Thursday, September 7, 2023

Fishing and Catching

If you really want to master a task, it helps to have a mentor

By Larry Richardson, CLAC Training BC Director

As a training director, I know what steps are needed to develop competency. But competency is only part of the success in mastering a task. You also need desire, motivation, and an ability to learn. And if you really want to master a task, it helps to have a mentor.

Our grandsons joined us again on our camping trip this year. They were looking forward to repeating last year’s trip with their grandparents.

When asked what they wanted to do, our four-year-old, Rory, wanted to play, swim, and do Pokémon. Our six-year-old, Liam, wanted Papa to teach him how to fish again.

Liam and I had “fished” last year. He had cast his line right beside the swimming area in the lake. Unsurprisingly, we did not catch anything. He learned that it is called fishing, not catching.

This year, he wanted to catch something. I told him he would have to learn how to cast, to watch the activity on the lake, and to avoid the milfoil (an invasive aquatic plant).

I also told him that the time the line was in the water was directly proportional to the number of fish he may catch. (I did not say proportional to him!)

We then learned to cast in the evening, at 6 a.m., and after noon. Which meant I was with him at the water at these times. It was great!

Liam learned to look where he wanted the line to go, to make sure Papa was out of the way, to lower his rod, ensure his line was clear and straight, to shift his weight and bring the rod up in an arc, hit the release button, and cast the line. He was much better with his three-foot rod than I was.

He caught a fish, brought it to the dock, and lost it under the dock. He lost another lure to milfoil. He was seeing activity and enjoying the learning, but he was still fishing, not catching.

Later that day, I went and bought a net for him. He woke me up at 5:45 the next morning, confident that this was the day.

We snuck out of the trailer, loaded up, and went to the lake. He fidgeted, scratched, rubbed his ear, and finally cast. Five casts in, he had his first bite!

We netted his trophy, and Liam now added catching to fishing in his learning. We cast 10 more times, but didn’t get any more bites, and we headed back. He showed his trophy proudly to his great uncle, the camper up walking her dog, and anyone else who walked by.

Fishing became catching. More importantly, mentoring my grandson was all bonding time.

This is the value of mentorship when apprenticing in any activity, whether it’s a hobby like fishing or learning a trade. Not only will you learn a lifelong pattern of competency development, you will likely form a lasting bond with your mentor.

Fishing and Catching

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