Simon Westgarth shares his knowledge and experience of white water features, how to use them and how to coach with them, on today’s podcast with Lee Pooley. Simon is a BCU level 5 coach, the White Water Tech Group Chair and the founder of Gene 17 kayaking, running trips and adventures across the globe. Simon values the ideals of adventure kayaking,…

Olly Sanders joins Lee Pooley for today’s podcast about turning in the wind. Olly is a BCU Level 5 Sea Kayak Coach and has been playing on the Snowdonia and Anglesey coastline for 20 years. Olly has spent 12 years as a Senior Instructor at Plas y Brenin and owner of Rock and Sea Productions. He has been on many expeditions and trips, including Alas…

This podcast episode is brought to you by the England Talent Programme where Daniel Thompson (Slalom Foundations and Support Lead) and Tom Haines (Volunteer Psychologist for the Paracanoe Talent Academy) discuss the topic of resilience. In this podcast episode we'll discuss what resilience is, why it's an important characteristic for an athlete, ho…

It’s a very special episode of the Coaching Podcast today, as Chris Brain joins Lee Pooley for the 100th episode! Chris has worked in the outdoors for over 25 years coaching and guiding and delivering professional development courses. Chris delivers across a range of BCAB Coaching, Leadership and Safety programmes, as well as being a National Train…

Tony Smith, Chair of Teignbridge Canoe Club, joins Lee Pooley for today's podcast focussed on the Performance Coach. This insightful listen is useful for anyone considering the Performance Coach. Topics covered include: how the Performance Coach has helped with Tony's coaching practice and the highlights of the journey how Tony is implementing the …

Surf Tech Group members Chris Heaney, Claire Eatock, Ian and Tracy Sherrington join Lee Pooley for today's podcast focused on catching a wave. Chris Heaney has over 25 years experience in the outdoor education sector, has been surfing for 40 years and is part of the Scottish Surf Committee. Claire Eatock is an active outdoor instructor and leads ex…

Dave Janes Snr tells you everything you need to know about Touring, in today's episode with Lee Pooley. Dave Janes Snr is a member of the BCAB Touring Technical Group and is a highly experienced outdoor activity provider. The topics covered include: hydration and nutrition what kit to take and loading your craft decision making for day trips and mu…

To mark Neurodiversity Celebration Week, we are rereleasing a fascinating and important episode exploring neurodiversity in sport. The guests for this 2023 episode were Helena Russo, the Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Lead at Paddle UK; Nerys Hall, a marathon and sprint paddler; and Caragh McMurtry, a former Olympic rower and founder of Neurodiv…

Ivan Lawler MBE and Scott Hynds are the guests for today's conversation with Lee Pooley, focused on coaching wash hanging for flatwater racing. Ivan and Scott both coach at Elmbridge CC; Ivan is a five-time canoe marathon world champion and a canoe sprint world champion and Scott is Flatwater Coach Developer for the England Talent Programme and a f…

Tom Westaway is the guest for the last episode in the 'What's in your Buoyancy Aid and what's in your craft' mini-series. White water paddle boarding is the focus for today's conversation and Tom shares personal insights from his experience as a coach and leader. The topics covered by Tom and Lee Pooley include: Tom's non-negotiables decision makin…

Jenna Sanders is the guest for today's canoe-focused episode in the 'What's in your Buoyancy Aid and what's in your craft' mini-series. Jenna is a British Canoeing National Trainer, Performance Coach and Chair of the Canoe Technical Group. The topics discussed today by Jenna and Lee Pooley include: kit for white water and open water environments de…

Today's rafting focused episode continues our mini-series 'What's in your Buoyancy Aid and what's in your craft'. The guest for this conversation with Lee Pooley is Jon Best, Chair of the Rafting Technical Group. The topics discussed by Jon and Lee include: Jon's journey to rafting via Freestyle kayaking the right kit for the river dealing with kit…

Welcome to the first episode of 2024, today's Sea Kayak focused episode continues our mini-series 'What's in your Buoyancy Aid and what's in your craft'. The guest for this conversation with Lee Pooley is Lyndsay McPhee, a National Trainer and Performance Coach. The topics covered by Lyndsay and Lee include: Lyndsay's history paddling in various di…

For the final episode of 2023, Lee Pooley, British Canoeing Director of Coaching and Qualifications is looking back at the year in conversation with Debbie Thompson, Digital Learning Designer. Lee looks back at 2023 both on and off the podcast. But, we also look forward to what's coming in another busy year in 2024. Thanks for listening, we'll be b…

This rerun episode is all about Touring during the winter with Lee Pooley and Pia Philbey. Pia shares tips on all aspects of preparation for touring during the winter months, including clothes, kit and planning. Lee and Pia also cover adapting to challenging conditions and touring with mixed-craft groups. Download a transcript of the episode here.…

Welcome to the first episode in our NEW mini-series called 'What's in your Buoyancy Aid and what's in your Boat'. This first episode is with Georgina Maxwell, and she talks about what she has and will have in her buoyancy aid and boat whilst paddling alone but also whilst leading a group in a White Water environment. To download the transcript for …

In todays rerun episode released in 2020, Lee Pooley talks through the use of video in coaching. With increasing accessibility to video recording equipment, we explore how it can be used in Decision Training. To download the transcript for this episode click here.By britishcanoeingcoaching

Today's episode is for anyone with an interest in paddling in a White Water environment on a SUP, more specifically for those leading and coaching in a White Water environment. Join Lee Pooley with Adam Burns, Anthony Ing and Tom Westaway and listen to them talk about height management and how they do their safety briefings. For more information an…

In today's rerun episode, originally released in 2020, Pete Catterall talked to Sid Sinfield about coaching philosophy, how you begin to create and develop one of your own and importantly how it can help you in your coaching. To download the transcript for this episode click here.By britishcanoeingcoaching

Today's episode is for anyone with an interest in paddling on White Water. In this conversation Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing, talks to Simon Westgarth and Dan Wilkinson, from the White Water Technical Group, about the development of the White Water Safety courses. They discuss how the courses, launching in…

In today's rerun episode we are celebrating the Slalom World Championships at Lee Valley with an interview with British Canoeing's Lead for Kayak Cross - Greg Hitchen. Sid Sinfield speaks to Greg about his journey to where he is today, hear them discuss Gregs's introduction to paddling and gain a valuable insight into what it has taken him to becom…

Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing, is in conversation with Darren Sherwood, National Trainer, about Darren's new research project for British Canoeing on offshore winds and Stand Up Paddleboarding. The episode delves into why research into offshore winds was needed, how the research was carried out, as well as …

Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications, is in conversation with Surf Coach and British Surf Kayak Champion, Glyn Brackenbury. Together they discuss the fascinating topic of skill fade. Glyn explains the concept of skill fade: what it looks like and how it can affect athletes and paddlers in general. They also discuss some of the potent…

In this compelling episode, Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing discusses water safety with seasoned paddler, Brendon Prince, who is a safety campaigner and Founder of the charity ‘Above Water’. Brendon talks about his paddling background and how those and his lifeguarding experiences motivated him to set up the …

Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing, is in conversation with Tony Smith, Chair of Teignbridge Canoe Club, about how they treat learning development in the club. Tony gives a brief overview of the club, the expectations of its members and its vision (along with the benefits this can bring). He explains how this ph…

Dr. Loel Collins, former director of Learning and Development in Plas y Brenin speaks to Pete Catterall about the main differences between coaching adventure sports and mainstream competitive sport. Loel defines the adventure sport context and then discusses how the blend of coaching skills differs in a more dynamic adventure sport context. They al…

Daniel Thompson, Talent Operations Coordinator at British Canoeing is joined by British Canoeing's Performance Wellbeing Coach, Zofia Campbell, and senior athletes Laura Sugar (Paracanoe) and Lewis Fletcher (Canoe Sprint) to discuss performance anxiety. They discuss the symptoms athletes have when experiencing performance anxiety and some technique…

In this rerun episode from 2021, Ben Woodruff speaks to Darren Clarkson, a seasoned paddler who also works in mental health social services. They discuss strategies coaches, leaders and instructors can use help people alleviate anxiety, stress and other mental health issues, and look after their own mental health. Recorded just after the COVID lock…

Daniel Thompson, Talent Operations Coordinator at British Canoeing is joined by Lewis Fletcher (Canoe Sprint athlete) to discuss his daily nutrition habits, the nutritional choices he faces over competition, including any strategies and recovery snacks that he takes. They also discuss supplements and the importance of hydration. Additional content …

This is the second part of a conversation between Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing, and two members of the British Canoeing White Water Technical Group: Georgina Maxwell and Dan Wilkinson. Georgina and Dan give practical examples from their own experience of some of the decision making concepts covered in Part…

Following on from Neurodiversity Celebration Week earlier this month, this fascinating and important episode explores neurodiversity in sport. This is a must-listen for anyone who wants to develop their understanding of neurodivergence, or to start or continue a conversation with a coach or athlete about this. Helena Russo, the Equality, Diversity …

The second episode of our "from the vaults" rerun mini-series, is a conversation with Helena Russo, Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Lead at British Canoeing in 2021. Helena will be delving deeper into the subject of Equality, Diversity and Diversity (EDI), with an episode focusing on Neurodiversity in Sport coming soon. In this re-released introduc…

In a follow-up conversation, Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing, talks to Ben Woodruff about his further research study into the role of entrapment in coach burnout. In this episode Lee and Ben discuss what entrapment is, the different ways entrapment impacts coach burnout, what to look out for as a coach and ho…

This episode is the third and final episode of a three-part Strength & Conditioning Series, in this part we talk about how coaches and paddlers can incorporate strength and conditioning into a training programme and what principles should be followed. To discuss this topic area Daniel Thompson, British Canoeing Talent Operations Coordinator, is joi…

The first episode of our "from the vaults" rerun mini-series, is a conversation on Coach Burnout between Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing, and Ben Woodruff, recorded in 2021 during Ben's time in the Coaching Team. Another part of this conversation will be coming soon, following Ben's further research on the to…

The Coaching Podcast is back for season 4 with a conversation about Coaching from the Bank. Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing, is joined again by Scott Hynds, Sprint Coach Developer in the Talent Programme, for today's episode. Scott and Lee discuss topics including how to best prepare for coaching paddlers fro…

For the final episode of 2022, Lee Pooley, British Canoeing Director of Coaching and Qualifications, and Sid Sinfield, Performance Coach Developer, are looking back at the year in conversation with Debbie Thompson, Digital Learning Designer. Lee and Sid share their highlights from the podcast, as well as paddling experiences both professional and p…

Decision Making is the focus of today's conversation between Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing, and two members of the British Canoeing White Water Technical Group: Georgina Maxwell and Dan Wilkinson. Georgina and Dan share insight from their wide paddling experience on different types of decision making and th…

This episode is the second of a three-part Strength & Conditioning series from the England Talent Programme. In this part we talk about the purpose of Strength and Conditioning, address some concerns people might have around S&C, as well as highlighting the benefits. Finally, we begin to look at how S&C can be structured in a training programme. To…

Touring in Winter is the topic of conversation in this episode today between Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing, and Pia Philbey, from the British Canoeing Touring Technical Group. Pia shares tips on all aspects of preparation for touring during the winter months, including clothes, kit and planning. Lee and Pia…

How to train smarter, whatever the discipline, is the topic of conversation today between Lee Pooley, Director of Coaching and Qualifications at British Canoeing, and Ian Wynne, performance consultant, coach and Olympic bronze medallist. Lee and Ian discuss the importance of data and benchmarking, overcoming coach and athlete reluctance to benchmar…

This episode is the first of a three-part Strength & Condition Series from the England Talent Programme. In this part we talk about Sport Sampling, covering what sport sampling is and how it can be useful for developing athletes. To discuss this topic area, Daniel Thompson, British Canoeing Talent Operations Coordinator, is joined by Ben Lewis, Bri…

Walter Nowlan (British Canoeing Digital Learning Specialist) introduces Helena Russo (British Canoeing Equality, Diversity & Inclusion Lead) in conversation with Lina Patel (Paddlesport and Outdoor instructor and former #ShePaddles Ambassador for Wales) and Dave Hunt (who delivers Outdoor Degree courses at Leeds Beckett University). Our guests have…

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.…

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…

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 c…

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 accoun…

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.By britishcanoeingcoaching

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 …

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 Canoe…