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Walter & Group...
[GH] From Ken Kastorff:
Gordy,
We have had the opportunity to work with young people in many different instructional situations in our company, both in kayaking and fishing. The following is an example of just one of them.
I started working with a tiny 8 year old young lady who had a big interest in fishing a few years ago. The obvious goal for her and me, was for her to catch a fish on her fly rod. That as we all know is what sparks the interest for most everyone to enjoy a life time of fly fishing. The hardest thing at that time was getting her set up with equipment that was small enough for her to use properly. Fortunately, now there are pretty good quality fly rods for small fisher persons. I found a place where she and I could wade comfortably in warm water with brim and small mouth bass available, put a popper on and worked with her on a simple roll cast. I always try to start with a popper or some other fly that is visible, as it will help keep their attention. After a short period of time, she caught her first brim and not to long after that caught her first small mouth bass on a fly rod. By the end of the three hours, she had caught several fish and was doing a pretty decent roll cast and she was hooked, no pun intended. Mixed into that three hours was some swim time that allowed her to investigate what was on the bottom of the river and under rocks. What kind of minnows and other things that the fish would eat, like frogs. Bottom line is, she had a great time and is now 10 and has done some full day drift trips where she has caught several trout nymph fishing. We always take time to make sure to explore a bit to continue to make fly fishing fun.
I have found that young people who have had the opportunity of being coached in other sports like soccer, usually do well. They are a bit more used to taking direction. It is hard to set a specific age as to when children have the attention span and understanding to be able to take coaching. The most important first step is that they have the interest. Sometimes, parents want their children to start a sport or learn a skill that they have not yet developed the interest in. This oft times simply doesn't work out well no mater how much you try to make it a successful day. The next step is set them up for success. Make sure to have equipment that works for the size person you are mentoring. Start with a short day, that way they will look forward to coming back to learn more. Some things are a constant when working with young people, or anyone for that mater. Make it fun, mix the fun with instruction and keep the instruction moving, don't dwell! Have realistic expectations and an awareness of when to back off a bit to keep it fun. And give plenty of praise, even if that loop might not be as tight as you would like to see it.
Ken Kastorff
Endless River Adventures
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[GH] From Walter Simbirski:
Gordy,
My experience with younger children is that they have a short attention span when they aren't interested in something. When they have an interest in something they often have a greater attention span than many adults.
I basically have two rules when teaching kids to cast or fish. The first is to work with their schedule. When they are ready to quit for the day then they are ready to quit for the day. The second is to use lots of encouragement and be very quick to praise.
With respect to teaching techniques I have found that Soon Lee's methods work extremely well with kids.
I refer to it as the graduated length method (a term "borrowed" from ski instruction). Starting with only a few
feet of fly line outside of the rod tip and casting side arm concentrate on making good loops. When the
student shows proficiency with that line length get them to add a foot or two more. Also get them to try different
rod planes as they progress. If they show difficulty adjusting to an increased line length shorten the line by a foot
or two until they regain control. I've been able to teach kids around 10 years of age to make casts of 30 plus feet in about 10 - 15 minutes.
In keeping with my second rule of using lots of praise and encouragement in a timely fashion this works best with a low instructor:student ratio. You need to be there when the kid does something right to let them know that they did something right and to guide them away from errors they might be making. For me this is a ratio of 1:1 or at most 1:2. Others with more experience may be able to handle a higher ratio.
Cheers
Walter
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[GH] Walter,
I first ran across that "graduated length" method when casting with Bill Gammel. He was using it for teaching adult students. It led to his teaching video. *
After seeing that video, I told Bill he should have named it, "ONE FOOT AT A TIME". One of the best teaching videos I've yet seen. Especially good because of his algorithm for learning distance casting.
* TEACHING YOURSELF TO FLY CAST, Learning the Essentials, by Bill Gammel, 2002, Bill Gammel Outdoor Services, P.O. Box 348, Highlands, Tx., 77562.
Gordy
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[GH] From Rene Hesse. A method of simple "direct" teaching for kids:
At the SEC. Fly Fishing Festival I watched an instructor teach 2 kids that were 9 years old to cast. At the end of the hour the kids were doing quite well and I asked the instructor how he taught them.
First he showed them several casts.
Then he told them;
'Pick it up, move it, stop'
Very simple but effective technique.
Another method Peter Lami taught me was to use the 'Answer the phone, hang it up'
which is great for range of motion and everyone has done it.
I hope to see you in the Key's next week,
Rene
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