4 Star Training - 13 Nov 2005

Here is Grant's report of the event which Grant, over L3 Inland Coach organised, on the lower Taff, from Radyr weir down to Llandaf rowing club.

"Participants = Rob Green, Matt, Andy Peate & Grant 
Phil Davies turned up but after looking at his personal kit & experience we decided this
was possibly a bit ambitious given the water level (med - high)  That said,each participant laid out their equipment to see if it matched the kit list on the syllabus.  Andy P was closest with Matt needing a lot more kit.
Participants arranged the shuttle and a warm up/stretch. After agreeing signals and action in the event of a capsize we set off and covered the following:
1. forward and reverse ferry gliding - each participant did a ferry glide while the 3 watching focussed on their body, blade or boat and provided feedback on angle of attack, edge, body forward or back etc
2. break ins/outs - started with the absolute beginnning (edging the boat) then paddling across eddy line, then eyes shut, then looking down river to initiate turn.

This worked very well and gives the coach lots of time to spot things and make suggestions - eg leaning forward during a reverse ferry glide to stop the back of the boat catching.

After this each participants led for a section of the river, playing follow my leader to practice what we'd learnt.  Half way along we stopped for throwline practice - the amount of improvement over the session reflected how much scope for improvement there was!  Lots of practice needed here!
Then surfing small waves which was fine - well done. 
Matt had a good suggestion for getting to the top of the eddy by aiming to break out above the start of the eddy.  He then led an exercise/demo that really helped to
show how this could be done.  Afterwards Andy went off breaking in and out with lots more confidence than before.

Feedback - all 3 candidates have a good chance of passing the assessment - well done  Matt's interest in coaching is really coming through - as shown by the breaking out exercise he used.

Highlight of the trip - Rob Green paddling aggressively across the eddy line when breaking in with his eyes shut - conclusion - next time you break in shut your eyes Rob.

So, lovely day and thanks to you all for the trip - regards, Grant."