On another thread about what people would do if they were ATA President, the discussion quickly went to promotion ideas and retention of new members. I have some thoughts on how this might be partially accomplished.
1. Encourage, or somehow require, experienced shooters to talk with new members. Make them feel like they belong to the group. Give a few tips to the new shooters but recognize they can not learn everything at once. Start with the important things like seeing the target and keeping the head down. Minor things like foot position or what shells to use can come later.
2. Encourage, or require name tags for all shooters. This was common 25 years ago but not common now. I would talk with more new shooters if I could remember their names.
3. Strive to explain to a new shooter that an expensive gun is not the answer to high scores and that a score of 80 for a singles event is not a bad thing for a new shooter.
Pat Ireland
1. Encourage, or somehow require, experienced shooters to talk with new members. Make them feel like they belong to the group. Give a few tips to the new shooters but recognize they can not learn everything at once. Start with the important things like seeing the target and keeping the head down. Minor things like foot position or what shells to use can come later.
2. Encourage, or require name tags for all shooters. This was common 25 years ago but not common now. I would talk with more new shooters if I could remember their names.
3. Strive to explain to a new shooter that an expensive gun is not the answer to high scores and that a score of 80 for a singles event is not a bad thing for a new shooter.
Pat Ireland