Any Advice for Instructor Clinic?

[FTS]

Hello All:

 

I signed up for one of the upcoming instructor clinics (level 1). I have never instructed before, this will be a trial for me to see if I am a good instructor candidate; I also have just over 40 DE days, which meets the minimum requirements, but not tremendous amount.

 

I would welcome any advice, input, warning, etc. as I get ready for this level 1 session. How can I make the most of it and what should I watch for.

 

Thank you all in advance.

[sscguy]

-Come into the clinic well-rested. You'll be super busy, and will have very little time to rest.

-As with any weekend, stay hydrated and fed throughout the day. See above.

-Come prepared with writing stuff (pen/pencil/notebook).

-Keep an open mind. Some stuff might sound repetitive or hokey, but it is all useful and important.

-Pay SPECIAL attention to the part about getting into a collision while riding shotgun. No one wants it to happen, or really expects it to happen, but chances are reasonable that it will. The consequences of an event like that are pretty heavy, so you should be prepared.

-If it's possible to have some kind of "pit crew" for your car, that would be very helpful. Even just someone to have the car lined up at grid for you.

-Dig into the exercises, and try to get the most out of them, even if they are silly. Keep that in mind when you're supposed to be "acting".

-Don't be afraid to ask questions! No such thing as a stupid question there, especially in that company.

 

Sounds like you're off to a good start. The clinic is just the beginning

[ninetyfourintegra]

Practice withholding your inner school girl scream for the first time you know your student is going to drive off course before they do

 

One of mine just did it to me on Friday. Looking in the mirror to give a point-by and drove right off the edge of the track

 

Open mind is key. Willingness to learn is best.

[kbrew8991]

re-read any books you have that teach the real basics (car control, finding the line, etc). It'll help you get back in a mindset that will help you teach these things to new people

[sscguy]

Ah, another one: think about the specific language/wording you can use to get a message across to the student. For example, "turn left" means diddly squat, and "turn!" means even less. Be specific, but concise. That'll be a long-term practice thing, but why not start thinking now?

[kieranlavin]

Ah, another one: think about the specific language/wording you can use to get a message across to the student. For example, "turn left" means diddly squat, and "turn!" means even less. Be specific, but concise. That'll be a long-term practice thing, but why not start thinking now?

 

Great advice! The least words to get your point across. ESPECIALLY in an incident where you might be exiting the track or, worse, hitting something. Last spring I was in a car with a familiar student and he was driving ultra conservative in the rain. He went into a turn too fast and got offline but coasting. I was going to explain to him WHY he shouldn't be getting back on the gas in a RWD Mustang in the wet offline out in the real wet stuff. All I got out of my mouth was "Now you really...." and, before I knew it, he was on the gas and we were headed toward the wall. "NO GAS!" would've worked a LOT better and might have prevented the incident

[99HOSS]

I changed my vocabulary for the 'right seat' driving that I do as an Instructor.

 

You want to get rid of 'GO', 'NO', or 'WHOA' and trade them in for dissimiler words like 'THROTTLE', 'DON'T', or 'BRAKE'.

 

You have to be able to control the car with your communication. As a rule I won't touch the wheel, shifter, parking brake of the car I'm riding in unless the student has completely passed out and eminent danger is rapidly approaching. I will re-adjust the inside rear view mirror if I find the student is spending too much time there, though.

 

Being an instructor isn't for everyone. But those of us that are able to do it, and speaking for myself, get the satisfaction of teaching a skill that could save a life, or see a former student, who has gone on to race, up on the podium.

 

An open mind and sense of adventure is a requirement each time you show up.

 

Have fun at the clinic, too.

[DarkSideDE]

Wow, from this I'd know who I'd want and wouldn't want as an instructor... LOL

 

Meanwhile, one other thing - some instructors want to drive their students cars. This way they are familiar with how the car handles on a first hand basis. Most of the time this is not a good idea. However, if your student has gotten the Lockton-Affinity HPDE Insurance - you won't have any guilt. The instructor that takes one of those cars out are now cover. Should a student not have HPDE insurance, please don't go behind the wheel of his/her car.

[kieranlavin]

Agreed on getting rid of the word NO, GO, WHOA. Didn't think of that in an emergency situation.

 

As for driving the student's car, you shouldn't be driving the car at the level that you'd be worried about needing insurance. You shouldn't be driving the car to "see what it can do" but rather to show the student the proper line, point out corner stations, and let them see the track from the passenger seat before they're out driving on the track with information overload. Usually driving the student's car at 6/10ths or so is enough to give the student a thrill to think you're going really fast when, in reality, by the end of the day they'll be pushing the car FAR more than I did in the first few laps.

[FTS]

Excellent input everyone, thank you very much; you all gave me a lot to think and get excited about.

 

Vocabulary has been my main concern that prevented me from signing up to become an instructor. However, lately I have been paying extra attention to how my instructors communicate with me, when I get one; it has been interesting to say the least. English is my third language, so proficiency will be key as you all mention. I have been an easy learner thus far, but I understand that I need to take this to another level now to ensure I can keep the students and myself safe first

 

I don't let my instructors drive my car, couple of friends that I trust and know their driving yes. So, I am not eager to drive anyone's car at this time; if I need to show them the lines or couple of tricks, I'll take them in my car. But hopefully, I have time to prepare for that as I think it will take me about a year to become an instructor.

 

Looking forward to VIR for the instructor clinic. Unfortunately, I don't have someone to be the pit crew, but my car is very stock and easy to prepare for grid, so I hope I won't be loosing much time between class room and track times.

 

Thank you very much once again for all of your input.

[DarkSideDE]

As for driving the student's car, you shouldn't be driving the car at the level that you'd be worried about needing insurance.

 

From experience at the track - you don't know who serviced the student's car most of the time. I watched an instructor get behind the wheel of a beginner's really fine looking 914/6. It was the second session for the beginner's run group. As they pulled out of the pit into the straight-away, things started falling out of the car. The session was stopped, and items picked up and the beginner was without a car for the rest of the weekend. Now, if the student had been driving and this happened, no big deal - but the student blamed the instructor for ruining his weekend. You just don't know....

[kieranlavin]

Here in the northeast, we have tech... for a reason

[DarkSideDE]

Here in the northeast, we have tech... for a reason

 

Here in the Southeast we have tech also - and for the same reason. Now tell me what do you do when the tech form comes in signed by a reliable/authorized shop and the car makes it through the "no loose change" track inspection -- and still falls apart on the track...? And yes - it happens.

[Daniel Schroeder]

In class LISTEN, ask as may questions as need for YOU to understand (or wait until afterwards for a one on one with the teacher. Don't "cheat" when doing the in car roll play, it can really be fun.

Be aware of everything around you, watch the mirrors for the student, watch their eyes, watch their head, watch their feet.

In the car, tech it well. That car and that driver has your life and any drivers/cornerworkers lives at stake. If there is anything that you are unsure of, get a second set of eyes to take a look. Watch everything for and with them, watch their eyes, head, mirrors, hands, feet...everything.

 

Eyes will tell you what they are not looking at.

Feet will tell you what they are about to do.

Listen to the student but don't talk to much.

Learn hand signals

Discuss with the student what certain terms mean. I had an instructor that kept using a term that I had NO clue what he meant session after session(it may have been something as simple as "open the wheel"). My fault for not asking

for clarity, his fault for not explaining. I make that one of the first discussions had with the student

At Summit I had a student that constantly applied the brakes in turn 4, I watched their feet and was able to ward it off just as I saw the right foot start to twitch.

Students have a habbit of "driving their mirrors", at VIR I had a student in a Mustang driving a WRX STi in his mirror...in the rain that planted us nose first in the wall.

 

Keep an open mind.

Good luck!!

[FTS]

Thank you again everyone, great tips, I will do my best to remember and executed them

 

Thank you,

[99HOSS]

... if/when you do advance to the ranks of the Instructor Corp and you have the required communicator (Chatterbox), one other thing to be aware of with your student is whether or not he/she is breathing. You can LOOK for the 'white knuckles' on the steering wheel, the 'twitch' of the leg/foot getting ready to go for the brake and many times you can see their eyes, but you'll have to LISTEN for their breathing.

 

On the straights, relax one hand at a time, deep breath, scan guages, gather it back up, give some short last minute instruction and then ask them 'You doin' OK?'

[getfast]

I would welcome any advice, input, warning, etc. as I get ready for this level 1 session. How can I make the most of it and what should I watch for.

 

Late to the thread but here goes...

 

The Mid-Atlantic instructor clinics are, in my opinion, some of the best in the country. You will be learning from the legendary Dan Unkefer, who truly understands the complicated and often delicate nature of the instructor-student relationship. Use his many years of knowledge and experience to your advantage; as others have said, do NOT be afraid to ask questions!

 

As for the exercises, the role-playing and "blind driver" specifically... what you get out of them is based on what you put into them. If your goal is just to get through them so you can get back to the track time, you will miss a whole lot of thought-provoking and extremely helpful stuff.

 

From reading your posts in this thread I'd say it sounds like you have an excellent attitude and a fine desire to learn then teach. Those will be the characteristics that help you truly enjoy this Friday - because soon enough you will be turning those elements of your personality toward your students.

 

Hope it helps,

 

Jon

[FTS]

Jon, thank you for the information and encouragement. You are right, for me this all about learning at this time. As a student instructing looks and sounds like it is fun, exciting, another level of learning opportunity and pretty crazy sometimes I just do not know if it is for me. This level 1 clinic is a test for me to see if my perceptions are close to reality. Thus far with all I have been told about instructing, my gut tells me I will enjoy it and be good at it. I really hope I am not wrong

[FTS]

I attended the instrcutor clinic 1 this past weekend at VIR. I have to say that the clinic exceed my expectations. Dan, our instructor, was very good, his methods were effective in conveying classroom information and in a manner that we could apply and execute following the classroom. I enjoyed the classroom information and the on-track exercises tremendously, and more importantly, I do believe this is something that not only I can do, but be good at.

 

At the same time, during the exercises, I realized how much there is to know to be a good instructor. Some parts are scary, not knowing how to handle certain situations and types of students, but hopefully practice and experience will teach that. In those lines, the only thing I was left wanting more was more role playing exercise on the track. We got great open practice sessions and track time in addition to the clinic, and I appreciated, but I would have gladly giving up one or even two of those sessions for more role playing exercises, especially if done with experienced instructors.

 

Overall I think this was great value for the money, I cannot wait for the next clinic, hopefully at Summit Point. Thank you everyone for your insights and support, I am absolutely liking this

[sscguy]

Glad you enjoyed it, and welcome to The Corp

 

For future role-playing, if you address it with Dan/Jeff and pit-out, I'm sure you could arrange that with another instructor at an event. I mean, they're doing comp school exercises, I don't know why a little controlled noobish activity would be a problem

[FTS]

Thank you, sounds like a good idea

[sonny]

Now that you're in the corps, here are some tips I've learned in my years of Instructing in car as well as as the classroom instructor (and as a former professor):

 

• Tell the student to ask you questions. The only stupid question is the question NOT asked.
  
• Tell your student if you ever use a term or give an instruction they do not understand, they need to ask you for clarification. (I once had a student who didn't understand what an apex was until she asked me on the last session of the last day...)
  
• Get yourself an in-car communicator. Most are enamored with Chatterbox but there are others out there that are less expensive & work just as well. (Search for "motorcycle communicators". Although people knock them, I have a Nady & it has served me well for over 8 years.)
  
• NEVER be afraid to reign in a student if you think they are driving over their head or in an unsafe manner. As the Instructor, you've been charged with keeping the student safe even if they don't think you're looking out for their best interest. I'm sure any of the Instructors reading this can recall an incident where they had to tell a student to "behave/listen" or pit. I've actually made good on that threat before & after sitting in the pits for ~2 minutes while watching all of the other cars go by, the student finally agreed to listen & the rest of the weekend went smoothly.
  
• You will not get along with every student you are assigned. Different people communicate & respond differently to different people. If you find yourself not able to communicate effectively with your student for whatever reason, ask a fellow instructor to trade with you otherwise you might be blamed for the student not having a good weeekend. On more than one occasion, I've been asked to sub for one instructor or other because the student just wasn't "getting it" from their originally assigned instructor.
  
• Try to develop different approaches to instructing. You have to learn to adapt to your student's ability to accept & process information. Some like/expect/want more feedback/instruction & some require/want less. Learn to adjust to the needs of your student. This is by far, probably the most difficult thing to do as an Instructor & takes years to really develop.
  
• Whenever I get into a student's car for the very 1st time, I tell them my 2 very basic & simple rules that will set the tone for the weekend: Rule #1) Don't scare me. Rule #2) TRY to execute what I ask you to do. I don't necessarily expect you to execute it but at least TRY. Then I tell them, if they follow Rule #2, they'll never violate rule #1.
  
• Don't give into pressure to solo a student. If you don't think they're ready to solo, DON'T sign off on them - period.
  
• ALWAYS get to grid on time with your student. Just remember back to the days when you were a noob & on the rare occasion you had to wait on your instructor -- all the angst & frustration you felt. You don't want to do that to one of your students.

 

I could go on but I think these are some "nuggets" to start off with.

 

Feel free to PM me if you have any other questions or want to pick my brain any further.

 

And again, welcome to the corps!

[soundguydave]

Bravo! Very well said, and each item a gem. I also use the "two rule" bit, but mine are 1) When I say "BRAKE!", I want you on the brakes, HARD, right then. If you don't know why I told you to, just do it anyway, and we'll talk about it later, I may have seen something you didn't. 2) We WILL start out slower than you think you should be, but I guarantee that we'll be a LOT faster at the end of the day/weekend because of it.

[FTS]

Excellent tips, thank you very much both of you.

 

I will wait for the Clinic 2 in February or March time frame before I actually sign up as an instructor. I think I have quite a bit to learn still, but I also understand, just like driving, instructing requires seat time more than anything else. I am also going to sign up for other clubs clinics, so I can get the most classroom/practice time before getting in front of a real student.

 

This thread has been so very beneficial to me, I hope it is/will be helping other visiting these forums.

 

Thank you everyone once again for all the information and support.

[jimbow]

FTS - Since you are in the Mid-Atlantic region hook up with any of the "On the Hill" or SofaKing group. Look for Mike Sarver or Jack MacAfee. Good guys and they will help you get over your fear of jumping in with both feet! Tell them James said Hi, and no I'm not going to VIR in February ever again.

 

I started instructing my first weekend after taking Instructor 1, I've since taken Instructor 2 twice (different tracks) I learn something new each weekend from my students and how to instruct them. I've also managed to instruct with four other groups this year.

 

Come down to the southeast sometime next year, we have great tracks and about the same athmosphere as the mid-atlantic group. Just don't let Sonny near you with his glove!

 

Good Luck!