Importance: Very High Understanding and knowing how to rectify the typical mistakes your clients will make is a vital and fundamental skill for the SUP instructor.

Learning to recognise the standard mistakes that beginners make is an essential aspect of Level 1 SUP Instruction. In this lesson we’ll look at the various faults and mistakes that you will see time and time again, and analyse why they matter, and what to do about them.

We’ll start by looking at the more serious mistakes, which need to be rectified straight away. This section of the lesson will take about 15 minutes to view.

---

Now we need to consider the less significant errors that you’ll encounter, and what to do about them. This video will take about 25 minutes to complete.

Hopefully you now have a good overall feel for the sort of beginner errors you’re going to be dealing with, and what you need to do about them.

The important take-aways from this are:

• Beginners makes LOTS of mistakes!

• Not all are of equal significance or importance.

Some mistakes need correcting immediately, because

• They are likely to cause the client to fall

• They are likely to cause injury to the client

• They will cause that client to be very slow in comparison to everyone else

Others are less serious but, depending on how badly they are being displayed, may

• prevent the client ever improving or developing

• cause early fatigue

To give another view on the most common mistakes, here’s a quick vid from Supboarder mag showing their ‘top 9 paddling’ mistakes, which aligns pretty much with our own descriptions above. (However, note the awful duck/asymmetric stance of the person in the vid! Let’s not be doing any of that.)

---

Importance: Medium. This lesson is about understanding how the motivations of your clients, along with their physical and personality differences, will play a large part in the success of your lesson – and may have an impact on safety aspects too. 

This lesson is about your clients. As you will very quickly find, they come in an incredibly wide variety!

If you are an instructor of other outdoor activities and/or work in the education sector, you will already be well aware that clients/students vary greatly in terms of ability, character and motivation.  You’ll be familiar with much of the information in this lesson, but it’s only a short one so there’s probably no harm in viewing it anyway. 

The lesson will take around 20 minutes to complete.

The training video discusses: 

• Who are your clients?

• Why are they learning?

• The factors affecting skill development

• Understanding group dynamics

There will not be any questions in the test about this material – it is more for your general understanding of the world of SUP instruction. 

---

Check Understanding!

• Do you understand who your clients may be?

• Do you understand why they differ?

• Do you understand why group dynamics can have an influence on a paddleboard lesson? 

If you’re unsure on any of these, go back and review the lesson again. Otherwise, you can move on to the next lesson

Importance: Critical! This lesson is very much the ‘meat’ of what this course is all about. There are video assignments at the end of this lesson.

This is quite a long lesson, but it is broken down into five distinct parts, as explained below, each with their own video. It’s probably wise to treat it as five individual lessons, rather than trying to take it all on board in one go!

The beginner lesson can and should follow a fairly formal structure, to ensure that everything is covered properly and to ensure the greatest possible chances of a successful session.

It should be considered as five distinct phases: 

Pre Lesson Preparation
This is the stuff that happens before the actual lesson itself, ie getting all the kit and paperwork ready

Part A: Safety Briefing  & maybe a warm-up
The absolutely vital safety briefing, as covered in detail in a previous lesson, and then perhaps some sort of warm up session, if appropriate. 

Part B: On the Beach Instruction
This is another absolutely vital part of the session, introducing the clients to their equipment and showing them how to use it.  The first part of your assignment is to demonstrate this part of the teaching process, as explained at the bottom of this page.

Part C:  On the water Session
The session itself, which has its own phases and flow.  The second part of your assignment will be to demonstrate teaching in this phase.

Part D: Warming down & Following up
The session does not finish when the clients step off their board at the end of their paddling, especially if you have any desire to see the clients again for further instruction. The lesson should be finished with a debrief and warm down. 

The ABCD format shown here is a powerful and effective teaching method, and this format used by most NZ paddleboarding schools – because it works! Once you being operating as an instructor after completing this qualification you may choose to use a different format if you wish, but we strongly recommend following this format – it is considered best practice, and if you choose to do it differently you should have a good reason(s) why. 

Let’s now look at each of these phases in more detail. Please excuse the poor sound quality on some of the film footage in these modules. Despite numerous attempts we have not yet managed to find a location that has perfect conditions and perfect silence! We will continue trying.

If you wish to add further explanation, information and teaching above and beyond what is covered here when you are doing your own lessons, then this will not count against you in the assessment, although we recommend not over-doing the onshore stuff – your clients have come to paddleboard, not talk about it, so ensure that they do get a decent on-water experience!

---

Lesson Preparation & Set-Up

This module will take about 10 minutes to watch and covers:

• Checks, equipment and paperwork considerations before the lesson 
• Preparing the lesson site
• Delivering the safety brief  
• Doing a warm-up  

We strongly recommend that you download and use the template prompt card that was provided in the Safety Briefing lesson, while practicing your own safety briefs.

Now the lesson can start properly…

---

On the beach – part 1

In this module, which will take about 20 minutes to watch, we’ll look at:

• Introduction to the board & paddle.

• How to paddle

• How to change sides with the paddle

• How to turn

• How to stop!

We strongly recommend that you download and use the Part B prompt card while following and practicing delivering this part of the lesson. 

If you’re comfortable with this part of the onshore briefing, you can now move on to the next part.

---

On the beach – part 2

Now that we have shown them the basics of paddling, we have to show them a few other  really important things. In this module, which will take about 20 minutes to watch, we’ll look at the Part B beach teaching and practice for :

• How to get on and off the board

• Paddling in safe position

• Doing the first stand up

• Falling in and getting back onto the board

• Carrying the board

Again, we strongly recommend that you download and use the Part B prompt card while following and practicing delivering this part of the lesson, until the flow comes naturally.

Despite the fact that it has taken rather longer to discuss and dissect the Part B material, it actually only takes 10 minutes or so in ‘real life’ with real clients. Yet it is 10 minutes incredibly well spent that will make all the difference in ensuring your lesson goes smoothly and successfully.

Hopefully you now have a feel for how it flows. Once you have delivered it a few times it feels extremely natural and becomes easy to deliver. This format is used by virtually every successful SUP school in New Zealand – not because they are forced to, but simply because it works so well.

---

Onto the water!

Now we’re ready to hit the water. In this module, which will take about 20 minutes to watch, we will look at:

• The launch

• The safe position work-through

• The stand-up

• Getting going

• Foot faults

• The session end

This module is a bit more discussion-based rather than based on ‘live footage’ as there is a lot to talk about.

And there you have it. After all the other learning and preparation you have completed in this course, you’ve now done the real thing, and introduced some newcomers to our great sport. Well done!

One thing not covered in the video – how long should this phase of the lesson last? 45 minutes is a perfectly acceptable amount of time on the water for a first lesson, indeed you will often find that this as much as clients can cope with.

But it’s not quite over yet. Just a few more things to consider…

---

Warm Down & Follow Up

Finally, once ashore, a couple of really important aspects to finishing the session and ensuring everyone got the most out of it.  In this module, which will take about 8 minutes to watch, we will look at:

• The wrap-up

• Onshore debrief

• Warm Down

These last few minutes will make a good impression with your clients and also leave you in the best possible position for either then packing up to go home, or preparing for the next lesson.

---

In Summary

So to summarise this very important lesson, we have looked at:

• Pre lesson preparation

• Setting up the lesson

• The safety briefing & warm-up

• The onshore work

• Getting everyone onto the water

• Safe Position Work

• The stand Up

• The paddling session

• The end of the session

• Post session

This is undoubtedly one of the most important lessons in this course, so feel free to revisit it as often as you need.

On which topic – time to think about your final two assignments…

---

Assignments

You have two video assignments to complete.

Assignment A

We want to see you teach the Part B (on the beach) of the beginner lesson. You are going to need at least one other person to act as your student (with paddleboarding gear), plus someone to film the process.

It is acceptable to use a prompt card. As with any part B briefing, remember to clearly explain and demonstrate what you are doing, and to be carefully watching your client(s) to ensure that they are doing and feeling exactly what you are telling them.

Assignment B

We want to see you take your client(s) safely on to the water, in Safe Position, and take them through basic safe position drills – all of which can be done close to the shore. Show them how to paddle properly, and turn in both directions, using a basic forward and reverse turn. Following successful completion of this initial part of the lesson, demonstrate how to stand up to your clients, and then get them standing up.

Video requirements

• The Part B video should clearly show yourself in full, plus your student.
• The Part B audio must be of sufficient quality so as to be able to hear what you are saying.
• For the second assignment, the video should clearly show everyone on the water. There is no need to zoom in close or to be able to hear perfectly what is being said, as long as the action can all be clearly seen.
• Video from mobile phone is absolutely fine, this does not need to be a professional studio project!
• The Part B video does not necessarily need to be shot at a paddleboarding venue (ie it could be in your garden!), but it will add authenticity. Ideally it would be best to have the same venue for both videos.

---

Submitting your videos

Once you’ve made your videos please submit them to us by any of the following methods:

• Email (if the file is of a sensible size to send this way) to supinstructorsnz@gmail.com
• Dropbox
• Wetransfer or any similar file sharing system
• Post it on youtube (or similar)
• Share it from Google Drive (not iCloud)

Whichever method you use, send us an email to supinstructorsnz@gmail.com with the details as to what you have posted and the link, and your username on this website.

This doesn’t have to be done right now, but must be completed in order to gain your qualification.

---

Assignment Small Print

The assignment process goes like this.

• Once we have received your assignment, we will review it.
• We will respond by email with a debrief of the assignment.
• If the assignment is satisfactory, it will be marked as completed.
• If it is not satisfactory, the reasons will be given in the debrief, and you will be invited to have another go at it.
• Once we have received your second attempt at the assignment, we will review it and debrief it.
• If the assignment is satisfactory, it will be marked as completed.

If the assignment is still not satisfactory, the process will repeat. You can take as many attempts as you need to complete the assignment, and each time we will give you feedback, and if it is still not satisfactory, a full debrief on what needs to be done to reach the standard required. However, there will be an additional $50 charge for each review, after the first two, to cover the reviewer’s time. This fee will need to be paid before any further assignments can be marked. Realistically though, multiple failing is an unlikely scenario. You may not get the assignment right first time, but with the feedback you then receive there is no reason why you shouldn’t be able to nail it second go.