Essential. Introducing your clients to new turning techniques is a fundamental part of progressor teaching. It is also very possible that the knowledge and progression shown here will be different to what you encountered on your original instructor course.

This lesson looks at the sequence of turning techniques that can be taught to progressors, and will take about 35 minutes to complete. Teaching more advanced turning is an excellent way to improve your clients’ paddleboarding capabilities – it is a well-defined thing that they can learn, and feel that they have gained a new and valuable skill, that will increase their enjoyment of the sport.

This training video discusses:

• The sequence of turns to teach
  
• How to coach each of the various turns
  
• Refinements and adjustments to make them work even better
  
• The mistakes your clients will make
  

One point that we forgot to mention in the video. Once your client has got to grips with rudder turns and the drawing technique (ie taking the paddle over the nose) they will find them so much more effective that they’ll rarely need sweep turns any more. You should encourage this – get them using rudder turns and draw strokes wherever possible, and be sure to demonstrate them as part of your own paddling.

You will be expected to present a lesson on one of these turning techniques at your assessment, so we strongly recommend familiarising yourself with each style of turning and the various coaching points, and practicing presenting each one as an onshore ‘part B’.

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Check Understanding!

Do you understand:

• The sequence of turns that can be taught to progressors?
• The main teaching points of each type of turn?

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

Optional. As you have already been instructing for a while, you probably already understand the sort of clients you will be dealing with and problems you are likely to encounter. Look at the bullet points below and consider whether you need to refresh your knowledge on any of the topics covered here.

Unlike beginners, who all have pretty much the same requirements, progressors come in an almost infinite variety when it comes to needs and aspirations. This lesson looks at why this variation exists and the challenges it can sometimes cause.

This training video discusses:

• Who your clients are likely to be and where have they come from?
  
• What do they want to learn?
  
• Considerations from your side of the deal
  
• Issues & challenges that their goals may create

Understanding this stuff in advance makes it a whole lot easier to anticipate & plan your sessions. Teaching progressors is a whole lot more freeform than teaching beginners and thus a lot more interesting, and challenging in a good way! This is where the instructor:client relationship starts to blur as you get to know your clients better, and quite possibly you end up with new friends as well as happy customers.

There is nothing in this lesson that you will be specifically tested on at the assessment.

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Check Understanding!

Do you understand why:

• Progressor clients can come from many sources?

• Progressor clients will have many different aspirations?

• Working with progressor clients will almost certainly mean utilising more than one venue for your work?

• Working with progressor clients may require the use of some more advanced teaching equipment?

• From time to time you may end up having to tell a prospective client that you can’t help them?!

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