Do our students know how to practice?

If they aren't practicing don't assume they are lazy, they may not know how to practice what you've taught them...

Love this statement! I found this sentence on a educational website for classroom teachers and thought it could be applied to our profession. Think about that statement for a second. How many times do we get a student that comes back a week later and you chat with them and learn that they haven't practiced at all... Often times we decided that it's lack of time dedicated, effort, and/or even laziness on our students behalf. Well, what if it is our fault? What if we haven't explained the material or desired results in a way that our students will UNDERSTAND and KNOW the information? What if it IS our fault? So often I hear teachers complain about their students not getting better, not achieving goals they've set for the season, not able to comprehend why a student doesn't understand why the ball goes places off the clubface, etc. Is it our student's fault? I have taken many lessons from various teachers, good and not so great. I like to practice, I like to work on my game, but if I am going to put in the time, I HAVE to know how! Golf instruction has changed significantly in the last 10 years. Things I was told when I learned golf are incorrect now. Explanation's on what the club face and path do to the ball are clearer (at least to some) but we still see lack of practice from our students. So do our students know how to practice? Are you an instructor that can say your students want to practice? Are you willing to look into what you do now for them and find ways to motivate them? Are you providing information and drills that will ignite a passion for practicing? I have been working on my communication to my students so that they "know" how to practice.

Things I have done/suggestions to encourage practice:
- find out what way they are motivated (games, drills, goals, scores, stats, visual)
- create a way for them to practice using how they are motivated
- clearly show the drill to them and ask them to recreate for you or "teach" it to you
- give them a clear picture of the desired outcome
- make sure you know what they are trying to achieve
- compromise or explain how what you are asking them to change will get them to their desired goal
- make it fun!
- if I see them at the club working on their game, I stop by, check in and encourage
- I practice - interesting concept, but my students see me working they know I stand by what I share with them

"getting better at getting better"

Helping our students retain information

How many of you that teach often find yourself repeating the same lesson with your students? In my experience I have found it be very frustrating for me when I have the same beginner golfer come back each week and they have retained nothing I have shared with them. In my early years of teaching I used to think it was on my student to "want" to get better, to listen to me, to remember what I shared with them, and the way I shared it with them. I don't believe this anymore! I am the teacher, I have the information they are looking for and it is my responsibility as their instructor to share the information in a way they (a) retain the info (b) have awareness of the info
Retention -
the continued possession, use, or control of something.
the fact of keeping something in one's memory.
the action of absorbing and continuing to hold a substance.
Awareness -
knowledge or perception of a situation or a fact

In order for there to be retention and awareness you must be able to communicate the information in a way that they as a student have a understanding of WHY and HOW. Two very important words in any teaching/coaching position! Now there are so many ways to see how your students "learn" and the 3 most common are visual, kinesthetic, verbal. These 3 are the "easiest" ones to diagnosis quickly. You can dive deeper into how people learn just by spending some time googling words related to communication. I have started to get into learning about NLP learning (fascinating).
Ok, let's get back to retention. I have found one of the best ways for my students to retain information is for me to ask questions. Carefully ask your questions... I say this because there is a very fine line between asking your student questions about what they have learned and having your student feel "stupid" or "uninformed". I read body language and voice clues to pay attention to their level of frustration. If they start responding with "I don't know", "I have no clue" or if their answers begin to be questions instead of statements, I will tone down the questions and begin explaining the information in another way to try to help them gain awareness of what I am trying to teach them. I believe in order for them to accomplish their goals they must be able to understand the HOW and WHY of the shot(s). My most successful lessons have been ones where the student can explain the information to me and execute the shot correctly.

My tips on Retention/Awareness
- Ask the student "why do you think we do this?" example - Why do YOU think we play the driver further forward in our stance? Pay attention to the answer and try to guide them through the correct answer if not answered correctly....
- Ask your student to "teach" you the shot after the lesson is almost complete
- Send an email recap of the information
- Give them a note book and have them write the information down in their own words
- LISTEN to them and make sure you are connecting with them
- Be aware of their body language and the tone of their voice
- Give them easy to remember drills with an explanation of WHY/HOW it will improve their shot
- Show a level of care about their improvement

Set Up for Distance - Met Golfer 2014

Please check out my instructional tip I wrote for the Met Golfer - August 2014


http://www.metgolferdigital.com/i/371284/54