Improve my coaching

If you want to improve your coaching then it is important to understand what makes a good coach.

The role of a coach is to create a positive learning experience while helping sailors learn new or improve existing sailing skills. A good coach provides a safe and enjoyable environment while matching their coaching methods to the sailor and situation.

When we consider the technical parts of sailing, it is easy to overcomplicate things and forget that we are coaching people, who just happen to be sailing a boat.  So, a good coach is one that can help to simplify the complicated and build a positive relationship with the person they are coaching.

By doing these things, a good coach will help sailors stay engaged, motivated to learn, and hopefully see them fall in love with sailing.

Below are some of the options you might want to consider to help improve your coaching:

RYA Learning Network

If you are looking for new exercises or coaching ideas to develop your coaching practice. The RYA Learning Network has just this! Here, you will find tried and tested coaching activities, as well as tools and exercises that you can adapt into your own coaching activity. The RYA Learning Network is an online resource and is free to all qualified race coaches.  To receive your passkey please email video resources to support clubs and classes.  The videos are grouped using the five core racing competencies: starting, speed, boat handling, strategy and tactics. 

Coaching Resources  

The RYA Coach Development Team have produced a series of video resources to support clubs and classes.  The videos are grouped using the five core racing competencies: starting, speed, boat handling, strategy and tactics. 

Race Coach Level 3 

The Race Coach Level 3 course is aimed at coaches who have developed their coaching experience further since they completed their Race Coach Level 2 qualification (typically at least 2 years) and are hungry to learn more.  It is run over two weekends in small groups to ensure the experience is very practical and hands on.  Please email us if you are interested in finding out more or please add your name to our "sailors looking for a Level 3 course"  list. Any scheduled Level 3 courses will also appear on our courses page here.

Race Coach Tutor visits 

The team members that deliver the RYA Coach Education and Development programmes are called race coach tutors.  The tutors are keen and ready to visit any club or class to help support their coaching programmes.  This support will be tailored to the needs of the club or class, but as an example it might include spending time on the water whilst you coach and offer feedback, or advising on how to improve your learn to race/improve racing programmes etc.  To set up a visit please contact us via coachingdevelopment@rya.org.uk