The Perfect Coach

[Elmas]

Coaching is an important component of competitive sports.
Shooting competitively requires the acquisition of certain skills.

If , theoretically , I would like to start looking for a coach to help me refine my shooting and improve my scores. What should I look for in a coach ?
His credentials as an Olympic Medallist ?
His track record of people he or she has trained to perfection ?
His experience in related fields like Psychology and Physiology ?

His ability to help one overcome this resistance to trying new techniques and listening to advice ? (( we all know how men proverbially refuse to look at maps or take back seat directions while driving )) .
To be able to help others to take the leap of faith and keep focussed on the sights as the shots are released.
The confidence to know its a ten before the raise and hold . The belief in oneself and ridding one of the self doubt that spoils many a shot .

Here , in my part of the world , they speak well of Russian Shooting Coaches as the top people . They are only hired to train national team shooters and those taking part in International events. At club level ( my level ) its books , videos and one of the older shooters to advise and help first hand. Trouble is , those who shoot well may not know how to show others how they do it . Others just give you advice without demonstrating the level of skill themselves they are trying to teach .

I do not think that Online Coaching will help any but those who probably don't need it anyway as they are able to 'follow orders' and diligently apply the rules.

I confess to being surprised that most people on here shoot in the 570's and higher... I do know that after the 520's progress is painfully slow and hard .

Is there an easy Zen Way to shoot perfectly effortlessly ?

[David M]

The real question is " What do you want from a coach ?"

[Gwhite]

I will say that I've worked with several top level shooters who were lousy coaches. For many of them, shooting really well was natural & effortless. They had never struggled with the common issues us mere mortals deal with, and had absolutely no idea what to do to help overcome them.

I'd look for a coach who had trained a variety of successful shooters. I don't care if they can't hit the side of a barn if they can coach. You also need to find somebody you can work with. Some coaches are big on yelling at & belittling their students. If that works for you, fine, but a lot of students find it counterproductive.

[Elmas]

The real question is " What do you want from a coach ?"

First and foremost I would want him to impress me with his attitude and personality , to instill in me the required passion to suffer and work hard at the discipline and to take training and practice seriously , knowing that his knowledge and experience would result in tangible improvement to my technique and scores.

For if he failed to inspire the sort of confidence that would make me believe in his methods and apply them faithfully ( supervised and un-supervised ) then progress would not be made .

Fees for service are a two edged sword. On the one hand , if you pay for advice you are more likely to take it seriously. But on the other hand , if you felt he was doing it to earn easy money in exchange for hollow promises of dramatic changes ... that would remove the important element of trust and sincerity . Hence the vital importance of choosing the right coach.

[Pat McCoy]

If you do not have the passion, it cannot be instilled in you by someone else.

You can find the duties of a coach in many places on-line. Following is one of them: "Athletic coaches instruct and work with athletes to prepare them for competition. Coaches help athletes to play their best individually or as a team in sports such as football, baseball, basketball, hockey, soccer, rowing, tennis, and golf. They are experts on the rules, strategies, and techniques of their sports. Coaches must also know about sports equipment, physical fitness, and safety."

A coach CAN help you set goals, which can help motivate you.

[Spencer]

...They are experts on the rules...
...Coaches must also know about sports equipment...and safety.

Coaches knowing the match rules, sports equipment and safety - now there is a novel concept!

From experience as a range official at Olympics, World Cups, Regionals Championships, Nationals, etc. I can state from personal experience:
- A few coaches are up with the rules, AND make sure their shooters compete within the rules.
- Most coaches know the firearms/ammunition bits.
- But as for safety...

[Ramon OP]

I'm also looking for a pistol trainer in Belgium and it is proving very difficult. I contacted my fédération, the national sport federation and the ISSF without luck. The message was: get into the national team and then we will provide a coach. But how do I get there? Asking shooters in the national team has also been unsuccessful. Basically they say there are no coaches. I have told everyone that I'm willing to pay.

It was easy to find a coach in Spain that had trained the national and regional selection. He's a great guy and when I've been able to see him it was very helpful.

But a long distance coaching relationship has not really worked for me. I cannot travel to Spain now and there are many things that would be very easy to spot and talk in person that take forever or don't work at all via messaging, so we've stopped working together. The experience has been very positive and I've learned a lot.

If you know of anybody within 100km of Brussels, please give me their contact details :)

[Rover]

Poor Elmas: "I confess to being surprised that most people on here shoot in the 570's and higher."

In their dreams. I doubt if more than a handful can do it.

[Pheyden]

Hello Elmas,

I presume you are looking for some help and so a frank assessment of your situation will be seen in the correct light.

1. A good coach will have a more than basic understanding of the grounding principles of pistol shooting. This includes position, anatomical alignment, breathing, presentation and mental performance.
2. A good coach will design a program around the shooting process, and its perfection, and not necessarily purely on the outcome it produces.

Yes, this is a pretty broad description. It has to be, because if you believe that a coach will be able to spot that "magic bullet" item that will propel you past the 520 stage, it is simply not going to happen.

I will readily admit that I am not a coach, but I will also admit the items that have significantly improved my performance, particularly in competitions, that have been suggested by my coach and others. I have only been shooting competitively for 5 years, and my best 60 shot score is around 521. In January I celebrated my 70th birthday, so you can do the math when I started. I live in a rural area of Poland. There are some good coaches, less than an hour from my home, but even though I asked I have never been given the courtesy of even a return email. However, in speaking with friends it seems this coach only takes on a cadre of 8-10 junior girl shooters each year. The next coach is 2 hours away, so that is not a good situation either.

So what to do? Enter the Internet. After some searching I came across the Dina Aspiyanderova. She is a 3-time former olympian (Australia, Russia and Ukraine) and coaches National teams. She has the added benefit of being married to Anatoly Babushkin, the former Russian National Coach, who has coached manya shooter world-wide.

I needed help with shooting and she had an idea about doing coaching, using Skype, via the internet, which I could help her with. Aside from the synergies, her help and guidance has been significant. I know it is not a "usual" arrangement, but that is not a reason to dismiss it outright.

I looked back through my earlier postings and found that I had given this advice before. Oh well!

[David M]

"There are only two types of coach's, those that have been sacked and those that are going to be sacked."

A coach is not usually with you every time you shoot, they help with the basics and get you on your way, but at some point you take over with your hunger to improve, you start using many coach's as well as any other source of information you can find.
Get different opinions and ideas, try different things and learn the results.
After the basics, the best thing is a shooting partner or mentor, someone who you shoot with all the time, someone who knows how you shoot and can see changes, someone who will inspire you, so you can chase scores and results together, to compete with and feed your hunger to improve.
Use specialists for the details, match specific coach's, gunsmiths, movement coach’s, sport physiatrist’s, referees, books, videos, match footage, personal trainers and experienced shooters.
No one coach can do it all, all the time.

[Elmas]

David M

Thank you , what you say sounds good advice

Elmas

[Gwhite]

IF you can stop worrying about score and concentrate on technique, it will get better. You HAVE to be completely honest with yourself about what you are doing, and study every detail. A coach can watch you, look at the results, and GUESS as to what you may be doing wrong & how to fix it. They can't see the sights & target through your eyes, and they can't feel your grip & trigger. With care and enough study, YOU can be your "perfect" coach because you have access to information no other coach does.

Learning to shoot 10's is a feedback process. When you shoot a good shot (not just at random, but one that felt good, and was called good), stop and THINK about every subtle detail. How long did you rest beforehand? How quickly did you lift? When did you pick up your sights? When did you start your trigger squeeze? How long did you hold? How fast did you squeeze the trigger. What did the sights & target look like? How long did you follow through? etc. This will help reinforce YOUR shot process that delivers a good shot.

My guess is that you have a bunch of good shots (9's & 10's), and your score is getting dragged down by 6's (or worse). There's a big difference between shooting a 6 and a 10. You should be able to figure out what that different is (it's typically dominated by one specific lapse in your shot process), and then train to correct it.

Every shot is an experiment. Call and scope every shot and analyze & think about the results. Even if it was a good shot, was your shot process perfect, or could it be better still? Take notes! Write down what works, and what needs work.

No coach is likely to turn you into a world class shooter overnight. It takes hard work, and a lot of thought.

[yana]

Here in the Netherlands, we have different levels of coaches;
Basic trainers, for beginners and beginning match shooters
A level: for (more) experienced match shooters
B level: for top level shooters etc
The basic knowledge (technique etc) is about the same. The higher trainers do more in training plans, etc
There are quite some basic trainers here spread all over the country. Many gunclubs have 1 or more.
I think whats essential in a coach:
- qualified and up to date
- being able to pass the message
- someone who is patient
- somebody you feel comfortable with/have a click with
- someone who can motivate and support you and help with issues and questions

The trainers own shooting capabilities are imo, not important. Experience is extra but not always required. Experience can be compensated with extra knowledge.

Sportpistol.com, you may try the dutch shooting federation (knsa.nl) and ask them whether there's a coach near the belgium border if yr willing to travel. (or the coach is willing to)

[Elmas]

IF you can stop worrying about score and concentrate on technique, YOU can be your "perfect" coach because you have access to information no other coach does.

Every shot is an experiment.

If one is one of those 'suggestible' personalities , ones that can be hypnotized and there are many , then the perfect coach could be the Hypnotist Coach .. He would put you under and say things like : " You will align your sights perfectly and lock your wrist on the perfect alignment , and you will raise your pistol and once you are in the aiming area and there is only a minimum arc of movement , you will watch the sights as the shot is released by your subconscious and only wake up from your trance at the end of the follow through " .

Wishful thinking ?