DO YOU NEED A COACH? (AND IF SO, WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH ONE?)
In professional sports such as football and basketball the role of the coach seems to be crucial to the performance of the team. But in an individual sport such as shooting, where there is nothing complicated about turning in a world class performance, do we put too much emphasis on whether we have a coach or not?
I’d like to make it clear from the outset that the last thing I want to do is belittle the often thankless task of coaching shooters. There are lots of tireless workers out there who give freely of their time to help others. I hope to discuss firstly what a coach’s role should be in our sport, and how we can make use of him when we are lucky enough to find one.
I’ve often heard it said, “…and I’ve never had any coaching!” Sometimes as an excuse for a below-par performance. Other times after a good performance, but the emphasis being how well he would have shot IF he had been coached. In many cases it seems to have become something of a fixation. That pasture on the other side of the fence, surely clover couldn’t get that green without a little helping hand? Well, many things will make grass green, and not all of them are helpful to your own shooting performance.
What Do You Need?
Beginner: For the first stage of our shooting career some guidance on stance, shot production and technique are very necessary. Most of us find it by reading books, by asking fellow shooters or even by trial and error. At this stage a coach is worth his weight in gold, since instilling good habits in the beginning will mean no bad habits will have to be unlearned in the future.
At this point I can’t stress enough how much patience is needed by a coach instructing absolute beginners. Young males, almost without exception, are convinced that shooting a gun is a skill they were born with. It becomes apparent the moment you start giving the basic instructions, the eyes glaze over and the guy is thinking to himself, “I don’t need to listen to this bull, I know what I’m doing!” The problem is compounded if he has brought his wife or girlfriend, as she will have no such preconceived notions and immediately start to outshoot him. When this happens his bruised ego will make doubly sure it’s the last time they go to a shooting range. Avoiding this familiar pattern takes a great deal of tact and people skill.
Intermediate: If we are to progress as shooters we need a certain amount of encouragement and a fresh perspective, if only to stop us from stagnating. In a practical sense, the skills needed to shoot a ten are well known. But sometimes we get so tied up in the details we forget the big picture, or we lose sight of the basics because we’re too concerned about the outcome. These “prompts” can be supplied by anything or anybody, in fact sometimes the shooter can wake up to his mistakes simply by talking about his performance to another shooter.
The vast majority of us are in this group. A competent coach can be invaluable at this stage, even if only to discourage over-complication of the game. This is the stage where shooters can become obsessed with adjusting triggers, changing pistols, endlessly testing ammunition or searching for that mythical “secret” to shooting. Eventually the light goes on inside the head and everything becomes clear. So that’s what they mean by holding the sight formation and squeezing the trigger until it goes off – all by itself!!!
Advanced: This is the stage where the shooter has the physical skills needed to shoot to high performance levels. The mental game becomes extremely important. Depending on the personality of the individual shooter will dictate how much moral and technical support he needs. Most shooters are highly self reliant and independent – not surprising as shooting is such an individual sport – and these people can resent even well-meaning offers of help. Any coach who wishes to work with elite shooters must have exceptional communication skills and be able to judge the correct approach in order to get a message across.
In fact the best communicators are those who know a lot more than they are willing to reveal. A great coach is able to sit and talk quietly with his shooter and simply ask him questions. These questions are really prompts. By asking the right questions the coach will draw out the solution that is already forming in the shooter’s head, and because it seems to be his own idea he will have no problem in wholeheartedly implementing it.
Motivation
Before deciding if you need a coach you should first assess how far you want to go with this sport. What are your medium and long term goals? Will you be pleased enough to become a skilled precision shooter? Will you never rest until you hear your National Anthem being played as you’re presented with the gold medal? Or will that merely be the start?
Obviously it’s impossible to know when you start out, but as time goes on you will formulate your own vision of where you want your shooting career to go. Do not for a moment think that you could not achieve the highest levels. Anybody of reasonable fitness can achieve amazing things in shooting – the more determination and application, the better the results will be. Unlike other sports where natural ability precludes the majority of the population (I don’t believe any amount of work would have ever made me a sub 10 second 100 meter sprinter or a world champion swimmer), shooting provides a far more level playing field where mental discipline, not mere beef and brawn, make champions.
Having well defined goals is very important as it gives an idea of the commitment you will be willing to make. Should you decide to go all the way, it will be quite considerable. And this commitment will also affect your friends and family, so it’s not something to be taken lightly. It will also affect your attitude towards whoever you would accept as coach or mentor.
Being such an individual sport we often don’t play well with others when criticized, so remember that you won’t always hear what you want to hear. Neither should you, as a good coach can provide a welcome reality check every once in a while. Whether the message gets across depends a lot on the next stage.
Finding a Coach
There are two extremely important facets to any coach-shooter relationship. Mutual respect and complete honesty. Everything else is of secondary importance. If you have both of these there is no problem you won’t overcome.
Oho, I hear you say! What about technical knowledge? What about practical experience? Both are apparently important, but think for just a minute. If you have a brilliant technician who can tell what is wrong with your stance or position simply by watching you shoot (and I have seen such people) he will waste no time before telling you how you should alter your shooting technique. A platform that you have trusted for almost your entire shooting career, that may have taken you to State and maybe even National titles, and he insists you are doing it all wrong! He may well be right, but unless he can communicate the concept with some tact (which is where the respect is so important) the shooter will have no intention of taking his suggestions seriously.
You may find a retired world class shooter who is willing to lend a hand. Never turn down such an offer, but don’t become too involved if the two key elements aren’t there. Some shooters are able to give fantastic insight into what it’s really like to compete at the top level, and it’s a comfort to know that your coach understands just how much pressure you’re under in a major Final. Other shooters are not so adept at communication, and if their temperament is completely different to your own you may as well be speaking different languages.
Even an inexperienced coach can have the respect required to listen to your problems, and in turn will encourage your respect by keeping to the same wavelength and make some attempt to solve them. Honesty means he will have no problem in admitting he doesn’t know the answer. BUT he will make every attempt to find not one, but several solutions. You then become a partnership in problem solving, which boosts your own self confidence because you are part of a successful team making tangible progress.
What If You Don’t Find One?
Don’t panic. You will be, after all, in the majority. And plenty of world class shooters won gaggles of gongs without one-on-one tutorage. The worst thing you can ever do is believe you’re at a disadvantage when you just might be better off alone.
So make the most of what you do have. Any shooting companion might become a training partner. A sounding board for kicking around ideas about how your technique might be improved. Frank discussions on the range will doubtless help as voicing your thoughts encourages you to think more deeply about what you are doing. Your fellow shooter might be more or less experienced than yourself, it really doesn’t matter. What is critical is sharing these thoughts with somebody who understands your particular problems – and let’s face it, we don’t bother talking about these things with non-shooters as it would be like describing colors to a blind person. There is comfort in seeking counsel from a kindred spirit.
Remember, this is a simple sport. Get the basics right and the scores will look after themselves. We know what we have to do to shoot a ten. Most every problem we face in competition can be said to be (a) self induced and (b) well within our capability to correct before it becomes a major catastrophe. A good coach knows this and will be aware of the buttons to push (or the questions to ask) to make the necessary adjustment. But a competent shooter should be able to self-analyze and come to the same conclusion.
What Do You Not Need?
- You really don’t need a pep talk every ten minutes, in fact being reliant on somebody to give prompts is a sure road to disaster. You’re on your own on the line. Letting somebody else do all of the thinking while training could leave you high and dry when the real test begins.
- Inflexibility. This is a bad habit in a shooter, and can be a terrible trait in a coach. If he refuses to concede the possibility that his knowledge or teachings might be incomplete or (gasp!) wrong, you’re in for a rough time. Most of the challenges in our sport have several possible solutions. Limiting yourself to one that has been selected by your coach, without even giving the others due consideration, will erode your confidence in time. Not to mention limiting your chances of long-term success!
- A gabfest. When discussing shooting technique many coaches develop an affection for the sound of their own voice. So they will talk, and talk, and talk. Problem with this is that somewhere in there will be something very important that you will miss because you have mentally switched off sometime during the second Act. With tact you may cure him of this by saying you have an attention span problem, and to keep it simple, short and to the point for your sake.
- Inflated ego. If you discover your potential coach has lots of bad things to say about other coaches, he repeatedly tells of former students who have gone on to greater things because he coached them as juniors twenty years ago, and doesn’t cope well when you question any of his techniques, you’ve probably got to ask whether he’s interested in your shooting career or his self-image.