Effective coaching

I tell people I am coaching that shooters tend to try to force the gun go off when they have a proper aim and sight picture which is incorrect. I teach them to gently squeeze the trigger as the sights begin to come onto target, and if the gun does not go off when the sights are on target, to hold steady pressure on the trigger until the sights begin to come back on target and then apply more pressure on the trigger.

I tell them not to think about making the gun go off, but think first about observing the sights coming onto target and then squeezing the trigger and it should be surprise when the gun goes bang.

I have found that a laser sight is extremely useful for teaching this technique, especially if you can video the shooting.

Very similar concept to J-Bar's: don't jerk the trigger to make the gun go off, squeeze the trigger in a way that does not disturb sight movement.

Sometimes simple is better. If i were teaching marksmanship to someone dedicated to learning it, I'd go into the mechanics and detailed technique. For a novice who is just generally interested, your phrase makes perfectly good sense.

The key to effective instruction is to present the material in the way that the student grasps it most. Many instructors fail to grasp that concept. J-Bar hit it exactly... if one phrase, or picture, or example doesn't hit it, then keep trying different variations until you see the light go on.

Effective coaching isn't so much about a specific phrase, but understanding the different levels of shooters you are coaching. For a beginner one thing may move them forward, but telling the same thing to someone more advanced will be a waste of your time and theirs. Coaching requires observation and critical thought to solve a wide variety of problems depending on the level of shooter and the individual shooter.

Effective coaching isn't so much about a specific phrase, but understanding the different levels of shooters you are coaching.

Click to expand...

This.

As with anything, you'll have people who just pick it up intuitively, you'll have folks with aptitude that need a little bit of instruction on techniques, and you'll have folks who really struggle with concept and/or execution. Being a good instructor is about adapting your curriculum to meet the needs of the pupils, and being able to use analogies or draw parallels to things they are familiar with.

Have to do this all the time when I'm explaining what automotive repairs are needed to my customers. Some I can talk to in very technical terms, but for many, I have to relate the problem with their car to something they can actually understand. Of course, many of them don't care to understand, so long as it's fixed. lol.

The fastest way to get someone to put bullets where they want them is to tape a laser to their firearm of choice. Have them point the laser so that they light from it hits a particular place. This doesn't require being aligned with the sights btw or any kind of sighting in. Have them pull the trigger on their firearm trying to keep that dot in the same place during the whole pulling process. Of course snap caps may be called for to protect the firearm especially if it's a rimfire. I generally just use a spent .22 shell though. It protects the firing pin and the chamber of the gun.

They can quickly see what is making their dot move by practicing this technique. I used it myself and increased my accuracy a good bit. It's a good exercise for anyone and it can be done inside your living room as long as you are extremely careful about the situation. I wouldn't do it in an apartment or any place like that but it's safe as long as there are no live rounds used of course.

Have them pull their trigger a few thousand times watching what that red dot does as they pull. When they can pull the trigger and keep that dot perfectly still they will be ready to take the next step which is to ignore the noise and flash and kick of their firearm. But they will know the one most important thing about shooting which is how to pull the trigger without moving the gun around and off target.