I could see warming up before a lesson potentially being helpful or a hindrance to the instructor instructing- thoughts?
when getting a lesson, is it better to warm up solo first, or come in cold?
- Thread starter evergruven
- Start date
i am not an instructor
but in many of the lessons i have taken
the instructors has let me "warm up" alittle before we started
i know now that during my warm up he was carefully observing me and seeing what needed work
My primary request is for students to be themselves. If you usually play fast, continue to do so while I watch. If you typically take only two practice strokes, don't take five just to impress me. I want to see your typical flaws so we can work on correcting them.
So I can watch you warmup or you can warmup prior to our lesson.
The trick (as an instructor) is to be able to watch the students "true" warm up.......As a Golf instructor (and I would suspect it would apply to a pool student as well) I would watch the students focus change from their "normal" warm up to a "impress my instructor" warm up as they became aware of my presence......I had the advantage of sending a student alone out to the driving range with a bucket of balls and would tell them I would be out shortly.......I was able to look out a window and see their warm up routine.......
More than anything.....what it (solo nobody watchin warm up) mostly showed me was what the mental make up of the student was......Was this a low focus recreational type player......or a more driven competitive type player
More than anything.....what it (solo nobody watchin warm up) mostly showed me was what the mental make up of the student was......Was this a low focus recreational type player......or a more driven competitive type player
Interesting. Did the lesson change accordingly?
Absolutely.......IMO part of what makes a good instructor is his/her ability to read and adapt to what the student wants/needs.
An identified recreational type player...(perhaps a student that enjoys league play and social interaction) bat wants to get better may quickly burn out from repetitive type drills....they may not be after "pro tour" status...they may just be after not looking silly while they shoot.....The lessons with this type of student needs to be more relaxed and "fun"
An identified competitive player may respond better to a more focused lessons..... theory (pool critical thinking) and/or systems, practice drills etc.
Exactly. This is one of the key points I stress to instructors that I train. I even step away from the table, or ask them if they would like a beverage as they warm up so they don't think I'm studying them. This would be the only time you see them in their true form. As soon as the lesson begins or if they think you are observing their warm-up, they will start to act in a way they hope will impress you.
Among other things during their warm-up that I watch, I watch how they react to missed shots. If missing a low percentage shot upsets them, for example, then it's clear they don't have things in perspective and we would then have to spend some time understanding percentages and maybe some attitude adjustments. These are key in helping players move forward with their learning process in a positive way.