Over the past three years I have been working with Littledown Schoool in Slough. This school provides education for children with special needs and many of the pupils have behavioral problems. I have great respect for the staff at this school and the work they do with what are often very difficult children. The boys from this school are the youngest I coach and I feel that perhaps, it is here that I do the most good. This year I have four days with them and Wednesday 25th was the first of these.

As always I took them to Twynersh Fisheries Complex and we started the lesson with my pendulum exercise. This involves a four meter whip and a plastic casting weight attached to the end with line, just short of the length of the whip. Students are shown how to hold the whip and how to lock the butt of the whip under their forearm to gain maximum control. They are then asked to swing the weight backwards and forwards in front of them, keeping the weight under the whip in a controlled fashion. This teaches them how to hold a fishing rod and how little movement of the arm it needs to manipulate the swinging weight. It helps to develop the fine motor skills they will need for casting and swinging in any fish they catch.

Both boys caught fish during the fishing practice that followed including some nice roach, but their casting will need some work. I expect to meet these boys again over the next couple of years as they progress through the school system.

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