My club is doing a taster session tomorrow and asked if I could help out, I have no idea what to look out for or what to help with for beginners, any ideas?
Great question!
Teaching beginner’s classes is probably one of my favorite things to do, to be honest, and I think it’s super cool that your club is doing something like this!
Safety is the absolute number one rule. Make sure that you go over safety rules and range rules very clearly at the beginning, and that everyone understands what is expected of them when they’re on the range. If you have younger archers on the range, make sure they’re under proper supervision.
Not everyone is going to understand proper form. And that’s okay. No matter how good you are now, we all started down at the bottom. Try to remain patient with new archers while they get the hang of it. For a beginner’s class, just get them with the basics of point, aim, and shoot. I also recommend teaching them with a tab, a three-under draw, and anchoring at the chin, Olympic-style. The reason for this is a split-finger draw can be difficult for first-time archers to achieve without pinching the arrow, and a traditional anchor is sometimes harder for first-time archers, as they tend to go a little higher than necessary, bringing the nock closer to their eyes. Plus, if they decide to go Olympic, it’s much easier to transition. Whereas going from a traditional to Olympic anchor is much, much harder.
Do not short-change anyone. You may have archers with limited or different abilities that come onto your range, and under no circumstances should they be set aside simply because making accommodations for them requires a little bit of creativity. This sport should be accessible to everyone, period.
Do not overwhelm them with details of shooting. In the very beginning, things such as a perfect release, scapula rotation, back tension, these aren’t really important. What’s important in a beginner class is that they’re safe, they’re having fun, and that the basics are established. My recommendation is to cover and continue to reinforce: proper foot stance, a dedicated anchor point, and making sure the bow arm stays out of the way to allow for string clearance and a not-so-painful experience. These are pretty easy points for first-time archers, and it doesn’t overwhelm them with details.
They probably won’t come back. Unfortunately, given the nature of the sport, most people attend beginner’s classes or “taster sessions” just to have a “hey I went and tried it” kind of an experience. This is why worrying about the smaller details of proper form isn’t as important, and why it’s better to focus on the easy stuff, like point, aim, draw, anchor, shoot, as well as having fun. The more fun that they have, and the more welcoming and accommodating your club is, the better chance they have of returning. But treat everyone like they have greatness in them, because guess what? They do.
I hope this helps!