Today was my son's last ski practice. I can't help but being impressed with how much he has learned within the last 5 weeks. Being a Junior Golf Coach myself, I am also impressed with the quality of instruction, coming mostly from parents.
Taking a "Monkey See, Monkey Do" approach, the parents would take the kids to the top of the hill. There are 4 parents in the group of about 20 kids. One parent skis down to a designated stopping point and shows the kids the technique. One by one the kids followed down, some falling, some not. The the other parents followed in the same pattern until all had gotten down the hill. They showed how to turn and little techniques to the keep the kids upright. Otherwise, I think the kids figured alot out on their own. As they continued time after time going up the hill and more or less performing the same routines with the parents, it was amazing to see the development of skill from week to week.
I started comparing and thinking how this could relate to golf. I teach the kids developmental skills in all areas of golf. We build upon previous skills and move forward. But, there was something about this parental approach (monkey see, monkey do) that was intriguing, and very effective. So it begs the question. Are we making jr golf development too difficult? Are we trying to be too cute and creative? Could parents be better junior development coaches than pros?
Think about how you teach juniors. Do you show them and then let them go off to figure bits and pieces on their own? Do you teach them step by step the ins and outs to various golf techniques?
Leave a comment if you are interested in this topic. Thanks.
Steven
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