A good coach....

[joetapley]

IIRC Toxophilus was the first non-fiction book published in English and has been 'in print' for the longest period so it gets into the Guiness book of records on two counts.

For those interested in an earlier view of archery:
The Archery Library

[Cakemeister]

I wonder if Furface has a first edition?

[Mick]

Interesting stuff, I've been shooting for five years, the last two at County level, and while I'm fairly happy with my progress to date I now feel I need a coach to get me to the next level. I wish I knew where to start looking for one, I'd spend in a lot of time and not a little money for the right coaching.
My take on this is similar to Barry's, I wouldn't have complete confidence in a coach that had never shot at a high level, by that I don't mean he/she must be capable of shooting a 1300 FITA now, but if they have never attained that level I don't see how they are going to get me there. I've heard all the arguments to the contary and I dare say there are many coaches that are capable of taking a student up to and above the level that they themselves shot / shoot at, but at the higher level I would want to see that my coach had been there and done that. I teach carpentry and joinery and in all the colleges I've taught at the criteria for the lecturer is that they must be qualified at a level higher than the qualification they are teaching. Of course when it comes to the higest level that is not possible but you must be equal to the course you're teaching ,the edge of the lecturer over the student (at the highest level) is experience. Seems logical enough to me. Of course there are highly qualified people that are poor teachers, not everyone can impart their skill/knowledge to others, but in the main if you've never been able to get there yourself it'll be a hard slog to show someone else the way.
Anyone meeting the above criteria who fancies the job please get in touch

[Little Miss Purple]

I am recovering today from a master class from Neil & Linda @ Bronte.

I have previously attended coaching sessions with a club coach and a county coach and was only told to watch my release (as in that was the thing I was doing wrong!).

My left hand grip has now changed, the way I hold my bow as I prepare my shot has changed, my stance has altered slightly and I have been shown how to stand up straight!!

As a result of these changes my head doesn't move as much (this will improve as I learn to stand naturally) and Neil has me getting more power from my bow - this in turn means my sight is now on the correct side of the riser and I can reach 80yds no problem!! My grouping also improved no end - even after a few hours shooting and feeling the muscles I wasn't using previously, my grouping was still mostly gold / red with 1 straying into the blue (60 yds).

I count my blessings as I have been very fortunate indeed to be lucky enough to receive this coaching from Neil & linda - I will endeavour to put their advice to good use - and go back for more punishment lol