Lasting Relationships

I know, I know...it's been a while. To be honest I haven't done that much teaching over the past month, for one reason or another - either I've been committed to personal things or the weather's been poor, like today for instance. I worked 7am-12.15pm in the shop this morning and it's pretty grey and miserable out there having rained quite heavily overnight and again this morning. I was supposed to be teaching this afternoon, unfortunately, my lessons have called to cancel due to weather conditions. Not that I blame them, but I'm left now with 3 hours before a session this afternoon that I must honour.



We have offered some FREE coaching sessions and today is one of the sessions that I am running. Just a taster session to give people the opportunity to give it a go. Very exciting for me as a Coach to have people attending because they are interested in learning to play golf.



So....I thought I would post an entry.



Don't know if you are on Twitter - the crazy 140 character phenomenon that seems to be growing daily. Well, I'm on it. It's fascinating - a bit like facebook - people post an update on what they are doing or information they want to share but only have 140 characters to do it. Makes people get to the point, that's for sure. I read somewhere that actually about 90% of users on Twitter provide information about other things and the remainder post information about themselves. If something happens in the world, it is far more likely that you will read about it on Twitter before you hear about it on the news. How crazy is that?



Anyway, I joined it for two reasons: firstly, because I was curious to see what all the fuss was about, and secondly, because I am fascinated by the sharing of information. Since joining, I now follow approximately 190 people and have 70 people following me. The majority of both are linked to golf and the access to well renowned and experienced golf coaches is amazing. I asked Dave Pelz (short game guru) in the US a question and he messaged me back! Simply incredible!



One of the guys I am following is in Marketing and specifically works with Golf Coaches helping them to build a brand. He asked me a really interesting question off the back of a comment I made to an earlier question he asked someone else.



It's so simple and so important, yet not one I had asked myself:



"What are you doing to build lasting relationships?"



The question relates to my clients, or the pupils I coach. Having thought about it for a while, I believe it is a number of things: It is about enthusiasm which is infectious. If you, as a Coach, love your job, and treat everyone individually, and are enthusiastic in the way you deliver what you want to communicate, then chances are, your pupil will want more. It's about making your pupil feel safe - allowing them to make mistakes and know that it's not only okay, but that this is the best way to learn. As I mentioned in an earlier post, we simply cannot progress very far without some kind of struggle.



It's also about empowerment: helping them to understand how to explore and having fun while you are doing it. For me, I think this is the most important element for the pupil - that they go away feeling that they have a better understanding of their own game and can use that knowledge to improve and better themselves.

My own journey continues and the more information I gain, the more empowered I feel about making decisions about my future. This is what I want to give my pupils!

Hope that's given you some food for thought?

Thanks for reading.

Ciao for now.