PADDLER 65
COACHES JAMIE GREENHALGH AND MATT BROOK
The coaches then arrived too : Jamie Greenhalgh and Matt Brook . Nic Pearce had also joined as a shadow coach for a couple of days . I have been on a course with Jamie before , and by coincidence , Matt just happens to be a very good friend of mine ! I was thrilled when he messaged me the week before to say he would be working with Jamie for the week . I have spent many days on the river with Matt and know first-hand what an incredible coach he is . You can read a previous guest blog at : https :// delkayaks . co . uk / 2021 / 03 / 05 / approaching-coaching-an-interviewwith-matt-brook /. We all caught up as a group and then headed to the river .
Due to little rain , we ended up at the Dee for the day . Although I have paddled the Dee many times before , it is a river I love ! I was really quite happy to start the week off on a familiar river , as the first day of a week like this is perfect for warming up and getting to know each other as a group .
We spent much time at the top just below Horseshoe Falls , working on our backwards paddling technique and working out what we did with our feet to help control our edge . Many people think coaching is being told , “ Do X to make Y happen .” It ’ s not . Coaching is being told , “ Why do you think Y happens ? Why don ’ t you try it out and let me know the answer .” Coaching is all about leading you to find out the answers for yourselves .
SERPENTS TAIL
We moved down to Serpents Tail , and Jamie introduced us to a fun eddy hopping game . The last person in the eddy at the bottom wins , but there are some extra rules . Only one person per eddy , and if you get passed by a paddler , then you need to leave your eddy . We did this as a group of seven and then split into two groups of three . It was good fun and made me think about being competitive rather than rapid , which weirdly seems to have a positive effect on my paddling . The thought of beating Matt in a technical challenge was very motivating … of course , I didn ’ t , though . He is more ninja than man , and even after I ’ d got the ‘ final eddy ’, Matt found the smallest of microeddies just below me ! It was lots of fun to lap Serpents doing this though .
TOWN FALLS
We moved down and did lots of surfing practice at Mile End Mill before heading down to Town Falls , which was at a nice cushioned level . It has been a
Group photo below Town Falls . Photo : Jamie Greenhalgh
Del and Matt selfie on the Dee !
lovely warm-up day , and it was just what was needed . A bit of play in a familiar environment and the chance to get to know each other a little better as a group . We sorted shuttles , and then once everyone had left , I popped back into town to meet an old friend , Steve , for a catch-up and a hot chocolate . It was a nice way to end a nice day !
DAY TWO
I met Matt early in Betws-y-Coed , and we teamed up to car share for the day . We headed for the Vyrnwy , which was quite south , and car journeys are always more fun in good company . The 1.5-hour journey either way gave us lots of time to talk ! We met the others at the get-off and did the shuttle . I ’ d only done the Vyrnwy once before and had vague memories of it . I remembered it was pretty , but there had been some nice white water rapids , but that was it !
We got on and , in a similar format to yesterday , started the day with more in-depth coaching on a specific move . After about an hour , we moved down to the series of little rapids . It gorges up a little before you get to the whitewater , and my memories of it being stunning are very accurate ! It was gorgeous ! The first drop was a nice opportunity for practising a boof . You could lap this drop , but to do so , it involved catching a slightly upstream eddy . I tried and failed to catch this eddy . Which meant I felt very determined that I WOULD get that eddy . A couple more tries later , and I got it , which meant I could lap the drop again … and again . Sometimes , being stubborn has its perks .
Me , coach Jamie , Ben , Phil and Graham . Photo : Matt Brook
PADDLER 65