Coaching Philosophy & Practice

This course is used to certify new coaches, and to continuously improve coaching skills and program quality using feedback from coaches, sailors and parents.

It also acts as a library of lesson plans to help prepare and deliver a practice session. There is a suggested sequence, but you can direct sailors to specific lessons and drills based on changing conditions, sailor age etc. Narrowing concepts and skills down to small ‘bite size’ pieces helps reduce overwhelm for new sailors, and allows more individualised plans where gaps in knowledge or skills appear.

It dovetails with the Bronze Sailor course, which is used by new sailors to learn foundational sailing concepts and vocabulary so they can safely navigate on-water practice sessions. It is the prerequisite for the Silver Sailor course, where the focus is on learning to race safely. As the sailor progresses to Gold and Platinum levels, there is a greater emphasis on them selecting their own drills

Online Knowledge + On-Water Experience

“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand”~ Confucius

At the Bronze Sailor level, acquiring knowledge is done on-line, prior to practice, and acquiring skills is done in practice sessions on the water. Post-practice reviews are used to tie these forms of learning together.

In a practical sense, separating knowledge from practice allows coaches to maximise the sailor’s time on the water, and minimises the tendency for less experienced coaches to over-explain.

While skills development is mostly a kinesthetic experience, accommodating other learning styles in online lessons can reduce the overwhelm experienced by new sailors.

It also has the following additional practical benefits;

Bronze Coaches

• can assume a minimum level of sailor knowledge and vocabulary required to begin each practice
• spend less time juggling the explaining of concepts with managing the flow of sailors to the water (“hearding cats”)
• can focus on practical safety issues when on the water (the key goal of the bronze course)
• incrementally use the website to communicate practice and regatta logistics
• can use prequisites and assessment data gathered online to justify progression to higher levels
• have opportunities for their own reflective learning and character development
• can set standards for self reliance and decision making that characterises successful sailors and leaders

Bronze Sailors

• absorb information in lessons that are short, applied and tightly focused on a specific concept
• are quickly directed to action at practice, providing focus and energy
• progress within a practice framework, but can access knowledge asynchronously
  • can complete the entire course prior to season start
  • review specific concepts before or after practice 
• have opportunities for reflective learning and character development
• take increasing ownership of their own learning, development and administration

Bronze Parents

• can follow and support their child’s learning path through the Bronze Parent course
• don’t need to attend practices/be on the water to understand sailing concepts
• are able to volunteer in more technical roles as their child progresses
• get to know the leaders and other participants through practical exchanges