I have joked with Paul a few times that I would be happy to start fishing as an elective up at the Mt Penang Gardens dam. While obviously we have more on our plate at this very moment, my guess is that the first casting session would tell me more than you think about each student, especially after what Andre and I observed this week with a session on throwing a tennis ball.
As a parent, I have always tried to tick off the basics, like catching, kicking, hitting and throwing, all with different types of balls, plus riding a bike and the great Aussie past time, fishing. I thought I was getting through the list quite well until I saw my nine year old bowl a cricket ball this past summer. It was a cross between Malcom Marshall (ex West Indian fast bowler) and Muttiah Muralitharan (Sri Lankan spinner). Definitely an illegal delivery but we worked on it in the backyard and we have got it close to Jeff Thomson minus 150km/hr.
As we strive to give our kids as many life skills as possible, a lot of the time we get caught up in the latest trends. As an example, I didn’t even know where Lincraft was a month ago and now I am hoping to join their loyalty program. These loom bands, I figure, will have more fine motor skill benefits than some of the other crazes. I am sure it will at least help them tie their fishing knots and any help there is worth the spend.
Whenever teaching, whether my own kids or others, I always like to create a fun learning environment. With fishing, for example, I will go where I know the kids will catch a lot of fish (not necessarily big ones). This way they not only get excited about what’s on the end of the line but they get repeated practice at all the fine motor skills of baiting, handling a fish and casting. Small sided games work in a similar way where kids get plenty of touches and score plenty of goals.
Secondly, I like to vary the environment. Apart from simply seeing something different, this allows kids to adapt their skills to all types of conditions, such as, taking the kids to a wharf, a beach or even small rocks (not highly recommended on the first few trips). Similarly in football, we play futsal, beach football or even just play on a bumpy surface. The football environment can change within an instant and while the fishing landscape can change with the tide or the weather which is not so quick, you still need to adapt. If you haven’t learned the skills to adapt, you will come off second best or in the fishing world, go home without a feed.
With a childhood drenched in sport and fishing, I need to remind myself that in passing on as many teachings as I can, each skill positively affects another. I am constantly surprised by how our kids’ brains continue to transfer this learning, so let’s give them all we can now.
Leave a Reply