FCE 1
A practical foundation for coaches learning how to see, understand, and coach freestyle paddling.
📅 Dates: 21–22 February 2026
📍 Location: Thames Weirs, UK
🧑🏫 Course Lead: Coach Jacko
🎯 Style: Supportive, nurturing, and confidence-building.
Focused on developing capable, thoughtful freestyle coaches through clear frameworks, practical tools, and guided application.
🧠 Coach Level:
Open to anyone with a genuine interest in freestyle coaching — from those at the very start of their coaching journey to highly experienced paddlers and world-class athletes looking to deepen their coaching understanding.
🛶 Type: Freestyle Coach Education — Level 1 (FCE-1)
👥 Spots Available: Maximum of 8 coaches
📦 What’s Included: Pre-course
• Two online pre-course workshops
• Full course resource pack
During the weekend
• Two full days of in-person coach education
• Guided on-water application
• Practical coaching tasks and learning design
Post-course
• Mentored coaching sessions
• Online tutoring and follow-up support
💷 Cost: £450
📌 Before Booking:
All prospective coaches are asked to book a short call with Coach Jacko before confirming a place.
This ensures the course is the right fit and gives you the opportunity to ask questions and understand how FCE-1 will support your coaching development.
Simply complete the enquiry form and we’ll be in touch to arrange a chat.
Course Format — Freestyle Coach Education 1
The Four Pillars of FCE-1
Freestyle Coach Education 1 is built around four core pillars.
Each pillar represents a key area that freestyle coaches must be able to see, understand, and work with confidently.
The course blends short classroom sessions with extensive on-water application, allowing coaches to develop these skills in real freestyle environments.
Pillar 1 — Seeing the Boat
This pillar introduces a clear, practical model for understanding how the kayak moves on the water.
Coaches work with the Trim · Yaw · Roll framework to learn how to:
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Diagnose boat behaviour
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Identify causes rather than just outcomes
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Understand how stability, control, and movement are created
This model underpins the entire course and provides a shared language for freestyle coaching.
Pillar 2 — Seeing the Feature
Freestyle coaching is shaped by the water.
In this pillar, coaches learn how to:
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Read freestyle features
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Recognise dominant forces acting on the boat
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Adapt coaching priorities as water levels and features change
The emphasis is on understanding how features shape what is possible — and why effective freestyle coaching must always respond to the environment.
Pillar 3 — Seeing the Paddler
This pillar focuses on the physical relationship between the paddler and the boat.
Coaches learn to recognise:
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Posture
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Trim
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Rotation
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Frame
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Dynamic Connectivity
The aim is to understand how paddler shape and movement influence efficiency, balance, and control in freestyle paddling.
Pillar 4 — Seeing the Coaching
Freestyle skills are complex, and how they are taught matters.
In this pillar, coaches develop practical tools for helping paddlers learn, including:
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Breaking down complex skills without killing movement
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Choosing effective tasks, cues, and demonstrations
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Avoiding common traps in freestyle coaching
The focus is on clarity, sequencing, and decision-making — helping coaches support real freestyle progression.
How the Pillars Are Applied
Each pillar is explored through a combination of discussion, observation, and guided on-water application.
Coaches are supported to:
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Observe paddlers with purpose
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Make informed coaching choices
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Test ideas on the water and reflect on the outcome
The goal is not perfection, but better seeing, better decisions, and better freestyle coaching.
What's Included FCE 1
PRE-COURSE
Two Online Pre-Course Workshops
• Introduce how the course will work
• Set shared language and expectations
• Provide background and context for
the FCE approach
Course Resource Pack
• Models and coaching aids
• Key frameworks used throughout the
course
• Materials to support learning before
and during the weekend
The Weekend
Two-Day In-Person Coaching Course
• Interactive classroom sessions linked
directly to on-water activities
• Building and developing a practical
freestyle coaching knowledge base
• Guided observation and coaching
practice
• Supported learning in real freestyle
environments
• Group discussion and reflection to consolidate learning
Post Course
Mentored Coaching Sessions
• Two mentored coaching sessions within 12
(typically 4 hours) months of the course
• Observation, feedback, and guided
reflection on real coaching practice
• Support focused on continued development
as a freestyle coach
Online Tutoring & Follow-Up Support
• Ongoing dialogue with Jacko
• Space to ask questions and refine
coaching decisions
• Continued support as your coaching
develops over time
Trim · Yaw · Roll Framework
A clear, practical model for understanding how the kayak moves.
Designing Learning Tasks
Move beyond drills and learn how to design tasks that support real freestyle learning.
Post Course Mentoring
Ongoing guidance to help embed learning, answer questions, and support continued development.
Reading Freestyle Features
Learn to see what the water is doing and how features shape coaching decisions.
Coaching Language
Use clear, effective cues that support movement without overload.
Pre-Course Workshops
Two guided online sessions to prepare coaches with language, models, and expectations.
Seeing the
Paddler
Understand how posture, trim, rotation, frame and dynamic connectivity work .
Guided On-Water Application
Apply coaching ideas through supported, real-world freestyle coaching scenarios.
Post-Course Sessions
Post-Course Mentored Coaching Sessions. Supported, real-world sessions supporting continued development.
Freestyle Coach Education 1 is designed for coaches who want to understand freestyle more clearly and coach it with confidence. The course provides practical frameworks, shared language, and guided experience that help coaches make better decisions on the water and support meaningful progression in others.
FCE-1 is not about copying sessions or memorising drills. It is about learning how to see — the boat, the feature, the paddler, and the coaching choices that link them together — and using that understanding to develop capable, thoughtful freestyle coaches.
