BCAB Coaching Podcast

S3 Ep.15 COACHING - Portaging for Racing

Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing, chats to Scott Hynds, British Canoeing Sprint Coach Developer, around portaging. The conversation covers the importance of portaging, ways to ensure safe and efficient portaging as well as how coaches can integrate portaging within an athlete’s development plan.

S3 Ep.14 COACHING - Canoe & ’Trad’ Skills

Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing, talks to Tom Sibbald about his time in paddlesport, canoeing and the use of trad skills. Both discuss the meaning of trad skills, why they are important to a canoeist as well as providing examples of their use in context and some top tips to improve.

 

Please note that there are no podcast episodes over August. Our next episode will be on Friday 09 September. Have a lovely summer on the water.

S3 Ep.13 COACHING - The Role of a Performance Analyst

Kristen Wright, the Lead Performance Analyst for the Canoe Slalom programme at the English Institute of Sport, talks to Sid Sinfield about her professional journey into her role and her involvement before, during and after competitions.

She goes on to explain how she works with coaches and athletes to help them understand the performance data she collects. Kristen also explains best practices for using performance data to give feedback to improve athlete performance and gives advice for those interested in becoming an elite-level performance analyst.

S3 Ep.12 TALENT - Preparing a child for competition

Building on the Parenting at Events podcast episode, we are joined by Ian Raspin (Canoe Slalom England National Talent Coach) and Steve Pearson (Parent of a former England Slalom Talent Programme athlete) who discuss how a parent can help their child when they are preparing for an important race, such as selection. We also hear first-hand an account from a parent of the journey they have had with their child during this particular event and the learnings they took forward from this experience. 

S3 Ep.11 COACHING - The Role of the Pathway Development Coach

In this episode Imogen Collins talks to Lee Pooley (Director of Coaching and Qualifications) about her new role with British Canoeing as the Pathway Development Coach and how she will be working with clubs and athletes. Imogen also gives an insight into her life and baking skills.

S3 Ep.10 TALENT - Getting Help for Clinical Mental Health Conditions

This episode is the third and final episode of a three-part Mental Health Series, in this part we talk about Clinical Mental Health conditions when it might be important to get professional help, and what that might look like. Joining these discussions are Imogen Collins (Canoe Sprint Talent Pathway Coach) and Zofia Campbell (Performance Wellbeing Coach). 

S3 Ep.9 COACHING - Rafting: Flipping

During this podcast Rafting Technical Chair, Jon Best, explains the changes to the assessment criteria within the rescue section, providing a rationale and alternative methods that could be used. During the podcast Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications explores Jon’s involvement in Rafting, trips around the world and why British Canoeing Awarding Body rafting awards are held in such high regard.

S3 Ep8 TALENT - Talking to your child if you think they are struggling

This episode is the second of a three part Mental Health Series, in this part we talk about how to speak to your child if you have a concern about them and might be worried that they’re not coping with stress or otherwise struggling with their mental health. Joining these discussions are Louise Ramsdale (Canoe Slalom Central Regional Academy Coach) and Zofia Campbell (Performance Wellbeing Coach). 

S3 Ep.7 TALENT - Helping your child to manage stress and promoting self care

This episode is the first of a three part Mental Health Series. In this part we will be talking about helping your child manage stress and promoting self-care. We're all affected by stress from time to time, and it’s something that seems to affect us more and more in modern life. Stress can have a big impact on our personal wellbeing and can cause mental health issues and in serious cases it could become chronic.

To discuss this important topic we are joined by Luke Smyth (Canoe Slalom Academy Programme Technical Coach) and Zofia Campbell (Performance Wellbeing Coach). We hope this podcast helps parents to talk to their children about stress and support them to manage it as best as possible.

S3 Ep. 6 MINI-SERIES - The role of a Performance Psychologist

Sid Sinfield starts a new strand of episodes this season that focus on supporting staff working in British Canoeing World-class Programmes and their pathways into their roles. In the first episode in this strand, Sid speaks with Jonathan Smith, Performance Psychologist on the Olympic Sprint and Paracanoe programmes. 

Jonathan explains the role of a performance psychologist and his own professional journey into that role.  He also suggests other routes into that role and gives helpful advice for those who are interested in becoming a performance psychologist. 

He discusses how performance psychologists can measure effectiveness of their interventions on athlete performance and how his role contributes to the wider team of support staff in promoting optimal athlete development.