Bridge Coach vs Teacher vs Mentor – 2

This article is written is Arvind Vaidya.. I am posting it with his consent

Teaching   , Coaching &   Mentoring at Bridge

I am glad to share with the readers   , my experience of about 15 years ,with bridge teaching and its extentions like coaching and mentoring .

TEACHING can be associated with teaching the beginners while COACHING is more appropriate for those who know the basics , have some talent for the game and hence are given more training . MENTORING  is the  ultimate extention or culmination of the process wherein the most promising , hard working new players are groomed for their competitive bridge aspirations and goals , not just on technical aspects but also on psychological ones .

Typically , a Beginners Course or a Foundation Course needs 14 sessions ,each of 2 hrs to 2 hrs 15 minutes.  The mantra is : Never start with teaching  bidding to the beginners !  Let them   first learn the mechanics of bridge , basic card play rules ,what is making tricks  and also how to make  more and more tricks . Let them start enjoying this part and only after good 6/ 7 sessions , introduce Bidding.  Take help of bridge software to display cards on the screen and then explain . Summery of each session should be circulated by email while bidding system notes  should be as brief & lucid as possible . However , the most that a teacher needs is : PATIENCE ! Take the learners with you at the average comfortable pace of the group . Make it clear to them that while it’s not difficult to learn the bridge basics ,  it’s a challenge to play this game really well , and for that they too need to have patience and strong foundation . 

No doubt   there will always be a few dropouts for variety of reasons but as long as about 70% keep learning & playing , we can say a teacher  has done a decent job !!

What the beginners need most is the follow up sessions . Continuing to play within a group of same level with the help of a supervisor , is very crucial. Here , BBO like site and its training / practice utilities  can be very handy  too. Ofcourse , face to face live play would  help new players more than the online play , but a good mix of the two can be developed .

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COACHING :  For those who have been playing for a few years and wish to improve to  become advanced players , a structured coaching comes into play. Ideally   , a bridge partnership should go for coaching together but if there is no real regular partner , it can be done individually also. Here, more insights into advanced bidding concepts and gadgets   is provided with demo and examples . Further , the nuances of card play can be shared . I have observed that the card play department gets much less attention than the bidding department and new players struggle for too long with the card play  .

What a coach needs to impress upon the players in this category  is that they need to understand the philosophy of bidding ; WHY , and not just WHAT !  This also puts less strain on memory because bidding logic guides the players and   the players can then start enjoying  the challenge .

There isn’t any real surge in the numbers in this category  (  may be because bridge has only 2 catergories of players –  Beginners and Experts J  )

 

MENTORING :  The very word suggests that this can’t be for groups or masses but  for a very small, select set of players and more of one –on –one interaction. It’s a continuous process , more involved than teaching or coaching , where the mentor observes both technical and psychological development of the player and has good feedback system in place . It is expected that mentoring is being done for some broad or specific goals ahead and hence more intense training and interaction happens . A mentor should also play tournament   bridge with the mentee/s .

Juniors & bridge :  It is widely known that WBF is laying lot of emphasis on junior bridge development . The age groups within juniors may differ from nation to nation because of socio- economic factors and education systems in place . My observation & experience   tells me that   age group of 16 to  21 is NOT the ideal target age group in India . Either catch them younger or tap the 22 plus age group. Thankfully , 22 is still quite young for bridge .

Bridge promotion   through education :  Rather than straightaway asking learner to commit to a 14 sessions long bridge course , it might be a better idea to organize short  bridge workshops – say one day long or 2 sessions of 3 hours each spread over 2 consecutive days .

Introduction to bridge and also to the mechanics of the game can happen here . Further , a demo of actual play can be arranged . Then , to all those who find the process interesting and stimulating , the basic course can be offered at the end of such   workshop. 

Any possible snags , pitfalls ? : Yes , there are a few . To start with  , I am not in favour of  hard selling  our fantastic game . Unless the real desire and interest  happens from within  , it’s not going to work !   We need to just position the game well   with its major plus points , provide opportunities to learn and play , but the major push has to come from the learner’s side. Secondly  , beginners should not be thrown into tournament ring too fast ; More chance of the game losing them soon and forever !! . Give them some time , let them become comfortable at friendly bridge table first . Thirdly , bridge teachers and bridge promoters have to understand that everyone who learns bridge basics won’t play competitive bridge . But having more and more bridge players in the society will always help in getting better recognition and  support  .

All said and done , all of the above can be brought  together under  ‘ Bridge Education ‘ , which is so very essential in India for  survival and prosperity of the game  in years to come .  More and wider opportunities for learning bridge need to be created across the country .

A professionally run NATIONAL BRIDGE ACADEMY is   the way forward !