Skills
Here at Sweetwater Coaching we're always ready to help you work towards grooving those tricky moves so we've put together some advice to support you. But before we get into the manoeuvres themselves, we’d like to get you off to a flying start by introducing some fundamental learning concepts in the ‘How to use the skills section’. This utilises the latest in coaching practice to help you get the best out of our Skills Section and your time on the water.
River
Freestyle
How to use the skills section
Step 1
This requires firstly that you understand the technical elements of the manoeuvre and how it is performed. Start by reading through the descriptions whilst referring to the picture sequence, and then watch the video a few times to get an understanding of the body positions and movements. To help you do this we have split each manoeuvre into 4 main parts; the setup, initiation, release, and recovery. This will help you break the manoeuvres down to rehearse.
Step 2
Once you have a good understanding of the technical requirements and a picture of the movements in your head you can start to rehearse the manoeuvre at home or outside before you hit the water. Try to visualise the feature you are going to perform the move on in your mind. The next step is to see yourself in the image performing the manoeuvre like the demonstration in the video clip (you can superimpose yourself over the paddler or see it through your own eyes as you perform the manoeuvre). Start with performing the whole manoeuvre at the same speed as in the video, after this you can then practice each of the 4 phases at a pace that suits your needs. When you’re happy, complete the whole sequence in real-time again.
Step 3
It’s time to hit the water! Rehearse the manoeuvre on the flat, this is a great way of practicing the important technical requirements of the move without having all the additional distractions of white water. As you rehearse the manoeuvre you can imagine you are on the wave setting up, initiating and so on... By doing this you can learn the techniques whilst preparing yourself for the additional demands of white water.
Step 4
This is the moment you’ve been waiting for – it helps here to have a progressive structure for acquiring the manoeuvre. Start with the initial set-up for the manoeuvre, then shift focus to getting the initiation right, before working on the release and recovery. Once you have all these elements working, start to groove the skills, remembering to practice on both sides throughout the process.
One last thing, aim to do your thinking in the eddy – prep for the manoeuvre, and then let it happen. If you don’t attain the move reflect and target the area to be changed and go again.
We would like to take this opportunity in wishing you all the best in your endeavours...see you out there!