quickxotica

Hi Ross,

It was great working with you Feb 17th of this year. Nice to see you here on RL.

I've been instructing for 10 years now. CDI for the last 2. I agree with a lot of the above, especially re: finding out what the student's goals are 1st thing. Some want to learn how to go fast, some just want to have a nice safe weekend and then go back to commuting.

But if I had to pick just one thing I wish I'd known 10 years ago, it's how much I would learn, and how much I would improve as a driver, as a direct result of instructing others. They say you never really know a subject until you've had to teach it. That's true.

John's 991

Hi Ross, I've really enjoyed your books. Some of the things I have learned in 10 years of instructing:

1. Use a communicator so you can communicate more effectively. Bad things can happen if you cannot be easily understood.

2. Adjust your approach to the student and level. One size does not fit all and the instructor needs to make an effort to figure out what works best with that person.

3. First time in the car find out what the student wants to accomplish and communicate what you expect. Go back to these points throughout the day to provide continuity

4. When on the track keep communication short and in front of the student. It can be distracting to discuss what happened in the last corner. Save that for later or have the student come off track for a longer discussion

Hope that's of some use to you.

CAM14

Would concur with many of the post so far. Communication is the crux to the learning experience and repetition is underlining key. Ultimately, every student is a customer.

1) First try to establish a connection on why the customer came to the DE. Some attend just for entertainment whilst other really wants to learn about the art of performance driving. Then I will adjust my message based on what the customer is looking for.
2) Establish both verbal and non-verbal communications. I use a few standard, easy to understand hand singles to compliment the communicator.
3) Establish primary goal is have a successful and fun weekend, a key component of fun is not wreaking anything. I always request the customer to join me in the goal leaving the weekend with their car drivable.
4) After the first session, I assign homework to come back with at least 2 but no more than 3 tangle goals. An example of a tangle goal is “apex turn 3”.
5) The customer and I together break the track down to manageable “problems” to solve in a way that makes sense to them. This way, they have ownership in the learning experience and generally gain more out of it.
6) I end every track session with something they did right or improved upon and emphasize their homework for new tangle goals.

Over around 10 years of instructing, I have had many repeat customers and some have become good racing friends. I’ve help 6 former students earn their SCCA and/or NASA Competition Licenses.

38D

1) Make sure the student didn't leave their glasses at home
2) Never get in a car that makes you uncomfortable (lack of safety equipment, a 500hp engine upgrade with no brake upgrade, etc.)

CT03911

1 Watch their eyes or helmet to see where they are looking

2 Help the drivers with off track time too. Tire tips, brake tips, showing safety gear, care cleaning tips etc etc. If you are talking HPDE there is a wide variety of information we can share with drivers to help them and develop their interest further. In short, show you care.

Van

I have to say, what I've learned over the years of instructing - and what I wish I'd learned sooner - is that vision (where you're looking) and smoothness, especially using the brake, seem to be the most fundamental skills that should be taught first. Then it's easier to introduce the "line" the "timing" and other things later.

I've had fist-time students progress farther in a day when we drive around in the first session just looking for landmarks (non-cone landmarks), and don't really focus on anything else. Then, as the sessions progress, we work on the car's placement on the track, specifically turn-in. And, really save "getting to apexes" until the last session or even another day.

This seems to work better than having a student start driving cone-to-cone-to-cone right out of the gate.

Another thing I wish I had learned early on would be how to evaluate personality types and how to modify or adapt my teaching style to suite different students. I'd like to think I figured that out (and am still figuring this out) but perhaps there could have been something I should have done early on to get better.

Van

I watch the steering wheel for this - corrections mid corner mean they're looking right in front of the car and driving cone-to-cone. Holding the wheel in a steady spot for a smooth, continuous arc means they're looking ahead.

Sean F

Some people will never be good at this - just make them safe

KaiB

Seen me on track, have you????

But I look good in my bunny suit....

mhm993

Yes to a lot of the above. Yes -- make sure the car/student are safe, make sure that your communicator works, make sure that you remember that you are teaching HPDE and not racing, make sure that you've identified what and how your student learns, make sure that you can give instruction with enough time for the student to execute, make sure that you are calm at all times even as the wall approaches, etc.

1. Make sure that you can explain every last thing about the track and the techniques you are teaching in at least 3 different ways. If you do not have enough experience and insight into instructing you will only be there as a cheerleader. Which is great for some. But I always think that the best instructor is someone that you both learn from and have fun with.

2. Know when your student needs time to digest. Know when to shut up.

--Mindy

Ross_Bentley

By the way, the best instructor training I've ever been part of was when a bunch of instructors sat around and traded stories about what's worked and what hasn't. The more we share our experiences, the bigger our database of instructing techniques become, the better we become, the more our students learn, the more fun we all have...

xsboost90

i really had a tough time with my last student- never had a female before to instruct. I went away feeling pretty bad about my job as an instructor because im used to teaching guys who are type a personality and i believe she was type B if that makes sense. Sometimes its best to focus on just a couple key issues and not overload a student. I think i have learned to LISTEN much more and worry about higher level techniques later.

Mark Dreyer

Don't presume that talent is a substitute for seat time. Some rookie students will tempt you to let them unleash the horses. Experience trumps talent in most students. Let them push the limits once they have gone solo.

As for female students, one of the most talented drivers I've had the pleasure to instruct was a gal with a 4000 lb Volvo sedan!

944hal

Make it a fun experience. Start with that. Along the way it's pretty easy to gauge how serious the student is about learning performance driving. I've had a number of students go on to racing and instructing and many more that just want to drive around the track once in awhile for whatever reason. You can hammer on the serious ones because that's what they need and want. The others are just enjoying themselves, so make it a fun learning experience.

BTW.....my experience with women students have all been positive. I think they are better listeners.

ProCoach

+1!