Working with Children

Oxfordshire coach CPD session

Transcript

1. Working with Children Marc Tamlyn
2. Overview • Safety • Make it simple • Awards and progression • Realistic standards • Communication • Club structures
3. Safety • DBS checks are essential, as are qualified coaching and suitable coaching ratios • Safeguarding course • OSCB course is cheap, regular and good • Max 1:12 with all age groups, if alone prefer 1:8 • Can go as high as 1:20 with one coach and one suitable education professional
4. Safety • Establish rules early and often • Don't be afraid to exclude children temporarily • "Bows down sit down" • Make sure to explain WHY what they just did is a problem • Reassure and praise other children, especially those who had bows in hand and followed a "FAST" correctly
5. Make it simple • Primary school age - 6-11 year olds • Start from 6 years old, or near there • Younger children struggle to have the concentration • Also can be too small physically - most 4-5 year olds don't have long enough arms to get even the shortest jelly bow to shoot straight
6. Equipment • Barebow • Low weight club bows • Encourage buying a quiver • Overlong arrows (3-4" out the front of the bow is good initially) • Bosses on floor where possible • Expect bouncers, so minimum 6m distance
7. Basics to teach • Shot routine, shot routine, shot routine • Feet! • Keep it simple - Set, up, draw, go
8. Common technical mistakes • Rushing • Total absence of follow through ("Where's it gone?") • Bow hand positioning • Super deep hook • Reference
9. Expectations • Expect to repeat yourself • But don't be afraid to move on and come back to things later • Expect to repeat yourself
10. Expectations • High variance from session to session in the same children • Emotions are very likely! • A reasonable proportion will get bored after a few months
11. Awards • WA feather & awards are brilliant! • Measurable progression is very motivating • Progress awards are common in most sports and kids & parents LOVE them • School achievement assemblies • Certificates • Frustration!
12. Red Feather • 6m, 80cm face, targets can be on the ground • 12 arrows in 6+ out of 15 • Feet correct • Arrows nocked correctly • Safety rules known
13. Gold Feather • 8m, 80cm face, targets can be on the ground • 12 arrows in 6+ out of 15 • T-shape at full draw • No turtles • Basic etiquette
14. White arrow • 10m, 80cm face, targets should be at normal height • 115 from 15s (average 23 per end) • Set-setup movement • Understand proper scoring • "This is the first grown up badge, it's hard" • Serious achievement for U10s • ~ 250 Portsmouth
15. Keep it simple(r) • Secondary school children, 10-18 year olds • A hybrid of little kids archery and adults • Beginners and serious athletes • Wide range of maturity
16. Equipment • Move to recurve (or compound) • Low weight club bows initially but encourage buying their own • 21" risers are amazing to make high quality 62" bows, ideal for 10-14yo
17. Injury risks • Low poundage and minimal resistance training, especially before age 16 • Core is super important! • Be cautious of poundage increases as they grow - don't be afraid to go down in weight • Bones, muscles, tendons
18. Technique • Build it slowly • Barebow (U14 only) • Sighted • Longrod & bow hand • Expansion & clickers • Full stab
19. Expectations • Varied interest levels • "Social" archers and "Competition" archers • Critical mass of children is important for social cohesion • Families often like to shoot together (but it isn't always good for them) • ALL THE HORMONES
20. Awards • WA awards continue to be fantastic up to about 14-16yo, then tend to lose interest (or want to be shooting grown up rounds) • Portsmouth/half portsmouth badges • Classifications • Roses & English crosses
21. White arrow • 10m, 80cm face, targets should be at normal height • 115 from 15s (average 23 per end) • Set-setup movement • Understand proper scoring • "This is the first grown up badge, it's hard" • ~ 250 Portsmouth
22. Black arrow • 14m, 80cm face • 115 from 15s • Good draw shape with low shoulder, no creeping • Bow anatomy • Checking arrows • ~340 Portsmouth
23. Blue arrow • 18m, 80cm face • 115 from 15s • Good string hand • Good reference • Knowledge of bow types • Can fix nocks • ~400 Portsmouth
24. Portsmouth scores Age group Max distance 1st class JB JMB U12 girls 30m 210 315 370 U12 boys 40m 210 315 405 U14 girls 40m 250 370 450 U14 boys 50m 340 430 490 U16 girls 50m 340 430 490 U16 boys 60m 440 500 540 U18 girls 60m 430 500 535 U18 boys 70m 490 540 570
25. Communication • Different styles and content of communication depending on the people you're interacting with • Essential to keeping people involved with the sport
26. Parents • Keep them informed about what's happening • e.g. explain the awards schemes • Ask them to do things • Explain yourself - if they're trying to help and aren't, explain why and what they can do to be more helpful • Tell them if their kids are good!
27. Children • In coaching environments, be clear and concise • Repeat things where needed • Have patience • LISTEN
28. Non face-to-face • Be cautious, and don't initiate communication • Keep it about the sport only • Prefer recorded comms (i.e. not Snapchat) • Make sure parents are aware • Shared WhatsApp where parents are also included is good for younger kids
29. Club structures • Archers love structure, juniors more so • Dedicated sessions are essential • Ensure sufficiently staffed so that parents aren't required to stay • Don't isolate the secondary age children out of adult environments
30. Club structures • Membership plus pay-per-session is perfectly reasonable • Equivalent cost of ~£5-7 per session is typical of primary age sports clubs • Must be AGB members after 6 sessions, even at 6yo • They LOVE the card and magazines
31. Club structures • Book in for a term at once, most things are term time only • Special events for the summer • Professional, specialised coaching is important especially at primary age, don't be afraid to pay people
32. Competitions • Try and foster a team atmosphere - get them going to the same events • Don't be afraid to "select a team", it prevents a lot of self- selection out of the process • Where possible, make sure a coach attends
33. Competitions • Indoors • Perris postal league (1/2 portsmouths) • CJAL • County indoors
34. Competitions • Outdoors • Range of Windsors for developing archers • Metrics & Bristols for 1st class to JMB • 60m cadet rounds for the very best