Words & photos:
Rebecca Edwards
Rebecca Edwards
Lake Manager and
SUP Squad Founder
www.merseaboatinglake.com/activities/paddle-boarding www.facebook.com/merseaboatinglake
The Mersea Lakers SUP Squad
We are introducing Mersea Boating Lake’s up-and-coming SUP-er stars of the future! Meet the youngsters carving up the waters with their excellent paddleboarding skills. This group, aged eight to 16 years, spend hours on the water each week learning new skills, enjoying the social aspect of being part of a team, and generally falling in and having fun!
SUP Squad is in its second season, and the children have been on a fantastic journey during this time; considering half of the children who joined the club had never stepped on a board before, these guys have just shown an amazing will to learn a new sport and in turn have completely fallen in love with the sport, even teaching me a thing or two!
The weekly sessions are aimed at not only having fun but also learning water safety and also to offer children of all backgrounds the opportunity to be part of a team. These guys don’t just meet up to paddle; they have made friends for life and turn up each week to meet and chat with each other. Not only this, but it has also helped massively build their confidence.
The dynamics of the group may lead you to think they wouldn’t work with the mixes of ages, schools, and not knowing each other,. However, these guys have genuinely bonded and become excellent friends; they are also fortunate as they generally get to play on the water assault course after training sessions and for some, have started working part-time at the lake, they get to do little jobs helping look after and maintain the kit and they also get to share with customers their passion for water sports and what they have learnt.
We are very aware of the fantastic effects paddling has on your physical well-being, but even more so, we have noticed that the children coming together in the weekly sessions has helped massively with their mental well-being; the children regularly turn up and express how grateful they are to be getting on the water and having a break from school and everyday life. This has only inspired us to offer more children the opportunity to be part of this group. For the 2024 season, we already have a waiting list of around 20 children; we hope to train more staff to offer more sessions for these children to join the squad.
At the end of both seasons, we linked up with GBSUP and held a Junior race day; this has been great fun putting their skills to the test; competing is an excellent way to end the season, with prizes and a gathering afterwards. Sadly, we have not found many other children to race against in the south/east, and on both occasions, the children have felt a little disappointed that they cannot put their hard work to the test and race against other young supers from outside of our club!
We would love to reach out to other lakes and help them set up their junior race team, as these guys are the stars of the future, and we want them to maintain their excitement for the SUP world race scene and have more people to race against in 2024.
If you are interested in starting a junior team, we are happy to share all you need regarding letters, session plans and how to get started! These kids are our future, so let’s get them racing!
My top tips for coaching kids:
- The most important thing is making it fun! Children don’t want to feel like they are back at school, either. Some of the reason they come is for that break from school, so you don’t want mega strict rules and too much structure. If the children are on the water paddling about with a smile, then they are learning!
- Games, games and more games! Learning through games is the best way in most sports; when you create games, the children fully interact, and if you base the game on the skill you are trying to teach, they will learn it without even thinking about it.
- Keep up to date with what’s what in life, what’s cool (but don’t use the word cool) and what the latest trend is! Sounds crazy, right? Maybe. But if you can get on the children’s wavelength, you will find it is much easier to teach them; you can make yourself relatable, and then they will engage more!
- Make sure you paddle lots and test out your sessions before you teach them; this will keep your sessions flowing as you can see what obstacles and challenges they may encounter and work out how you can teach them to overcome them.
- Don’t be afraid to fall and be silly. The children love nothing more when you mess up a demonstration and end up in the water, so even if your skills are a little wobbly, don’t be afraid of teaching it to the children, if you are learning together not only will it help you, but it will boost their confidence if they feel that they can help you too.
Game of the month – Meerkats!
This is one of our favourite games at SUP Squad and is adaptable for all skill levels! You don’t need any extra equipment; you just need to set a paddle zone. You have four commands to listen out for whilst paddling around:
- Meerkats are hungry. Paddlers must kneel at the front of their board and splash their hands in the water as if looking for worms. The key is to move forward but not too much so you fall head first in.
- Meerkats are on lookout duty. This requires the paddlers to move to the back of their board with their noses in the air and stay balanced whilst looking around (our stages of a step-back turn).
- Meerkats are sleepy. This requires paddlers to get into a prone (laying) position on their board.
- Meerkats continue playing. This is back to a normal paddling position and used between commands.
Each action helps with the fundamentals of paddle boarding, agility, balance and coordination – moving through the actions. I have found this helps massively with learning the balance of your board in a step-back turn, as whilst playing the game and messing about with their friends, the paddlers don’t over think moving around on their board and quickly gain confidence. This game also works great when teaching adults.
Young paddler spotlight:
Logan is 15 and one of the older boys in our squad. He has come on a fantastic journey in himself over the two years I have known him. Logan’s skills on a paddle board are incredible, with amazing focus and desire to learn and improve. He has won Paddler of the Year two years running, going from a super shy boy who wouldn’t say much and who has never been on a board to now a very skilled paddler who pushes the limits of each new skill he learns and helps inspires and encourages others with his paddling enthusiasm.
This ability to interact and help others has allowed him to now work at the lake, where his role is maintaining and looking after the SUP equipment, helping and guiding customers on their paddle boarding journey and sometimes towing children and adults back who haven’t quite mastered the form of paddle boarding! His passion for paddle boarding has given him the confidence to talk to others and share the knowledge and tips he has learned over the last few years. He has shown excellent leadership skills, and we hope to put him through his coaching badges next year. We asked Logan a few questions about his paddling.
How long have you been paddling for?
I have been paddling for nearly two years, and I love it!
What do you enjoy most about SUP?
I enjoy the challenges of staying on the board, learning new manoeuvring skills, and spending time with my teammates.
What’s your favourite SUP memory?
My favourite memory is the sunset paddle. It was very magical! Oh, and winning Paddler of the Year for two years running!
What’s your best SUP boarding top tip?
My best paddleboarding tip is balance – and listen to your instructor!
How does SUP make you feel?
SUP makes me feel free, happy and relaxed. It has boosted my self-confidence, and I have become more independent and made some great friends.
Teaching children to paddle is vital to the success of our paddle future, and I hope that more people will take on the extremely rewarding role of getting these children on the water.
