Fathers teaching sons

sawtooth

sawtooth

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I took my 10yr old son to his group lesson today. On a nearby bay I could hear a dad losing his rag with his son who could only be about 6.

I'm sure it does a great deal of harm barking instructions at kids.

Encourage and let them enjoy and have fun for crying out loud. What is it with some people? :mad:
 
I think in the majority of cases fathers should steer well clear of trying to teach their own kids!!! Even if a qualified coach it's not a good idea as they're too involved and will find it hard to be detached as a good coach should.
 
How many times have I seen this in sailing!

There are ways of doing it, and it can be done. But sadly most parents haven't got a clue about teaching any sport to youngsters.

I've taught probably thousands of kids and adults, and I have to say I really enjoy it. The sense of someone coming away thinking that this a great sport is a great feeling. Job satisfaction is huge.

It needs to be fun, informative, practical, and competitive. By that I mean, setting tasks to achieve, and not spending too long on any one task. Kids get bored easily.

If my kids turn out not to like golf or boat racing, I won't mind. As long as they enjoy whatever it is they do like, the chances are they might also be half decent at it. And that will give me more satisfaction than forcing them to do something that I want them to do.

I hope that my instructor training will help in whatever activity they choose.

We have a name for shouty, over-bearing parents in sailing. They're called 'Oppy parents', after the 'Optimist' dinghy that most of the kids sail.
 
'Oppy parents' - I like it. And I agree it has to be fun otherwise you'll put the kids off the sport for good.


I had the pleasure of working with Greg Chappell (the Aussie cricketer) a few years back and he had a great way of working with kids. He could teach them even some of the more complex shots in cricket without giving any instruction on what to do with their feet etc. It was all done through games and as most kids still have pretty good natural movement they can figure the techniques out for themselves. Did the first person to hit a golf ball have a long list of 'dos' and 'donts'. Keep it simple and most kids will pick up something.
 
There was a young chinese girl up at Gillingham whose dad fancied her as the next Michelle Wie or something.

Her dad was a total bar-steward, he ended up getting kicked out of the club and his daughter went with him.

Terrible.
 
I've met some of these "people" at driving ranges...






Total nutcases...

Just let your child play and offer advice now and then, but make sure they are having fun.
 
I love taking my boy onto the golf course and he loves it,i know my limitations and at this moment in time i just let him play.Children also pick loads up by just watching.Parents that shout and scream are generally parents that talk a good game but due to there lack of ability never got anywhere,and think that there children will be there meal ticket of never working again.
 
Parents that shout and scream are generally parents that talk a good game but due to there lack of ability never got anywhere, and think that there children will be there meal ticket of never working again.
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I don't agree entirely. "Meal ticket" might apply to kids/teenagers already near the top of a highly-paid activity; but mostly parents do it for the right reasons (to get their children into something they like or wish they were better at)......they just get the style of their "enthusiasm" wrong.
 
I've seen it so many times usually from the touchline as the kid tries to be the Rooney his dad thinks he is. Its the same in golf and is a one way ticket to the kid giving up and never realising their full potential irrespective of what level that is.

My dad was pretty cool. He got me into golf and group lessons. He got me membership at Wimbledon Common and would go out for a game with me but he never tried to teach me and let me make my own mistakes and try and find a way to correct them.

There is a pro at Sand Martins who does a lot of the kids groups and he seems to have a really good way with them. However it seems he spends more time trying to keep their behaviour in chack than teaching. I think it is inevitable that parents want their kids to follow them into a sport and shout at their kids in frustration rather than out and out hostility. I do think the range dads are the funniest though in football tops and trainers and a bag of old clubs. When dad has a go he usually tops it or hits a huge slice which he will claim is deliberate or give some pony excuse
 
my dad was my coach up until he died, only had a handful of lessons from actual pros. I personally think it was awsome, he knew my swing inside out and whenever you have swing issues hes was much easier to book haha. He never shouted at me that I can remeber and that included both hitting him in the shin with my driver and hitting him with my thinned sand wedge shot during a doubles comp which broke 2 of his fingers !haha. I think he put in alot of effort with me because it was fun, not because he ever saw me taking on tiger! I rekon most dads are the same however if they see real talent I can understand them wanting to encourage them. I dont condone making things too serious tho and defo not shouting at there kids!
 
I never really talked to my dad but i did take this great game up at the same time as my brother. We knew each others game and swing inside out and it was great if either of us was struggling with anything. Shame we dont talk much now ;)
 
I must admit that when I was playing league ten pin bowling I was that dad with my son, much to my shame in hindsight. The thing was I could see him picking up the game really quickly and that he had the skills to be really good. There is no money in the game this side of the pond with, if memory serves still, only one actual full time pro player in England. But he just wouldn't take his practice seriously and so the shouting would start.He would rather listen to the bin in the corner than me because listening to dad just wasn't cool.I did not want a meal ticket from him but I never had the chance to be good at anything when I was a lad because the money just wasn't there so I hated to see him take his opportunities so lightly. I think that is the main reason for shouty dads, we know if we had the same chances we could have been so much better.
Shame you don't see it till later in life.
 
my dad was my coach up until he died, only had a handful of lessons from actual pros....
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Sounds like a great Dad! (and the perfect coach) And he didn't even utter an expletive when you hit him - twice???
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No no, never really got angry at all. I could tell when he was disappointed if i played really bad, but we would sort it by reviewing the swing and putting it right. It was awsome and to be honest without him now, my swing is soo off the mark. Never mind.

Hitting him was a patience tester!!

1 thing that i think made it so good was that he would never watch me play. I thought this was best as he could do all the work in the world to prep me for event but then after that it was up to me. Also any mistakes were mine and not his
 
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