NRA Journal - Summer 2003 - National Rifle Association

2 INFANTRY BRIGADE CADET TR COACHING COURSEby Andrew PenfoldTwo weeks before the course I received that phonecall I could have really done without – Surrey ArmyCadet Force training centre was being used as atemporary fire station during the dispute. I had 42cadets and nine adults from the Channel Isles andSouth East attending. It was a most nerve rackingseven days, months of planning could be thrown intoconfusion, it all hinged on the diplomacy of the DeputyPrime Minister!subjects to the assembled Skills course - whilst beingindependently assessed. All completed the task withgood humour, confidence and expertise.Nine experienced cadets, who have previouslycompleted the Skills course, were put through theirpaces to prepare them for greater things; the UK CadetRifle Team to the Channel Isles, the Athelings Teamto Canada and the GB U19 Team to South Africa.It was going to be quite an experiment - four differentcourses running simultaneously: GBTSF ClubCoaches, NRA Club Instructors, Advanced and BasicSkills Enhancement.Mik Maksimovic and I got to Bisley early in themorning to complete the required admin and takeover.Everything went smoothly – too smoothly I thought,or perhaps it was the fact we had planned so well. Itwas at lunch when Mik hit me with the bombshell -could we look at the logical flow of the programme?We spent the afternoon rewriting the entire timetable.Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse the bulbsblew on the overhead and PowerPoint projectors.Thankfully Mik had kept back the PowerPointprojector loaned by Surrey ACF, whilst Pete Kearseycalled in some favours to borrow an OHP from theCamberley Sea Cadet Corps. I could relax once more.For the Skills Enhancement course, the first two dayswere spent in the classroom, laying the foundationswith a thorough grounding in the four principles ofMarksmanship.We managed to break the monotony of the classroomwork with Martin and Phyllis Farnan turning out insupport. Martin was even persuaded to talk abouthis shooting career, including his winning HM theQueen’s Medal for Service Rifle shooting, along withshowing the cadets some of the medals they could winat Bisley.Martin spent days beforehand telling me that 30minutes was more than enough time for him to talk -I did explain that last year David Calvert had thecadets eating out of his hand for two hours! One anda half hours later we had to call a halt to Martin’senlightening lecture to avoid having to rewrite theprogramme once again.Marc Jackson put the Club Coaches through theirpaces in the art of teaching techniques and lessonplans. After some scary dress rehearsals, constructivecritique from their peers and minor re-adjustments,the club coaches were all required to present theirOn the Monday it was time to put theory into practice!Would it work? The course ventured out to AshRanges where, under the Range Officer expertise ofAdrian Moore, we spent the day zeroing rifles,introducing novices to fullbore target rifle shooting,letting coaches loose with their new found skills andknowledge, as well as getting the Advanced course tocoach themselves with confidence.During shooting on Tuesday we were delighted towelcome Phyllis and Martin Farnan and Bob Fishwick,the new Secretary General of the NRA, who spent timetalking to the students.Tuesday evening was our last evening and we weredelighted that John Jackman could join us (he venturedall of one mile from his home) to present the certificatesand badges. After the presentations, most of the adultsadjourned to the nearest local hostelry where thecourse director was seen to buy a round. Must havebeen a blue moon!On Wednesday morning we cleared up our mess, saidour fond farewells to Steve Rootes, the Master Chef,who, owing to his culinary expertise, had ensured weall came away far heavier than when we had started.We are grateful to Surrey ACF for looking after us sowell.The morning spent on Century range introduced someof the cadets to their first visit to Bisley, whilst the oldhands were able to prove themselves without beingin awe of their surroundings.Did we achieve our aims? Everyone enjoyedthemselves and learned from the experience - an awfullot want to come back next year, so yes I think we did.None of this would have been possible without thesupport of a dedicated directing staff, the NRA, CCRSand Surrey ACF.The course is open to cadets and adults in the cadetforces and next year it will run from 13 to 18 February.Should you wish to bid for places, contact either theNRA Shooting Administrator or Andrew Penfold(arp@tonbridge-school.org).13