What's the next step after my Paddlesport Instructor? This is the very question I asked myself nearly two years ago…..

Hi there, I’m Kamron Hardacre, one of Paddle Scotland’s Young Ambassadors. A little background about me before I start. I’m 17 and live in central Scotland, I’m a coach at Port Edgar Watersports in South Queensferry and I started studying Adventure Performance Coaching at UHI Fort William in September. As far as paddling goes, I started paddling when I was 8 years old. I gained my Paddlesport Instructor qualification when I was 14. I split my time on the water between white water kayaking and sea kayaking but will happily spend time in any craft or environment as long as I am on the water. 

Why do I love paddling? 

There are two main things I love about paddling, the people and the places it takes me. I have met some amazing people through paddling and made some lifelong friends. 

Where did my coaching journey begin? 

That’s a good question. I first did my core coach training at Glenmore Lodge, July 2022. It was actually Lara Cooper (Paddle Scotland Development Manager) who reached out to me and told me about the course, and I’m quite glad she did. Going into the Core Coach training I thought I was far too young to even think about doing a Coach Award. But at the same time, I was looking for the next steps after doing my Paddlesport Instructor. 

After the weekend of Core Coach training, I started thinking about what's next. Then I booked myself onto a discipline specific training with Adam Burns in October 2022, in my case I chose to do SW canoe and kayak. During the weekend with Adam I learnt a lot about finding out the needs and end goals of the paddler and how to get them there, using different coaching techniques over multiple sessions, and building the sessions round the paddler.

After that weekend I knew my assessment was something that I wanted to do. Between doing my DST and sitting my assessment, I continued to work part time at Port Edgar Watersports, as well as being in school. While working at Port Edgar, this allowed me to practise my coaching skills while on sessions before sitting my assessment. Once I felt ready, I booked a date with Adam to come down and do my assessment, passing the assessment in May 2024. 

Overall, the whole process of getting qualified start to finish was a very well laid out process, with lots of support available through it. After leaving school in May, I worked full time at Port Edgar over the summer. This has allowed me to put this award to use doing everything from summer camps to 1:1 coaching. 

What are my plans moving forwards? 

I want to sit my Sea Kayak Leader assessment before the end of the year. I would also like to start to look at White Water Leader, eventually looking at doing my White Water Coach. I am hoping doing my degree in adventure performance coaching will allow me to secure a job in the outdoor industry, continuing to gain experience and qualifications - with the end goal of continuing to introduce paddlesports into people’s lives.