Dear Gil and Vicki
I enjoyed the recent article in Sporting Clays on What Is Practice and did review and get the Fortune article as well…thank you for your very grounded discussion of what it takes to be successful in sporting clays and in life in general. It is easy to forget that all the winners “were not born with silver spoons, or should I say silver bullets.” They worked very hard as I know you both did!
One thing I have learned in some of my training is that being “coachable” has a major impact on the coach’s ability to deliver the coaching. I do not see or read much about this distinction and wonder what your experience is, and if being “coachable” has an impact on a person’s ability to accelerate their skill development? In my observation willingness to be coached can make a difference in grasping a new distinction!
Thank you for sharing your depth of knowledge and insight!
Marty Tressell
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Marty,
Thanks for the feedback on our article. Your observation on being “coachable” is not only right on, but we find that it is critical in the learning process. We find it interesting that the human being is the only animal on the planet that can choose to change what we do or the way we react to things in life. When you combine this with the fact that we live 90 percent of our life within our habits, it then becomes obvious to us that learning something new involves changing our habits, which some people find hard, if not impossible to do.
It is the willingness to change that separates the real peak performers from all the rest, regardless of the arena. We saw Nolan Ryan on the TV a few weeks ago and he said, “Champions stay on top by being willing to improve.” Wow, what a statement by a true champion!
Improving performance at any level is about taking out variables and improving efficiency, mechanically or mentally. Our findings have shown us that the person’s attitude about change either allows them to improve or keeps them a prisoner of their own perception.
We all have certain preconceived notions about how things work, and there are a lot of these preconceived notions when it comes to shooting a shotgun. The underlying problem, however, is not the preconceived notion nor is it the changing of a person’s approach or shooting style. It is the failure involved in implementing the change that is the root cause of people not wanting to change, therefore they don’t improve.
Years ago at Rocky Mountain Roosters sporting clays in Colorado, Gil was talking to a group of shooters we were getting ready to teach, explaining to them that we would be asking them to change some things they were doing in order for them to improve. He was in his “zone” and he said this: “No improvement happens without change. For every change, there is a price. The value is in the commitment.”
It was the first time either of us had said it like that but we have used it many times since. We are creatures of habit and we all are comfortable in our habits, therefore change is not something that we either look forward to or greet with excitement. Change is inevitable, however – except from a vending machine! Change is the only thing that is a constant in our lives regardless of how much we resist. Try as we may, things will never be as they were. They can only be as they are now. We must learn to accept them for what they are and choose to either like where we are or choose to change what we are doing and create new habits that allow us to improve ourselves to the level of our commitment.
So, how does this pertain to being coachable with a shotgun? In our teaching and research, we have found that if we can understand the preconceived notion in the mind of the student and first deal with that, and the reality of the misunderstanding, then learning accelerates. We find that once perception and reality come together in the mind of the student and they understand the risk in the perception and the benefits of changing what they are doing, then change is no longer change. Change becomes improvement and everyone wants to improve. It then becomes easier to accept the “price” (missed targets while implementing the change) of the change, and students eagerly embark on their journey of implementing the change, knowing the benefits will come down the road.
The “commitment” to the change is much easier when the benefits are known before beginning the journey. No change is immediate, regardless of how easy it is to implement. It takes repetition and practice to make it part of your game.
The problem comes when a student wants to improve without changing, regardless of the reason why. Yes, we have actually had students who have been afraid to even try something new or different. Gil’s Uncle Rodney Chambless would sum the situation up this way: “You’re looking a dead mule in the rear with a field to plow.” It makes you wonder what is really going on in their minds.
Let’s see. “I want you to show me how to do the same thing and get a different result.” Sounds like insanity to us. This is the most difficult person to coach. Here is where the patience of the coach comes into play.
A short discussion of how the fundamentals of shotgun shooting, when applied in a consistent manner yields consistent and higher scores, is what it takes to get this shooter to come around. Once they understand the fundamentals of shooting, it is easy to show how their approach to shooting could improve with just a little adjustment fundamentally in their approach and the fear of change dissipates. This is also where having and teaching a shooting system pays big dividends for the student as well as the coach.
There is a great difference between just showing someone how to hit a target doing what they are doing and teaching someone how to shoot consistently higher scores. We have seldom found anyone who we could not get to hit a target they were having trouble with doing what they were doing. But we would not be helping them become a better more consistent shooter.
We find that when shooters have trouble with a particular target, that it is not the target that is giving them the problem. It is a breakdown in one of the fundamentals of shooting that is manifesting itself on a particular target presentation. Just helping them break that target is not helping them. An experienced coach will look beyond the obvious and determine what the root cause for the problem is. And almost without exception, it is always a breakdown in basic fundamentals that is the cause.
There is a preconceived notion that the student must have great trust in the teacher to learn. Our findings are that the student must have great trust in themselves to learn. This breaks down the fear of change and learning accelerates because of the student’s attitude and commitment to implement the change. You can put a whole lot more in an empty cup than you can a full one! When you go to learn, EMPTY your cup and trust yourself. You will learn more.
