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- Sailing Games book.
Andrew Clouston is the National Programmes Manager at Yachting New Zealand, a role that sees him looking after yachting participation and development, as well as providing support to 126 clubs throughout New Zealand, with the support of four Regional Support Officers.
As part of his role, Andrew manages Yachting New Zealand’s school programmes, one of which is ‘Sailing… Have a Go!’, aimed at intermediate-aged children and funded by the Lion Foundation and Team New Zealand Trust.
“It’s a practical programme where we take up to 12 kids at a time, put them in a boat and take them out sailing. Most of these kids have never sailed before, so it’s pretty exciting for them to actually get out there on the water,” says Andrew.
Andrew believes, like many other coaches, that coaching kids (and adults alike) should include fun and games in order to keep them focused and interested. When coaching young people, he often found himself using games to keep sessions interesting and effective.
“A few years ago I was referring to a ring binder of over 60 games at Yachting New Zealand and it dawned on me that this resource was wasted by just sitting on the shelf. It had great potential as a published resource,” says Andrew. “After identifying the games that I had already used as a coach, and trying out others that looked like they would work, I began putting together a book of games for sailing coaches in New Zealand.”
“Both coaches and kids get bored with just doing drills, and playing a game adds variety and fun,” says Andrew.
It took over a year to put the book together and Yachting New Zealand published it themselves, printing 1,000 copies in total. One copy has been sent to every yacht club in New Zealand and further copies are available direct from Yachting New Zealand’s online shop at a cost of $16.99 including GST.
Although the design of the book is aimed at coaches of young teenagers (eight to fifteen years), it can easily be applied to everybody and will be a valuable resource for any coach or parent.
“I’d like to see it as one of those staple resources you’d find at every club, as well as every coach in New Zealand having one in their back pocket,” says Andrew.
