I don’t know about your brain, but sometimes mine starts me off with a word of the day. I don’t know why. I just wake up with this word repeating over and over in my head. The voice, I assume it’s just me putting a voice to my thoughts, goes on and on repeating the word in various inflections, impersonations and bad operatic singing voices until I think I’m about to go over the rainbow. Finally, mercifully, it stops. Thing is, it’s always odd words that I’m never going to use in conversation. Like of course today’s word, “Fustigation”. Almost as bad as the time I was mentally assaulted by “Garfunkle”. Yeah, he may look harmless. . .

So I’ve been working a lot recently with folks on their rolls. It’s certainly fun to have people come over and play with me at my pool. When I think about “teaching” a roll, I realize that what I don’t do is “teach”. I just sort of hang out and give tips, make little corrections, and ask questions. Oh, and of course dispel all that crap they were force fed the last 7 times they tried to learn to roll. For me, the biggest challenge in helping someone roll is facing all the “rules” they learned in the past. My thought on rolling is that there are no rules. Each person is different. How they roll is based on their experience, body type, the boat they are in, what they will be using it for, and of course their own particular way of thinking. You never quite teach two people the same way.

When I first stand by someone in the water I feel like I have a short period of time to figure out how their brain works. Step one of coaching (if I dare be authoritative in a Gordon Brown sort of way), is knowing your student. I may play with a couple simple drills for no other reason than to hear their comments, see their eyes, and watch their body language. I look for things like; fear of the water or being upside down in the water, deep seeded frustrations, ego, self-awareness, self-depreciativeness, and all those other subtle things that can effect the learning process. I also look for white knuckles, flickering eyes, fixed stares into their bellies, and wiggly boats. These are ques to the method I will take. Once I have a grip on that I can begin to really work with them. No, you don’t always get a roll the first day, but if those mental barriers are addressed directly we usually get there much faster.

Physically most people can roll. We just have to work with their talents and within their limitations. I’ve seen coaches roll their eyes when a 300lbs student comes to them or someone they perceive as non-athletic or weak. Yeah, some students physically can be more challenging. But, a good coach will rise to it and help them get there. The one thing that really steams me up is when women say something like, “Maybe I’m just too weak”. You know they were told that or it was implied to them. What a great gift some bullet head gave them to overcome. One thing is sure, that roll of the eyes is a sign that this coach should head for the showers. They will not be doing their job today.

There are many “first” rolls we can learn. Usually students come to me with some bad C to C or Sweep experience. For the folks feeling like they’ve been at it forever, I toss all the “rules” away and just focus on getting them rolling. We can clean it up later, but what they really need is to know they can do it. Most often some form of extended paddle roll or Pawlatta is the perfect ticket. Not always, but they are possibilities. Many rolls are mostly about form and have very little to do with strenth. As Dubside said in his video, “Remember this is a dance not a fight”. Even if the goal is a C to C in the end (which it’s usually not) I’ll start off with something easy just to get them their confidence back and then work it from there.

I guess the point of this little ramble is that we don’t “teach” someone how to roll. It’s a bad idea to build a preconceived mold or structure, then try to squeeze someone into it. Just like a kayak, we want a personal fit. A custom design just for us. That helps us become better paddlers. I think a coach needs to be a shape shifter, providing a custom fit for each student. If you really tune into them and adapt your coaching efforts around their needs they too will succeed.

I certainly don’t want to make a wild over generalization, but I feel like if your rolling students don’t get a roll within a couple lessons, don’t blame them. Are there exceptions? Well sure. But often their struggle is a sign that you need to re-examine your coaching methods. They can do it. They want to do it! Are you helping them succeed or just going through the motions. Are you finding the best method for them or shoving them into some cookie-cutter methodology? I know when I have a student who’s really struggling, I wear the blame firmly on my shoulders. I stop, look at what I’m doing. If I find myself teaching, I remind myself to shut up and start listening. After all, we’re there to help. . . not fustigate!

- btw the upside down hull contains Leon Somme. . .