Whenever I teach someone how to stand up paddleboard, I try to help them understand that it's more than just the paddle strokes. The water is dynamic, so we must be harmonious with it in order to maintain control and balance on the board. After I start off the lesson with the basic breakdown of forward and sweep strokes and make sure they know how to move the board, I then go into my Three Challenges. Regardless of the age or experience level of my students, they always complete the challenges with immediate results and come out more comfortable and competent on the board.
This is the third and final post in my Three Challenges series where I will break down challenge number three: The Pivot Turn.

3 Challenges That Will Make You a Better SUPer on Your First Day (2/3 Series)
Welcome back to my 3 Challenges Series. This is the second post in my three post series where I break down the 3 Challenges I use to teach beginners how to be more comfortable on a paddleboard. Last week I broke down Challenge #1, which was getting comfortable performing the neutral, staggered, and surfer stance on both sides. This week, we will move on to Challenge #2: Nose to Tail walks.

I love coaching. I've been a coach since I was 15 years old, and have since studied pedagogy within movement science, kinesiology, leadership courses, and exercise science courses that have added to my teaching repertoire. It's always fun to help people grow in a sport and develop a passion for being outside and being active. I have been an instructor at Rocky Mountain Paddleboard for two years now, and it's probably one of the best jobs I've had. With this job, I teach kid's camps as well as private lessons for people that want to get into SUP racing or whitewater.
I've developed a curriculum for myself that I use to progress my students. Whether my students are 8 years old or 50 years old, I use my "Three Challenges" on day one and I see immediate results. By the end of my two-hour lessons, a lot of my students can execute a pivot turn and the athletic ones can perform a buoy turn, which are some of the more "flashy" moves you can do on a paddleboard. Here's how I do it: