Every individual that teaches drill to Pathfinders should take pride in being a well-rounded instructor. That is to say they should have a knowledge and background that is diverse and thorough. This is the key to being a good instructor, a good advanced or fancy drill team coach, and a good administrator for drill related responsibilities.
What does it mean to be well rounded? It means having a wide range of knowledge. The best instructors not only know the drill that they teach, but the drill others teach. More importantly, they know why they teach the way they do and why others teach the way they do. Drill can have many applications and a good instructor must understand them all in order to be most effective. Let's go through a few examples:
1. For teaching the youngest Pathfinders, a good instructor knows that the hard core, Marine DI, methods will not be effective. He or she will end up with a group of crying children who never want anything to do with drill again. Instead, the instructor focuses on easy movements that can be mastered quickly to instill a sense of accomplishment. Instructors will draw upon their knowledge of teaching and leadership to bring the group together and instill pride, esprit de corps, and teamwork. Most of all, those young Pathfinders will come away with a feeling of accomplishment.
2. The older Pathfinders may tend to appreciate a higher standard. Being called out when executing a movement incorrectly. These Pathfinders can handle more advanced and abstract concepts that require thinking on their feet and challenge their mental gymnastics. They relate to a leader who can sympathize with the place they are at in life but can represent a goal to strive towards. Instructors at this level call upon their knowledge of body mechanics, physics, and technical details to give challenges to Pathfinders who have mastered the basics. These Pathfinders may also enjoy the history of drill or explanations of why movements are done the way they are done or called the way they are done. Teens will want to know more of what they will get out of drill than the younger Pathfinders. A good instructor must be ready for questions they will find hard to answer and be willing to say "I don't know". Nothing ruins a leader's image faster than the inability to admit when they are wrong. That being said, a Drill Instructor must strive to be wrong as few times as possible.
3. Advanced or Fancy Drill teams will benefit from a coach that has a diverse knowledge base to draw from to create appealing, and challenging routines. This is where knowledge of competitive drill can be very useful. An Instructor will know where attention should be paid and where things can be more relaxed. They will know how to deal with the nerves associated with competition. They will know how to make uniforms look their best with the tips and "tricks" used by competitive drillers that will make their team stand apart. Knowledge of international drill can be very useful to draw upon for creating new movements and routines that have never been seen before. You can only see so many variations of "To the four winds" before it gets old. Instructors must be guiding figures in this role. They must teach, inspire, and sometimes help carry the team when needed.
4. Special Teams cover instructing responsibilities such as color or honor guards. Instructors will be called upon frequently to advise and train Pathfinders on the proper techniques and movements. Here instructors will benefit from a wide knowledge of material covered in various manuals and publications. Instructors will have to focus on the guiding principles of drill and the basics of patriotism and personal responsibility in order to remain respected in their position. They will be confident in their instruction and not instill a resentment of drill for those they train. Often, the instructor will teach Pathfinders that are not in their club and therefor do not have a rapport. Instructors must let their reputation precede them (if they have one...good or bad) and draw from that to adapt into the teacher that works best. Depending on the situation, you could end up being the terrifying, big, scary guy (who you are pretty sure would rip your head off if given a reason); to the cool guy who's laid back and cracks jokes.
5. Administrative tasks are best accomplished by a leader who is confident in their field. Well-rounded instructors will be able to recall a long list of different ways to do things and be able to pick the variation that best suits the situation. This is where the interaction is mostly with adults and the leadership is different than with teens, TLTs, or Junior Pathfinders. This is, unfortunately, where instructors can make the most enemies by not doing it the "right" way and not listening to the verbal assaults of a rambling idiot and armchair expert on everything. It's a part of the job. You take the good with the bad and learn from every encounter.
A well-rounded instructor will be capable of all the tasks described above. An Instructor who is not may do well at one task but will fail at the others and will tend to leave a sour taste with those they interact with on that level. The damage can be as benign as simply being regarded as a poor instructor or as terrible as creating a loathing of drill in a Pathfinder's mind. Strive to be well rounded and learn beyond your specialty.
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