- Always face the player when you are addressing him/her.
- Make sure the player can see you.
- Do not cover your face and mouth when speaking to the player.
- Speak slowly and clearly.
- Be aware of your body language and facial expressions.
- Make sure the player is not looking into the sun/ light.
- When using an interpreter, face the player when you coach them and speak to them, not the interpreter.
- Tap them lightly on the shoulder when calling for the player’s attention. DO NOT throw a ball towards them or use the golf club. If you are indoors, you can call for attention by stamping your foot on the floor or flipping the light switch off and on.
- Make sure that the environment is safe for teaching. The players cannot hear when a ball/car is coming from behind.
- Wear plain clothes. Do not wear something with patterns or lots of jewellery that will distract the player from what you are saying.
- Show and do more, speak less. First, let the players observe you before they take action. They cannot do and look/ listen to you at the same time.
- Check for understanding.
- When you have more than one hearing-impaired player to coach, allow time at the beginning of your lesson for a meet-and-greet. Deaf people will concentrate better when they are allocated time to do that.
- Speak in clear, plain language. Don’t make wordplay jokes or jokes that depend on a person’s knowledge of spoken language.
- Not all Deaf people can lip read, and not all can read and write well. Don’t depend on that to be able to coach.
- Many Deaf people have added disabilities. Be aware of that. Many Deaf people also struggle with balance issues.
*This material remains the intellectual property of the EDGA development team and may not be distributed or used further without written consent from the EDGA development team.
Below are a selection of key sign language golf phrases which you may wish to learn: