There are many ways to coach your athletes up into becoming top shooters but the most effective thing I have found is to simply have them shoot more rounds. Over the years I have found myself working with athletes that have become stuck at a certain level. Ultimately they become frustrated and their scores tend to dip a little. Don’t panic because this is normal and there are ways to correct it. As a coach your instincts tell you to immediately try and change something about the shooter and in some cases this may work. I have found that many times the athletes begin to correct themselves by simply shooting more rounds. Shooting more rounds creates a level of comfort and self confidence that only the athlete can feel. After a while they tend to figure out a few things on their own and then they will be ready to accept your instruction. It’s important to remember that not all athletes are alike and so encourage your athletes to get as many rounds down range before making any drastic changes.
Athletes that our new to our sport are always excited to hurry up and pull the trigger. I recommend spending 2-3 hours of classroom time working on the fundamentals of trap shooting before hitting the field. The athlete needs to be knowledgeable and comfortable with their firearm before any of your coaching will make a difference. I always have our new athletes practice mount, balance, stance, and movement under my direction before we hit the field. The more you can teach the fundamentals of trap shooting to a kid the more success they will have as you add new techniques. I recommend to all coaches to keep modifications to a minimum until you know that athlete understands what your talking about. Leading by example produces excellent results and it will impact your athletes even more if you take their shotgun and demonstrate what you are trying to teach. Once they understand and adjust to the new teaching make sure they shoot 5-10 rounds before making any more improvements!