Teaching experiences / Ways to teach the "stop"

Thank you all for having me on board. This is my first post.

I couldn't agree more with the idea that children, particularly boys, are motivated by competition. Last Spring, I taught a free kids casting clinic at the Orvis store where I work. The clinic was open to children aged 6 and up. Only two kids attended with their dads, one was 5 (almost 6), and the other was 6. Both were boys.

Having not taught a kids clinic before, I must admit that I didn't have much of a plan. My goal was to introduce the basic fly cast (pick up and lay down) with a fixed line, and to keep it short and fun. I gave a VERY short presentation, then put a rod in each of their hands. While alternating between both boys and manually assisting them in order to get the proper stroke, I realized pretty quickly that they needed a goal on which they could focus. Thankfully, I had brought along a Hula Hoop with my teaching gear. It was absolutely incredible what happened once I laid that Hula Hoop down about 20' away from the boys and helped them hit the target the first few times. Instantly they were focused, and instantly they were casting on their own, now motivated to hit the target consistently.

What I hadn't expected was that without prompting, the two boys started keeping score, directly competing with each other to see who could hit the target better. These two boys were not related, and had never met prior to that morning. I hadn't intended for this to become a competition, but having two boys that age focus so intently was eye opening. They stayed focused and continued to cast at the target for over 10 minutes, which in kid time is pretty significant.

Once I saw their enthusiasm begin to wane, I decided the "teaching" part of the clinic should end, and I focused on the fun aspect. I had them take turns, casting their yarn fly at the hoop. If the fly landed in the hoop, I grabbed it like a fish, and let them fight me for a minute or two while I dazzled them with breathtaking leaps, and long runs, allowing them to feel the rod bend, hear the reel scream, and learn how to give and take line depending on whether I was pulling away from them, or coming towards them. (Did I just say the "teaching" was over, my mistake.) They LOVED this, and I bet we could have done it for an hour. Even the dads jumped in, pretending to be fish and letting the boys fight them too.

Before it was over, the boys were taking turns catching and fighting each other, on the rod that is - no actual fights broke out (although one boy did have his knuckles bumped by the reel - another unintentional lesson I suppose). In the end, I felt it was a very successful clinic. Two boys attended with their dads, they casted flies at a target, they learned about fighting a fish, and they had a great time doing it.

I have no idea whether they stayed interested, or have actually gotten to go fishing. I only hope they had as much fun at the clinic as I did.

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Dan... Key words: 1. Competition 2. Fun G.

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From Elie Beerten (Please note my added attachment G. ) :

Hi Gordy,

Till now nobody did mention.it , but I think when you start to teach or to coach the basic fundament is to understand the working of " the Rose of Leary" ..

- Which behaviour is responded by which behaviour?

- How do I need to adapt my behaviour to get the desired behaviour?

Regards,

Elie

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Elie: Well summarized. I added a brief attachment for any who are not familiar with this concept. The principles involved are those used by good instructors even though unintended and whether or not they have ever heard of Leary. G.

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From Peter Minnick :

Gordy.... The "Experiental" approach goes by many different names like "Natural Method, Montessori,Piaget's Developmental Stages of Learning etc. etc...but the commonality is "how do we learn"...

When I was in Special and Deaf Education for 40 yrs I observed in schools and programs around the country that practiced this approach that the students were the happiest and least frustrated and were the focus of the learning experience. Not the curriculum or the school rank in test scores.

Mel Kreiger had it right when he said that the "quintessence of learning is doing". It is a discovery process and the joy that comes with success is student centered.The teachers role is to impart the tools to enable the students to succeed.At the end of every lesson I want to be sure that I've given the student a drill or exercise that can be self evaluated.A good example of this would be horizontal lawn casting using a line [rope or hose] as an indicator.

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Peter... Fits with a statement oft repeated by me: "We teach one another. In the end we teach ourselves." G.

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MORE WAYS TO TEACH THE "STOP"

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Use of a "word picture" by Tom Scheer :

Gordy

I don't remember where this came from, so I cannot cite author or source.

Here is a "word picture" to paint for a student struggling with the concept of the stop.

Picture yourself standing in front of a 10 ft. tall cement wall. On the top front edge of the wall is a horse fly that has been annoying the whole group. Use your rod tip to kill that fly. Kill it, don't swat or spank it. Smash it! And dont you dare break your rod tip.

Tom

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From Peter Minnick. I highlighted a key statement in his text in bold italics G.:

On another subject....helping Steve's student to stop. Tension is 1 of the most important aspects of casting as it is for all sports whether it's tennis,golf,skiing or any physical activity...Tim Gallwey who wrote books on the Inner game and was tennis coach at Harvard said that trusting your body to execute athletic moves requires an understanding of "tension" and how to use or not use it properly.

After a few minutes of casting a students will normally be wringing out their hands and shaking their arms because of tension in the cast. All athletic moves start with the big muscles and taper to end with the small muscles. At the start of the cast you lift and transition to the loading move. The rod is held very lightly as if holding a bird and you're using the big muscles of your forearm and shoulder....not the small muscles of your wrist and fingers...if you're gripping the rod tightly it would be difficult at best to squeeze it more to a stop. So I would concentrate on grip pressure and bodily tension throughout the stroke.

Every athletic move is initiated with the big muscles and the rest is gravity and centrifugal force. Witness the baseball,golf or tennis swing....the best make it look effortless...which it is....just inititiate the proper 1st move...get out of the way and let her rip!!

Peter

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From Gary Kell. highlights are mine G. :

Gordy

Higher stop techniques:

I sometimes use word pictures to encourage higher backcast stops.... point to clouds in the sky or tree tops above the caster and ask student to poke the rod tip right into the cloud or treetop at the stop or ask them to cast that line right into the sky above your head - dont' throw it behind you but overhead.

I saw Floyd Franke use what he called body blocks..... elbow forward style with rod held vertical, bring forearm up to point where hand would hit the upper arm forcing it to stop.

Gary

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Gary ... There are many forms of body blocks. This can be used very well, for example, when casting with the rod in an off-horizontal plane. Note Troy Miller's message, below. G.

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From Troy Miller on teaching the "STOP" :

My favorite method of teaching the stop is part of my ?single direction only, sidearm slide? technique. I?ve described the method here before (probably too many times?), but something that I may not have elaborated much on is how I ask the student to actively envision the stop before ever putting the rod into motion. Exercise your mind?s eye. So while I want them to move the rod with the tip moving in a relatively straight line, with constant acceleration, I also want them to see the stop before they ever start. I show them where I want the front stop to be by moving their arm, hand, and the rod into the desired position, then the rear stop. Then we start making the strokes. If they miss the acceleration but get the SLP and stop, then we work on that. Whichever thing they miss, we work on. But just one stroke at a time. It all comes together very quickly and reliably. Very few students DON?T respond to this method. Kids really like the ?connect the dots? game, and of course, the dots are the endpoints of the strokes (stops).

Regards,
Troy Miller

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From Tony Loader :

Hi Gordy,

Re the "stop":

I might ask the student, while false casting horizontally, to finish each stroke with the rod pointed at a suitably located object in the background.

Regards,

Tony.