Me…

Growing up my brother always described me as a surfboard when everyone else was an ironing board, I’m not sure this was meant to be a compliment but I definitely took it as one.

I grew up living next to the sea, taking part in a wide range of sports and outdoor adventure activities. I was never one to hold back, as I was reminded at the weekend when visiting my uncle, who’s earliest memory of me is from a family holiday in France, where at the ripe old age of 2, I decided I was going to give swimming on my own a go and leapt into the pool. Needless to say I didn’t take to swimming as fast as I had first hoped! However this didn’t put me off being in the water at all.

From as young as I can remember I have been sailing, skiing and hiking, with my Dad being a major influence on me. My love of the outdoors really came into play during my GCSE’s when, having to pick sports to be assessed in for PE, 3 out of the 4 sports I chose were classed as OAA and at A-Level PE all of them were. It was at this point I wanted to try and pursue these more and turn it into a career.

I decided to move to Sun Peaks, Canada for 5 months to train to become a ski instructor and then teach skiing at the adaptive ski school.  Here I decided that the outdoors was definitely something I could see myself doing in the future…

And that’s how I ended up here, a third year Outdoor Adventure Education student at Plymouth Marjon University trying to avoid the stereotypical ‘adult’ life for as long as I can.

In regards to what type of outdoor practitioner I am, I would say I have many different traits and change the style of outdoor practitioner I am depending upon the situation and the group I have in front of me. Having instructed skiing, kayaking, canoeing and sailing for many years, this has led me to become an Adventure Sports Coach (ASC). Grey and Collins (2016) explain that ASC’s definition is hard to define due to it encompassing so many elements, including, controlling themselves, participants, their actions as well as the environment. They later go on to say that being an ASC has a high level of technical skill in their chosen area, with Collins and Collins (2011) adding to that saying they need to be adaptable to meet the environmental demands. Another type of practitioner I believe I am is an environmental practitioner. Öhman and Sandell (2016) explain that there has always been a relationship between outdoor education and the natural environment, in its simplest form they explain that the connection is simply being in nature without polluting or damaging it. I find I naturally do this whilst being an outdoor practitioner by simply creating games, like making the children pick a piece of rubbish in the distance and then sail towards it, working as a team to retrieve it. Or, when working with adults, simply starting conversations about the environment and everyone educates each other. The last style I believe I use is reflective. Brown et al (2016) explain that a reflective practitioner would direct or steer their work based on reflection of their previous work. For example, if something went well repeat it otherwise change it to make it more effective. I find I do this naturally within my coaching or instructing to try and create the best sessions that I can.

Feel free to have a wee look around this blog to find out more about the strange adventures I get up to…