TargetTalk

I have received my (Dutch) certificate as trainer for teaching the fundamentals of shooting (air and small bore) to athletes. Unfortionately this is all based on shooters age 18 and older. Nothing was tought to us about teaching juniors age 10 to 16 or 18 years of age. Very little is known about this in the Netherlands.
Who can give me advice on training methods for the juniors, keeping the juniors enthousiastic while training and keeping the training enjoyfull at the same time.

I would like to excange ideas and experiance.
Thanks,
Albert Thijsse
(The Netherlands)

Albert: Thanks for a good posting. If you will contact me directly, I may be able to help you with some info, etc.
Don in Oregon

Albert: Sorry, forgot me email: bawilli@attglobal.net

Don

I would look at the 4-H program in the United States as the first place to begin. Generally about 10% or less wish to go beyond the fundamentalsand get involved in competition. If you want a team of 10 then you need to teach the fundamentals to about 100 and so on.

Safe gun handling and the basics of marksmanship are worth the effort even if none wish to go beyond this.

Best thing is to keep things moving along so they stay focused. More shorter sessions are better than fewer long session especially at the 10-12 year old age range.

Albert wrote:I have received my (Dutch) certificate as trainer for teaching the fundamentals of shooting (air and small bore) to athletes. Unfortionately this is all based on shooters age 18 and older. Nothing was tought to us about teaching juniors age 10 to 16 or 18 years of age. Very little is known about this in the Netherlands.
Who can give me advice on training methods for the juniors, keeping the juniors enthousiastic while training and keeping the training enjoyfull at the same time.

I would like to excange ideas and experiance.
Thanks,
Albert Thijsse
(The Netherlands)

Keep it short. Keep it concrete/ specific. Get them shooting!
Then you can stop them, have them do or try something, then shoot again.
Mostly, the attention span is very short.
And they really came to shoot guns, didn't they?

Helen hit the X ring!!! They come to shoot. They will listen to you in order to shoot. Most will not come to hear a lecture unless they also get to shoot. The fastest way to kill their interest is to not let them shoot.

Helen wrote:Keep it short. Keep it concrete/ specific. Get them shooting!
Then you can stop them, have them do or try something, then shoot again.
Mostly, the attention span is very short.
And they really came to shoot guns, didn't they?

Thanks for supporting my thinking.
I've been coaching juniors for about 8 years. Initially I made the mistake of "talking" everything from safety, to technique, to attitude, to mental training, along with my own experiences.
Felt awful because I knew I wasn't reaching them. I don't have kids of my own, so I wasn't "getting it". Then after the 2nd night it was a big EUREKA!!
The WANT TO SHOOT!
Get them on the line as soon as possible, then they'll learn what you're trying to teach them.

Helen,
Thanks for your opinion. I would like to do some more excange of ideas en experience on the subject. May I have your email adress? You can conact me on:
albert.thijsse@dhv.nl

Albert

Hi Helen

I teach 4-H pistol and Archery. My goal for the very first session with a brand new group is to have them shooting within the 1st 45 minutes and preferably the 1st 1/2 hour. We don't shot a lot at the first meeting but we do shoot. Few (any? LOL) jrs. want an in depth discussion about the effects of barrel time as it relates to how the gun reacts to different grip pressure!!

Fewer words are often more effective. I had one jr last session that said something was wrong with his pistol it was shooting all over the place. Without any words I shot it three times and produced a dime size group a bit to the right of center. My words were, "Seems ok to me, focus on the basics and keep trying, some days are better than others."

The biggest mistake I see over and over with new instructors is trying to turn out a competitive shooter in a week or two, and in doing so overwhelm the shooter with information they just don't need at the early stages. Competiton is part of shooting not the other way around. All can benefit from knowing how to run, though few will go into track and field. Same is true for shooting.

Helen wrote:Thanks for supporting my thinking.
I've been coaching juniors for about 8 years. Initially I made the mistake of "talking" everything from safety, to technique, to attitude, to mental training, along with my own experiences.
Felt awful because I knew I wasn't reaching them. I don't have kids of my own, so I wasn't "getting it". Then after the 2nd night it was a big EUREKA!!
The WANT TO SHOOT!
Get them on the line as soon as possible, then they'll learn what you're trying to teach them.

In the US there are some programs that allow kids to earn little awards as they learn. In the NRA program that we use the kids earn a little award after shooting 10 - 5 shot groups and earning a minimum score for each group. As they progress the minimum score requirement rises. The program uses all 3 positions and I encourage them to go right to standing after shooting some from a rest to get the hang of the sights and trigger.

I think programs like this are very good since they give the kids incentives.

Helen said it first and is correct. I just add some specifics that we do.

1. We picked a curriculum for the classroom portion. We used the NRA First Steps program. The materials were inexpensive and useful. We also developed our own visual aids (lots of touchy feely stuff) and always keep an assortment of firearms for teh kids to inspect.

2. Each of our first four sessions is divided up with 45 minutes of class time then 1 hour of shooting. Then all shooting (in relays) after that.

3. Have a fun competition for the new shooters after they finish all the safety training. Give out little prizes (McDonalds gift certificates or hats).

4. Kids like to track progress and earn things - the NRA qualification system works nicely for this.

Lastly, we save about 20% return factor for youth wanting to continue to a more serious level. Will have to see if this continues.

Jim

JPM 20% is fantastic! what I find with many adults that love to shoot they believe they are doing something wrong if nearly all don't end up loving to shoot also. That just is not realistic. Some will but as your 20% number shows most (80%) won't, that is fine. Just keep at it year after year and enjoy the activity day by day.

If we all remember that even though we might have taken science in school and even enjoyed it most of us did not end up being scientists. You can substitute any activity you like for the word science and scientist and you no doubt get the picture.

Something you might try that works for us in adult retention is to have the adults shot as well, not as much as the jrs but at least a little. This is also a great time for the jrs to practice being range officers!

JPM wrote:Helen said it first and is correct. I just add some specifics that we do.

1. We picked a curriculum for the classroom portion. We used the NRA First Steps program. The materials were inexpensive and useful. We also developed our own visual aids (lots of touchy feely stuff) and always keep an assortment of firearms for teh kids to inspect.

2. Each of our first four sessions is divided up with 45 minutes of class time then 1 hour of shooting. Then all shooting (in relays) after that.

3. Have a fun competition for the new shooters after they finish all the safety training. Give out little prizes (McDonalds gift certificates or hats).

4. Kids like to track progress and earn things - the NRA qualification system works nicely for this.

Lastly, we save about 20% return factor for youth wanting to continue to a more serious level. Will have to see if this continues.

Jim

Hello JPM,
Greetings from one engineer to another. If you want to share your expertise, it will be greatly apreciated. Especially subjects like training aids, ways to learn them the specific subjects.
Can you give me the NRA First Step program? It must be very helpfull.
You can contact me on: Albert.Thijsse@dhv.nl
Thanks,
Albert (The Netherlands)

Three years ago in my freshman year of high school I came home and said I wanted to join the rifle team. The first day we met, we went over safety. That was fine with me. The next day the new shooters were paired off with the "veterans" and spent 30 minutes learning how to get into the prone position and shoot a little. The third day was offhand and the fourth day was kneeling.

My sophomore year had an additional day or two of lectures. All I wanted to do was to shoot again.


What I would suggest is a "quick" safety session the first day:

1) Always treat the gun as if it were loaded.
2) Keep the muzzle in a safe direction.
3) Keep the action open at all times exept while firing.


Then throw in some more safety the next couple weeks and keep reinforcing what has already been taugt.