Top reasons to RO a squad of new shooters.

[chbrow10]

Today I RO’d a squad full of new shooters.  There were 6 unclassified shooters on my squad of 9.  The three classified shooters were me, my 16 year old son, and my 11 year old daughter.  After that experience, I have a new perspective on RO-ing new shooters. 

 

Top reasons to RO a squad of new shooters.

#6 No one challenges your calls

#5 They usually aren’t reloading yet, so you get to keep their brass.

#4 Its good for your ego.  Even a C class shooter looks like Max by comparison.

#3 You have every excuse for being slow.

#2 You get to test your skills because you see some crazy stuff.

#1 reason, you get to show them how cool the sport is and help them drink the kool aid.  We’ve all heard the horror stories of bad RO’s running people off because the RO was a jerk.  You get to be the one that makes sure that doesn’t happen.

[Hi-Power Jack]

9 hours ago, chbrow10 said:

We’ve all heard horror stories of RO’s being a jerk.  You get to be the one that makes sure that doesn’t happen.

That makes it all worthwhile, all by itself   

I've shot under at least a hundred RO's at 20 different ranges,

and the Good Ones stand out .

Congratulations.   

[MemphisMechanic]

All valid reasons. Being a good PR person is a great deal of fun.

In addition, if you're their primary contact you get to help them avoid "drinking from a fire hose" syndrome they often get on a squad of helpful shooters. Tell them only what they need to know to get started, and avoid having an overdose of information gushing out of their ears.

I find that getting all the newbies on one squad really helps return attendance too. They make friends with each other, and aren't left with a crushed soul after a day spent with (G)M class shooters setting a bar that looks impossible to reach.

Having them squadded with a couple of Bs Cs and Ds in addition to someone A or better is often helpful, really. They see the skill progression and it looks less impossible to get there someday.

Edited January 15, 2017 by MemphisMechanic

[Sarge]

While I have heard the stories of Jerk RO's, I have never actually seen one. 

And, for the record, I don't consider RO's who enforce the rules even for first time shooters to be jerks. 

But I do agree there would be plenty of once fired brass.

[chbrow10]

12 minutes ago, Sarge said:

While I have heard the stories of Jerk RO's, I have never actually seen one. 

And, for the record, I don't consider RO's who enforce the rules even for first time shooters to be jerks. 

But I do agree there would be plenty of once fired brass.

I don't consider ROs who enforce the rules to be jerks, either.  I'm talking about genuinely ornery people who are condescending to new shooters.

[Hi-Power Jack]

1 hour ago, Sarge said:

While I have heard the stories of Jerk RO's, I have never actually seen one. 

Unfortunately, I have seen SEVERAL ... 

[Steve RA]

Thru the years I was actively competing I only saw a few who could be called jerks, probably have seen many more who worked at public ranges.

[Sarge]

38 minutes ago, Hi-Power Jack said:

Unfortunately, I have seen SEVERAL ... 

You know Jack, if an RO is truly a jerk they should be reported to the Section Coordinator. I imagine DNROI would like to know these things as his number one rule to RO's is, DON'T BE A DICK (Jerk). 

[Hi-Power Jack]

1 hour ago, Sarge said:

  if an RO is  a jerk they should be reported to the Section Coordinator.

Sounds like good advice.   

[chbrow10]

Sadly, the two people that come to mind in my are not certified ROs, they just hold a timer at a level 1.

[The Donald]

8 hours ago, Sarge said:

While I have heard the stories of Jerk RO's, I have never actually seen one. 

And, for the record, I don't consider RO's who enforce the rules even for first time shooters to be jerks. 

But I do agree there would be plenty of once fired brass.

On the enforcing the rules, yes BUT you need to explain the rule and sometimes why it is used. A good R.O. for a squad of first time shooters is you need to be a bit of a teacher too.

At a gun club I used to be a member of I put on 2 entry to IDPA and 2 entry to USPSA shooting classes a year. The classes would fill up within a day of being offered with a limit of 10 students. I spent most of the time on the basic rules to shoot the sport safely, what to do when you get to a match. Basic drawing and shooting and going through a simple stage. Bad part was a couple members got on the board and did not like action shooting sports, so they made it next to impossible to put on classes.

[Sarge]

I'll also go on record as saying I don't think a squad of new shooters is the way to go. They should be mixed throughout. Sure they might have to watch good shooters but at least they won't be super slow and have a whole squad of good shooters breathing down their necks all day. That would be more stressful in my opinion. I mean, sure we want new shooters to come to the sport but the rest of us want to finish before dark.

[Hi-Power Jack]

One of our local club's shoots usually puts newbies together, and

it seems to work very well.

One patient, skilled RO is just what they all need.

Easy to set them with a one stage buffer behind them, so they

don't slow the rest of us down.     

[CHA-LEE]

As an MD I have seen inconsistent results by having all of the new shooters on one squad. The primary issue is that with everyone being new on the squad is that there are not enough experienced shooters to show the new shooters how normal things should be done and the normal process of things. Shooting the stage is only a very small part of the match day process and learning the process of taping, brassing, steel resetting, and walk through courtesy is something best done by leading by example from experienced shooters. Tasking a 2 - 3 experienced shooters to wrangle a whole squad of new shooters is also a significant burden on the experienced guys. They usually have to sacrifice their own match performance to babysit the new shooters through the process all day long.

We have had way better first match experience and retention of new shooters by interlacing them in squads that are primarily composed of experienced shooters. We will assign a couple of the experienced squad mates as their "Go to" person during the match for questions, advise or whatever else. Then we will bias them to the bottom of the list in shooting order so they can observe the other shooters tackling the stage in their own way. Once the new shooters feel more comfortable we will put them in the normal random shooting order that is set for every stage but always keep them from being the very first person to shoot the stage out of courtesy so the new guys can get their bearings on the stage before having to shoot it. 

Edited January 19, 2017 by CHA-LEE

[racegun9]

We have found the same thing as CHA-LEE and use that method.

Most of the time we don't have an empty bay to use as a buffer either.

[Sarge]

54 minutes ago, CHA-LEE said:

As an MD I have need inconsistent results by having all of the new shooters on one squad. The primary issue is that with everyone being new on the squad is that there are not enough experienced shooters to show the new shooters how normal things should be done and the normal process of things. Shooting the stage is only a very small part of the match day process and learning the process of taping, brassing, steel resetting, and walk through courtesy is something best done by leading by example from experienced shooters. Tasking a 2 - 3 experienced shooters to wrangle a whole squad of new shooters is also a significant burden on the experienced guys. They usually have to sacrifice their own match performance to babysit the new shooters through the process all day long.

We have had way better first match experience and retention of new shooters by interlacing them in squads that are primarily composed of experienced shooters. We will assign a couple of the experienced squad mates as their "Go to" person during the match for questions, advise or whatever else. Then we will bias them to the bottom of the list in shooting order so they can observe the other shooters tackling the stage in their own way. Once the new shooters feel more comfortable we will put them in the normal random shooting order that is set for every stage but always keep them from being the very first person to shoot the stage out of courtesy so the new guys can get their bearings on the stage before having to shoot it. 

Exactly