16-10-2012, 10:44 PM
Andrew,
That's a toughie to answer regarding the coaching question. I expect all these young players would have improved anyway but having a dedicated coach has probably brought on their development faster and most are also probably playing in sections at congresses above where they would have been able to be competitive.
The young player's attitude is very important. Do they want to learn how to play better and hopefully win competitions?
Another aspect that is important is that mostly all the students are receiving at least one lesson per week, they are never "rusty" and are constantly working on their game.
Most of the students are also very active and miss very few events within reasonable travelling distance. At these events they will also have the benefit of their coach analysing some of their games on the spot while it's still very fresh in their mind.
One point that I touched on earlier is very supportive parents. Parents find chess for their child is safe, they make good friends and socialise at events. The parents are also interested in all the other chidren's performances.
Sometimes parents approach me for coaching support for their child, sometimes someone recommends a child to me that they feel has potential. The best place to find new students though is at Chess for Kicks, North East Junior Chess Association and Hamilton junior and similar competitions .
So there are no real hard and fast rules but it goes without saying, I am incredibly pleased with the results and so it seems are the chess community in general.
Robin.
That's a toughie to answer regarding the coaching question. I expect all these young players would have improved anyway but having a dedicated coach has probably brought on their development faster and most are also probably playing in sections at congresses above where they would have been able to be competitive.
The young player's attitude is very important. Do they want to learn how to play better and hopefully win competitions?
Another aspect that is important is that mostly all the students are receiving at least one lesson per week, they are never "rusty" and are constantly working on their game.
Most of the students are also very active and miss very few events within reasonable travelling distance. At these events they will also have the benefit of their coach analysing some of their games on the spot while it's still very fresh in their mind.
One point that I touched on earlier is very supportive parents. Parents find chess for their child is safe, they make good friends and socialise at events. The parents are also interested in all the other chidren's performances.
Sometimes parents approach me for coaching support for their child, sometimes someone recommends a child to me that they feel has potential. The best place to find new students though is at Chess for Kicks, North East Junior Chess Association and Hamilton junior and similar competitions .
So there are no real hard and fast rules but it goes without saying, I am incredibly pleased with the results and so it seems are the chess community in general.
Robin.