PETER HART MASTERCLASS
IN THE NEXT ISSUE, TO PREPARE FOR AUTUMN, HARTY TACKLES THE MASSIVE SUBJECT OF HOW TO TAKE THOSE FIRST STEPS INTO WAVE SAILING – WHAT KIT DO YOU NEED
OR CAN MAKE DO WITH? WHAT ARE THE RIGHT CONDITIONS AND THE ESSENTIAL SKILLS TO GIVE IT A GO? HIS FUTURE CLINICS ARE WORRYINGLY FULL, BUT YOU CAN CHECK
SPARE SPACES BY GOING TO WWW.PETER-HART.COMFeedback – make yourself available
Now we’re getting to the nub.
As Darwin famously said: “It is not the strongest of the species that sur-
vives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
Those who get least from coaching are those most resistant to change - the
‘uncoachables’ as I call them.
What all trainers and sports scientists now agree on (finally!) is improve-
ment comes not from the bland repetition of an action but from ‘deliberate
practice.’ That means attempting a skill, getting feedback, tweaking it and
going again. Repeat as many times as necessary (i.e. forever). It’s a tough,
gritty process.
The crucial part of that sequence, is of course, the feedback. With that in
mind, you the student have an important role.
Immediacy
The quicker you receive feedback, the more relevant and useful it is. That
means 2 things. Firstly practising with the coach at a spot or in a way where
instant feedback is possible – for example where the wind blows all the way
into a shallow shore and where you can perform and then stop easily and
chat. Or by having access to two-way headsets, which are brilliant.
And secondly, YOU have to make yourself visible and available. Those
who get the most out of the session are the camera hogs, the ones that
constantly perform right in front of the video and the coach; who do NOT
hunt the horizon but who do short runs and put in as many attempts at
whatever skill they’re working on as possible.
Conversation
You gybe around me. It was OK but you sheeted out and dropped your hips
back. But before I offer corrective advice, I want you to start the conversa-
tion and tell me what you felt happened because what you say informs the
feedback. If you start by saying that you tried to sheet in but got opened
up by the sail, it could be a setup issue. So I have a go on your gear. Sure
enough it IS really hard to sheet in. The downhaul looked OK but it tran-
spires you have the sail set on too stiff a mast, which stops it twisting and
breathing. It was your feedback that unearthed the problem. We’re back to
the two ears and one mouth theme – make sure the coach lets you speak.
And if ever you doubt your setup, encourage him or her to hop on your kit.
“A COACH WHO ASKS TO HAVE A GO ON YOUR
GEAR, IS ON THE RIGHT TRACK. YOU CAN TELL
SO MUCH ABOUT PEOPLE’S PERFORMANCE,
GOOD AND BAD, FROM THEIR CHOICE OF KIT
AND SETUP.”
To sum up – it’s NOT about the money
My friend James is a maths teacher at a private school. The fees are so
heart-stoppingly steep that the parents expect results. He says it’s quite un-
nerving the way people, especially those who inhabit a brutally commercial
world, view teaching as transactional. Here’s a few thousand quid, now hand
me back my more intelligent and higher achieving child. As he is at pains to
point out, he can only make little Alfonse better at maths if he wants to be
better and is prepared to put the work in.
Similarly in windsurfing, the “here’s a couple of hundred of quid now
where’s my planing gybe?” contractual approach doesn’t work either. He can
only help you help yourself. The coach is your mate – not a contract worker!
I’ll leave the last word to RRD sail designer, pro rider and coach John
Skye, who offers his opinion on the matter.
“The most important thing when being coached is to have an open mind
and actually try to do what you’re told. I have had stubborn people that think
they know more or know better or have things so preset in their head that
they struggle to move forward. On the flip side, those people that are open to
new ideas and do exactly what you tell them often advance at crazy levels. So
it’s really very simple... if you are going on a coaching course, go there to be
coached! We had a guy on one of our courses who wanted to learn to forward
loop but he couldn’t even sail in a straight line and do a straight jump. It was
terrifying watching him completely unsettled, snaking around out of control,
flying towards a wave and just throwing himself over the front without really
taking off. We first got him to practice blasting fast in a straight line and then
practice doing straight jumps. But he completely ignored everything and just
carried on chucking himself into death loops. The worst thing was that be-
cause he sort of got around one loop (it was a crash into waterstart away), in
his head he felt even more right to ignore us and proved to himself he knew
best all along!!!”108 JULY 2019
No one improves unless
they feel secure, nurtured
and are having fun – the
group makes for the best
security blanket of all.
PHOTO Hart Photography.