The Coaches paradox

[wingate_52]

Bald Eagle, once again a simple statement, or three ring true. An easy way to work out what is happening and why.
I spent the morning with Morphymick at Wigan. No pressure on me to do well, so all was going well until all my shots started going left . The cause, a left handed lady archer standing on my footmarkers, moving them in two planes, easily sorted out, but 6 arrows almost gone to waste. Lesson learned. Then I was 6 arrows down on the other 3 archers on the target. A mistake in scoring had led the judge to strike off 6 scores. They were re-enstated, but a little off putting. Keep calm, think good thoughts, don't start shouting or complaining. This will make me always log my scores independently in the future. Learn your lessons and put them in your quiver of experience for the future.

[Thunk]

The trouble is, most coaches are also active archers. At a club shoot, even if it's only a routine one, you end up asking them to stop shooting themselves and help you with your own problem. Very often (particularly to a novice) this seems like an imposition.

I suppose if a club is particularly blessed with coaches, they could organise a rota where one is not shooting and therefore available soley for coaching and help. But if there are only one or two, it becomes difficult.

Personally I would love a coach to offer to come and sort me out - heaven knows, I could do with it!

[Bald Eagle]

Well said Thunk, I am an "active" coach, I shoot M.B. I don't shoot indoors, rather do field in winter, I can honestly say I've never shot a round for years on club nights outdoors because of assisting archers with their problems, I'm not moaning, I love it, I've got a lot out of this sport and if I can help put something back I will. I get quality practice at outdoor comps!

[Badger]

I'm afraid that it all boils down to working with one archer at first....letting others see the improvement that one archer ismaking and then the pleas come in thick and fast when they see someone 'catching up' or even 'taking over'!
Make yourself available, advertise in the club that you are a coach willing to help improve their shooting and you'll be surprised at the response.
Make sure that the work you do is documented, precise, planned with the archer, and work in little steps.
Look at the basics, analyse areas to improve and work from there.
Hope this helps
Badger

[Cakemeister]

I think the problem that Furface is facing, i.e, not enough people wanting coaching, has a lot to do with the make up of our club- you tend to get 'core' archers shooting through the winter who are very into their own thing, and beginners don't seem to want to shoot indoors apart from one or two. What's likely to happen this year for us is that we raise the awareness of the existing membership in terms of what's going on, as we've got into too much of a cycle of beginners/join/ shoot the summer/disappear.

[doubletop]

id love some coaching especially for my lads as any help is appreciated and another pair of eyes is always useful for spotting little faults/habits you dont even know you are doing
however i have heard several times that that once you become a coach your own shooting suffers (both on here and at my club)
i imagine for a coach you are stuck between a rock and a hard place as when you first qualify you want to help people but the more you help the more want help until you dont get to shoot because you are to busy helping people and if you only get one shooting session a week then you dont want to lose your shooting time.
my sympathy to all coaches

[Meddler]

Originally Posted by doubletop

i imagine for a coach you are stuck between a rock and a hard place as when you first qualify you want to help people

I would have said that that was one of the reasons for going into coaching in the first place.

Originally Posted by doubletop

but the more you help the more want help until you dont get to shoot because you are to busy helping people and if you only get one shooting session a week then you dont want to lose your shooting time.

Unless you happen to be in a club where there are two or more coaches. The club I used to shoot for in Welwyn Garden City (hello Howard Bowmen), were lucky. At one point I think there were six coaches. We organised rotas amongst the coaches. On one occasion I suggested to one overworked coach that he had a signal to others, ie like wearing his "coaching hat" (or a t-shirt with "I am not coaching, I am shooting").

It all depends on where you are on the competitive front.

Oh and as a word of warning... Speaking as a tutor on coaching courses, it is not generally a good idea to turn up on a coaching course and say you have come on the course to improve your shooting when asked "what do you think you will get from the coaching course"...

[Sponge]

One way of dealing with this would be something I have seen at Bracknell Ski Slope.

On a Tuesday night, for about the same price as normal open skiing, they run a "Technique" session. All levels are welcome and people just ski. There is at least one coach who will comment on anything that they are seeing and will advise particular exercises. The session is not structured, you can stop at any point and no-one pushes you to do things you don't like. It's not a formal lesson so there are no goals or targets to attain, just whatever you want to put in and get out.

By attending the session, you are expecting to be coached. Those who don't sign up for it just free ski and are left to their own devices, sharing the same slope at the same time.

Why not set up 3 booses at 30, 50 and 70 at a fixed time and tell anyone that shoots those bosses that a coach will be there and will advise. Anyone else can shoot on other bosses without someone commenting. Would be a good way of getting beginners to continue without formal lessons since they could shoot on uncoached bosses if they just want to practice. I also allows good shooters to just drop-in for a bit of help.

Sponge.

[SLOWHAND]

I consider myself to be very very lucky, I shoot at the same club as Bald Eagle and the vast amount of help and encouragement he (and Mrs.Bald Eagle) has given me over the past couple of years have been fantastic. I remember when I broke my first European record he and his wife were the first people I ran to with the news (they were shooting at the same tournament). We celebrated with a glass of wine and a plate of fish&chips!!
A good coach who knows what they're talking about and can explain it in an understandable way is very rare.

[not dead yet]

Originally Posted by Furface

Last week I turned up expecting to run a "Coaching " session where Coaching is available to those what want it. One archer turned up to shoot. When no one else arrived, I offered to work with him on anything he liked, but he said he knew all his own faults by himself, thanks.
So, a question. Coaches are told not to approach archers with advice or offers to "help". Most archers at my club say they're not interested in being coached, often because they believe it doesn't help. So no opportunities to demonstrate that coaching does help. How do others break this circle?

i learnt the same way, if they dont ask they dont get, if they dont shoot rounds at the club they dont get, if they are social archers that aren't doing any damage to them selves they dont get. we do have 5 coaches and i still shoot to a good standard. so basically unless they are getting out and about, they dont get coaching from me. lol offer help, if they dont want it, let them get on with it.