Spotlight Story - Dan Corbett

Spotlight Stories

Club Race Coach & Sailor Dan Corbett

Daniel learned to sail and race at CAYC and has come through with a strong group from that club. Read on to find out how he got into coaching and what the future holds! New to race coaching, he also holds the RYA Dinghy Instructor cert, we caught up with him working in his home club, County Antrim Yacht Club (CAYC).

How did you get into coaching?

It was a natural progression for me, following on from getting my Dinghy Instructor qualification. I did the course because I want to help sailors the way I had been at CAYC.

Did anyone encourage you or help you into it?

My peers and my brother encouraged me, and I’ve been inspired by my own coaches like Luke McIlwane (Performance Programme (squad) Coach).

What do you love most about it?

Coaching sailors who want to be there! It’s great seeing their development and I get great satisfaction of giving back.

What do you aspire to do with your coaching?

I’d like to coach at a regional level, I would love to support sailors at a higher level or as they progress from club racing to championship level.

What about your own sailing – what’s your class of choice at the moment?

I’ve got a Wazp, so trying to get a handle on that. I’ve also been enjoying some big boat sailing, being a crew member on Elixir (a Corby 29) that’s a lot of fun. I’m always on the look out for new boats to sail.

I Interviewed Daniel on a day that he was receiving some mentoring support from the RYA Coach Tutor. We offer clubs who host a Race Coach level 2 course a follow up session to help bring on the coaches, in a real-life scenario! If you would be interested in this for your club please contact mary.martin@rya.org.uk.

How did you find the mentoring? Would you like this kind of support in the future?

I found the mentoring very helpful, James asked questions about the exercises we were using with our level of sailor that could cause problems. I wouldn’t have thought of myself and it has helped me to develop the skill to ask myself similar questions while running a session to ensure they are successful and useful for the students. I would be very grateful to receive the support again.

This is the first in a restart of our spotlight stories. We want to shine a light on the people in our sport, the roles they do and the opportunities in the sport too! If you have someone you think would be perfect to do a spotlight story on, then give us a shout.