COACHING - A STARTER

For many of us there is a wish or need to share our passion for fly fishing with others in the sincere hope that they will find the enjoyment in this pastime that we do. We may have started down this path as children or be taking the children fishing or hoping that one day we may take them fishing. We may have reached a point in our lives where we have time on our hands and want to give more back because we have received so much or we may have decided that this is our career. It matters not: What we wish to do is help others.

So where to begin - my advice is have a good look before you leap: there are many options from your local angling club, society or association through to the Angling Trust (AT) who provide a graduated learning scheme. I chose the later from a coaching perspective. I was however honoured to be invited by the Wye Salmon Association (WSA) to join an Assistant Coaches training weekend run by senior members of the Game Angling Instructors Association (GAIA). The course was aimed at individuals who wish to support a number of initiatives run by the WSA.

Now there are lots of organisational names above and no hyperlinks to their websites - Why? Well you have to be committed to supporting such activity so I will leave you to search the web. Remember you will also have to become a First Aider and have Enhanced DBS Clearance to work with Children and Vulnerable Adults if the need arises.

Returning to the Assistant Coaches Training Weekend - this is all about being a coach, rather than a fly fisherman or a casting enthusiast. You may be good at both fly fishing and casting but do you understand how to coach others in the fishing skills that you have; so that they enjoy the learning process and continue or return to this wonderful pastime in the future?

I decided as I moved, fully. into the wonderful world of coaching fly fishing that, firstly, I needed to understand if I could coach and, secondly, if I had the technical capability to do so in a fly fishing world. If you are interested in sharing either "capability" then you can decide on your own path and have a great deal of enjoyment and fun doing so. Do have a look at the AT and GAIA Websites.

I am often asked by those I coach "Why do you Coach?" - my answer is always the same and I reply to those asking the question " You cannot see what I see and that is often thank you enough!"

When you know what I see please give me a call and we can have a chat - Welcome to the Fly Fishing Coaching World.