Agility,  DABAD

Good Teacher

I’ve been waiting for this DABAD topic to come up for a while, and then I missed it! I’m a day late.

What makes a good coach/instructor?

The reason I was looking forward to musing on this topic is because I’m in sort of an odd situation; I don’t train with a teacher directly, and I unexpectedly began teaching an agility class a few years ago (and still do now). It’s made me think a lot about what makes a good instructor, about what I look for in those teaching me, and what I aspire to be. There are so many things I want to write for this topic, but I decided you didn’t really need a wall of text.

I would love to train with someone, because I do need someone to tell me where I’m going wrong. I think feedback is important, and I want to be able to improve. But I’m a person as well as an agility handler, and that means I’m also self-critical, sensitive to criticism, and someone who wants clear explanations and reasons, not just nameless solutions. There are some trainers who are good for me, which is in turn good for me and my dogs, but I’m not lucky enough to train with them regularly. Thankfully I have wonderful friends who are on hand to gently nudge me in the right direction when I ask for help, and sometimes when I don’t.

For me, experience in the best teacher. As I said, I’m very self critical; I video all of my runs, and analyse them afterwards; did I turn too early? Too late? Did I even cue that? Why did I stop there? Did I run through to the end? I write things down on this blog, I make notes constantly on my handling. I have a very strong visual memory, and so remembering courses I’ve run before (often months or even years ago) and associating them with what I’m faced with now is easy for me. I try to learn from my mistakes, to identify them and find what I’m doing wrong. However, Kim and Dylan* have always been my best teachers. They have taught me lessons again and again that no person could impart; listen to your dog.

*And Mollie, and Rio, and Charlie, Jazz, Poppy, Jet, Bailey … every dog I’ve ever trained or handled

As an agility teacher, I hope I do a good job. I want my students to learn and improve, and to enjoy their relationship with their dog. I am sometimes unsure whether I am a good teacher, to be honest. Sometimes I am faced with problems I have never encountered before, and I spend hours researching and finding possible solutions, but it doesn’t always work. Sometimes I have to admit “I don’t know. Let’s try this?” and we experiment, and I’m grateful that my students are willing to trust me when I come up with something to try when all else has failed. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn’t and we have to go back to square one.

But every class is always worth it. I get so proud and happy when I see “my” dogs and handlers walking on to the start line in a ring. I want them to do well, and they always do. Sometimes that means clear rounds and rosettes, sometimes it means getting E’d, but nailing the weaves, or that seesaw, or that jumping sequence. It is amazing to me to see someone who came to my class knowing nothing about agility, now running a course with confidence.

I love teaching agility more than I ever expected to. I think I’m a better teacher than I was, and I hope I continue to improve. More importantly, I think I’m a better person for it.