced to stuff I didn’t even know about. Some coaches just exude excitement, others have moves, others are militant but supportive. Personally I like the ones that are just damn silly! But all in all good coaches are all inspirational. In the end I have always ended up wanting to emulate just a bit of that zeal or spending days (or sometimes weeks, months. . .) trying to get that “move”. Then I try to do my best to bring it back to my little part of the world or share it here. I’m really thinking there is something important in all this.

Personally as a coach I’m always trying to hold myself up against the “boring factor”. I’m looking at my students closely to make sure the lights are on. Bored students are NOT inspired. Bored students are NOT in a “learning state of mind”. True some students learn in spite of over structured ridged instruction but not too often. Being a bit shy natured in the real world (and moody to boot!) I always sort of feel like whatever I’m doing is going to look a bit crazy to those around me. In fact it often does. I always second guess but I’m trying not to let that pull me back. I want to keep stretching. I used to think when I came back from a symposium or some coach training that most importantly I wanted to bring back move “a” or stroke “b” and incorporate it in my classes. Maybe a new teaching method or new outline structure would jump out at me as it did recently. But underlying it all was this; I was filtering out the true lesson I was learning; it’s all about “inspiration”.

I was inspired. I couldn’t wait to teach this new thing. Inspiration makes me excited to keep doing what I do. You can teach me strokes all day but if there isn’t a big emotional reward, personal drive or deeper connection, practice will only be so-so. Whereas If I see or feel a perceived goal and am chomping at the bit to get there, I’ll do whatever it takes to achieve that goal. Inspiration gives us the power and attentiveness to work through our failures and move ahead. Inspiration keeps us taking classes, doing trips or doing whatever it is we love to do. Our society thrives on mentors and heroes. Of course it does. They inspire us.

Locally at the end of our classes we always suggest that “next step”. What clubs, what trips they can “purchase”, ways to get more instruction and more experience. That’s great. But to follow up there has to be energy. WHY will they call that club?, WHY will they drive 6 hours for a day on the water and then drive 6 hours back? WHY will they practice that stupid hanging draw for hours on end until they are bumping into rocks in the dark? In the beginning we often only have a vague idea why we got into the sport. Over time our goals tighten or change. We modify why we’re out there. We have ups and downs. Days when we don’t want to see a freaking kayak! Yet, something brings us back. A friend, a picture, a website, a video. . whatever. We rediscover our love of kayaking. Early on inspiration gives us power to get the kayak, load it on the car, drive to where ever, get it off the car, carry it to the beach, change all your clothes, and paddle. . then reverse the process and do it again. Then again and again. I think great instructors feel charged to keep that inspiration alive. “Stoke the fire”, so to speak.

Being a coach at a retail shop I sometimes wonder; am I just a service provider in the paddling industry?, someone who facilitates customer growth for a niche market? I mean, instruction is not a big money market by anybody’s standard, but a retail eye sees it as a step on a path to future sales. Such is business. . and survival. I wonder, are students just clients that we pass on method to? Or are we guides along the way on each students personal journey? I tend to hope for the latter. On the other hand, that’s a whole different responsibilty.

So lately when I think about my own teaching style, I ask myself, “What do I do to inspire!?”. Wow. That’s a tough one. . .