Forty years in search of one less paddle stroke: a conversation with paddler, designer, coach and lifelong explorer, Aled Lloyd-Williams.

In this episode of the River Tiger Podcast, I finally sit down with someone whose influence runs through much of my thinking about coaching, learning and skill development: paddler, designer, coach and lifelong explorer, Aled Lloyd-Williams.  We wander through Aled's journey from teaching himself to kayak on the shores of Anglesey, to designing iconic sea kayaks such as the Romany, and more recently discovering new possibilities through stand-up paddleboarding. Along the way we explore learning through experience, designing for performance, the role of imagination, why the best coaches sometimes say very little, and what forty years of playing in the Swellies has taught him about water, flow and expertise.  This is a conversation about curiosity, affordances, design, and the joy of never quite mastering the thing you love. As Aled reflects, the water never lets you win, and perhaps that's exactly why we keep going back.  "If I can think for an hour and save one paddle stroke, then an hour's thinking is well worth it." – Aled Lloyd-Williams I first shared Aled's early influence on my thinking in this article. Developing skill part 1.  Listening to the elite. https://dynamics-coaching.com/coaching/developing-skill-part-1-listening-to-the-elite/