Clean Run Magazine - June 2007 - 14

Trainer’s Forum By Brenna Fender I have a hard time memorizing courses. What strategies can I use so that I don’t get lost? Webb Anderson Many handlers struggle with course memorization so you are certainly not alone! So many people have trouble remembering courses that I dedicate an entire afternoon of my course analysis seminar to memorization techniques. In this seminar, I teach several practical methods for memorizing courses and ask the participants to experiment with each method until they learn which technique or combination of techniques will work best for them. Some people learn best by visualizing while others learn by doing. Regardless of what type of learner you are, there are a few basic principles of course memorization that you can employ. Rather than looking at the course as a whole, divide it into sections: opening, closing, and a couple of sections in the middle. This tactic allows you to memorize sequences, which is easier than trying to remember the entire course as one unit. Webb is an AKC agility judge and currently competes with Nigel, the #1 AKC agility terrier and #1 Schnauzer. Webb is a full-time agility trainer and coach. Contact him for seminars or lessons through his website at www.performanceplusk9s.com A good technique for people who learn by visualizing is to concentrate on the ﬂow of the course. To do this, draw your dog’s path on the course map and then memorize the direction the path ﬂows. Changes of direction in ﬂow indicate side switches. Next, draw the path on a blank sheet of paper and insert the obstacles from memory. Another useful technique is to identify shapes on the course. Look for shapes that are easily recognizable such as serpentines, 270s, or even letter shapes such as an M or a Z. Once you’ve identiﬁed a shape, don’t worry about that sequence—you know it—then move on to memorize the harder parts of the course. Some handlers ﬁnd that they can reduce the amount of memorization they have to do at the trial simply by studying judges’ past courses. It is not unusual for judges to develop patterns or trends in their course design. By knowing the types of sequences you might expect from a Angelica Steinker Angelica owns and operates Courteous Canine, Inc. in Lutz, Florida. She is the founder of the International Dog Sport Coaches Association, and the author of Agility Success and Click and Play Agility. Contact Angelica at www.courteouscanine.com. There are many things you can do to help you memorize courses. Volunteer to help build the course because this is a great way to familiarize yourself with where the obstacles are. Then when the judge opens the course for walking, you can focus on course memorization for the entire walk-through period. Give memorizing the course 100% of your energy, which means that you should politely avoid speaking with anyone. Walk the course as if you were your dog to aid in selecting a handling strategy. Then, walk the course and begin rehearsing your handling strategy. Determine what kind of sequences the course is made up of. For example, perhaps the opening is a three-obstacle line to a pinwheel, and then another line to a 180° turn to a serpentine. By 14 memorizing sequences rather than individual obstacles, you are setting yourself up for success. Next, test your memory while you are still able to walk the course. Move to the side where no one will be walking and see if you can recall the entire course. If you can’t, just cheat and look at the course. If necessary, go and walk it again. Continue this process of walking and testing your memory until you have the course memorized. Then go and run the course full speed as if you were running a rocket dog. Even if you aren’t physically able to run just pretend that you are handling your rocket dog at a distance and signal at rocket speed. This helps you be overprepared; if you can recall the pattern of sequences for your rocket dog, then going out there Clean Run | June 07

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Clean Run Magazine - June 2007

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Clean Run Magazine - June 2007