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‘Bring on the summer!’… That was the feeling as the Yachting New Zealand Learn to Sail Coaching Course came to a close during the weekend of 20th and 21st July at Hamilton Yacht Club.
The intensive course facilitated by Peter Head (from Elements Watersports in Tauranga) took fifteen hopeful candidates through the Start Sailing (Learn to Sail 1) and Sailing Fast (Learn to Sail 2) syllabi, coaching skills, powerboat handling and land drills with the aim to produce coaches who can inform and enthuse beginners.
The candidates ranged from sailors completely new to coaching, to a RNZYS Lion Foundation Youth Training Programme Graduate, through to sailors who have sailed for years. Having a good mix of coaching abilities, ages and sailing abilities made for a very informative course.
Peter was excellent at teasing out people's experiences and ideas which led to everyone taking lots away to think about.
The rain came and went, the wind came and went, and so did the sun. All seasons in one day allowed Peter to discuss different weather scenarios with the candidates and luckily only the rigging sessions on Saturday morning got us slightly damp.
A highlight of the weekend was having Don and Andrew from Rotoroa Yacht Club’s Sailability join us with their Hansa 303 dinghies. For most of us, we were presented with new considerations regarding teaching styles and accessibility that we may not have thought about if they had not been on the course.
If you have not sailed a Hansa 303, do! They are great fun and allow you, the coach, to appreciate a little more, what you might be asking your sailability sailors to do.
If you have ever thought about coaching the next wave of sailors wanting to join our wonderful sport, do sign up to this very worthwhile course.
Find out more about Yachting New Zealand's Coaching Courses here or email charlie@yachtingnz.org.nz
