We start off with the NRA Basic Rifle Course, which teaches all fundamental safety principles, parts, how rifles work, more safety, taking the first shots, more safety, and some minor position and marksmanship discussion. It's good because it has a test at the end and it gives the kids something to work towards.
After they have completed that, we move to the more specific NRA Junior Rifle Shooting book.
It focuses on safety but then moves into the advanced concepts of taking the shot, positions, various marksmanship principles and techniques.
After teaching the positions and going through the NRA Junior Rifle book, we move the NRA qualification programs. Most of the time we start with light rifle as the targets are bigger and easier to obtain a decent score on. As students progress through the ranks of the qualification, some decide to split off and do ISSF style shooting and in any event there is an NRA qualification program to follow up with it (4 Position or International).
Along the way we go on field trips, one to a large junior team about an hour away, another to Savage Arms a firearms company.
Student's keep and post their own scores, we sometimes participate postals, We also have the students come up with their own "tips" which we discuss and share.
The NRA qualifications are nice because their are short term goals that have immediate results, medals, patches, certificates.
Materials we use
http://materials.nrahq.org/go/products.aspx?cat=G-Books
As fore parent involvement, sometimes it's best to have the parents not involved in the day to day training as they tend to push their kids more.
We encourage the parents to attend classes but when on the line, we leave the parents in the lounge.
After the students have completed the NRA Basic Rifle, we teach them to teach their parents...the parents come in for a few hours over a couple weekends and the children prepare lessons about firearms safety, shooting, positions...basically the things they ahve learned. The chilrend then sign off on their parents certificate - a matter of pride for them.
As a student moves from light rifle to International small bore we do use the ISSF/USA training target. I forgot where we got the target information but the target 9 and 10 ring are the "entire" black for the standard small bore target. Basically they are aiming at what they would normally aim at but they get slightly higher scores and the rings go out to 1 so almost all shots count.
Some good power point presentations
http://www.odcmp.com/CoachingResources.htm
Albert wrote:Thanks a thousand times. In The Netherlands we do not have any qualification levels for juniors the way you have, but for club use I can modify the sheets slightly to accomodate our system.
I f you have any info on how you set up shooting lessons for the juniors (what do you do in a lesson and in what order, what kind of games and shooting exercises do you use, in what way do you involve parents e.o.) I am very interested. (In the Netherlands basic training courses by the National Shooting Association are designed for teaching adults only).
Thanks,
Albert
(The Netherlands)