ThePADDLER 112
Tell us about your new SUP coaching business ? Well , currently , my business will be created around my day job , so I ’ m hoping that it will have a chance to build organically . I have no expectations either , in the best possible way , so I want to see if there is a market for what I want to offer . It might be a little bit specialist , but I ’ m going to give it a go . I ’ m doing it purely for fun as well , I had an idea , and I want to see if it ’ s going to work , so I ’ m not applying any pressure to myself , and I ’ m seeing all the work that is going into it as a bit of a challenge . I love my day job , so I ’ m not looking for a career change overnight , but I ’ d love to have more involvement in the SUP world and back in the coaching / sports coaching world . That ’ s the aim .
From the outside perspective , I would like to offer race training and more technical coaching in the form of weekend workshops , one to one coaching and training plans leading into races . I firmly believe that I can offer that effectively from my experience in racing and competing in a few different sports .
My target audience is those who have a bit of paddling experience already but want to improve or get into racing , either on flat water or the ocean . There are plenty of people who are set up and ready to offer complete beginner coaching and introductions to SUP ; however , perhaps in the future , I will be able to offer more in the way of complete beginner instruction .
I have many ideas for the future , and I am currently exploring options for running race-based ocean skills weekends ; I plan to set up the same for flat water too . The idea of these weekends will always be to have some element of safety knowledge , making sure people are prepared to paddle in the environment chosen . It will then cover paddle technique , board handling , race preparation and some race simulation , too , all of which is fully adaptable to different ability levels , so it may sound scary , but , in my eyes , it ’ s so achievable for everyone . Even if there are people who don ’ t want to race , it ’ s an ideal way to learn how to use SUP as a fitness tool and a vessel for journeying .
Are there people you would like to thank who have been instrumental in helping you achieve all you have ? Ok , so I will try not to do an ‘ Adele ’ Brit award moment here , but there are certainly some lovely people that have always supported and inspired me . I was fortunate to have so many opportunities growing up that I could pick my own way in sport if I wanted to , although it was never pressured at all .
When I was a teen and volunteering at HYMB , I had a couple of great mentors , Daryll and Sarah ; they were so encouraging and willing to offer their knowledge and support to the young people they mentored .
When I started rafting at Lee Valley , my now good friend Bex asked me if I wanted to join this rafting race ( I had no idea it was British selections ), so I took part in this race and did the gruelling endurance race with them . Suddenly I was in the raft race world , she was always 100 % encouraging , and I have to thank her for getting me into racing .
Also , in the raft race world , I am so grateful to all the girls I paddled with ; I have never experienced such teamwork and mutual support and motivation to reach an end goal . However , I ’ m going to give a huge shout out to Fieke , as she was a regular training partner of mine , we sat at the back of the raft together , and we were able to push each other as training partners .
I have to thank Sarah Perkins for being such a supporter and driving force behind my paddling and racing and this business idea in more recent years . She has some great ideas and unbridled enthusiasm for SUP that is catching . https :// www . suptec . co . uk @ sup _ tec _ wales
Guilty pleasure ? I think at the moment that is just sitting down on the sofa with a cup of tea , some biscuits and watching Netflix while cuddling Jeeves , a rare moment , to be honest at the moment , life is very busy !
Massive thanks to Emily for taking time out to answer these questions – it certainly gives you great insight into her sporting and coaching achievements , and we wish her all the luck with helping others achieve the same .