Stand up Paddle for the Multisport Coach and Athlete

If you have not in some type of media seen the likes of Laird Hamilton on what looks to be an oversized surf board while being paddled standing up right – you will.

What has taken shape in Hawaii, California, New Zealand and Australia  is the advent of another way to train and have fun with a very practical surf board design. If you have attended Ironman Hawaii or Arizona in the past couple of years you might have noticed stand up paddle boards have being used in water safety and to lead out the swim.

I have directed over 50 USAT Sanctioned training camps/clinics, all of which included open water swim elements. Some clinics had aquatic environments that are very complex like the Escape from Alcatraz Triathlon and some very basic like the Lake San Antonio swim for The Wildflower Triathlon. The one thing that stays the same when working with swimmers in an open water environment is water safety. When I would structure the water safety plan for open water swims it would always include a certain amount of coaches/water safety in the water with the swimmers and a certain amount of water safety in above water positions (kayaks, boats, docks, etc.) with rescue tubes, air horn, whistles, etc.

I have spent  a lot of time in the ocean surfing, swimming, paddling, surf rescue training, and doing stand up paddle (SUP) in California and all over the world. After starting stand up paddle in October 2008, I immediately thought, 'this is the best thing for multisport coaches to posses if you work with athletes doing open water swim work.' Keeping in consideration some open water swim environments might simply be to rough, but overall very practical.

When using a stand up paddle board, I compare it to a moving pool deck. For the first time, a coach can stand on top of the water in a non-motorized craft and communicate with swimmers in the water. The fitness benefits for the person using a SUP include:

• Great core workout
• Upper body strength shoulders, back and arms
• It is like standing on a balance board – great for micro/macro leg muscles, creating improved balance
• It is different and fun to see open water environments from this perspective. Improved comfort level in open water
• This is simply another smart way to cross train in multisport

Stand up paddle boards come in different lengths, such as 10 foot, 11 foot or 12 foot, with paddle length based on the person’s height. If you have a vehicle with a roof rack, you only need simple surfboard pads with straps that can be bought via the internet or local surf/kayak type shop.

So if you live in an area that allows for open water swimming and you are a multisport coach, this might be a very smart investment for your coaching business in 2009.

Allen recently worked with a group of triathletes and Olympic rowers in California.

Brent Allen is USAT Level II Certified Coach (since 2000). He resides in Carmel-by-the sea, Calif., and does numerous things in the lifestyle sports industry, which include race announcing/commentating, elite athlete industry business consulting/marketing and business development. He can be reached at brent.allen@earthlink.net.