Not counting ourselves beat, but I have no grand illusions either. I've always fished ponds and creeks. Sometimes coves of big lakes from a Kayak. That's the extent of my experience, and if I'm the coach, then it's gonna be tough. Hopefully I get time to get the boat going so we can get out and fish this summer.

Just a tip - break the lake into sections. Look at each section as a pond and then figure out how you would fish that particular "pond". This may cut your learning curve some.
Sometimes, we get too hung up on running all over the lake and trying too much stuff. In almost every tournament there were fish caught on a variety of techniques and baits - don't get hung up on dock talk and just do what you know how to do on tournament day.

^^ agree with this. all of it

You will be missed. More importantly, you will miss out on the memories of fishing with your kid. I captained my son's team for four years. He fished 37 high school tournaments (THSBA and others) across Texas and 2 Bass Champs big bass tournaments on Fork. We pre-fished the weekend before for most of these and he picked the spots and techniques. I never had to drag him to events, and when we weren't fishing, he was at the neighborhood pond on the bank or in his kayak. He watched countless numbers on YouTube videos and taught himself to read paper maps and graphs. He loved it despite winning $0 in college scholarships.

Then, he went to college out-of-state. It was 4 years before we got out in my boat, again. It was one of the best days I've had in a while. We spent all day (and dinner that night) reminiscing about the different lakes, the times we almost sunk our boat, his junior record (Lewisville), the various campsites we stayed at, the early morning wake-ups, the restaurants we stumbled upon, and the friends we made with other anglers and boat captains.

If winning is the priority, this may not be for you both. But, you are cheating yourselves if you quit now. Enjoy the ride, it will end soon.

Preach

Very nice comment, I agree with you . We are just starting my sons career in thsba but I can already tell how teaching him and his partner the basics are so rewarding

I've got a hunch your son is going to do just fine with a father like yourself having this kind of mindset.

Good luck to y'all and I wish you the best.

They should to draw for Captains at take off. The kids determine where to go. That would even the competition.

Eyes down, trolling motor on high, flat bills and trendy shades deployed.

Lol, how bout practice, that would be a great idea. Captains and kids go practice and get better. If you don't think it's fair I'll clue you in on something, everyone knows what lakes, the off limits are the same. Same rules apply to everyone. How much more "even" does it get.

One more suggestion...if you are a first time or fairly new captain, you can do yourself and the kids a huge favor. Make sure you are efficient (note I didn't say perfect) in loading and unloading the boat, know the rules of navigation, know all the tournament rules, boat etiquette, fishing etiquette. It may be common sense but you would be surprised at the number of captains that do not know these things and then get frustrated or angry and act inappropriate in front of the kids when they are called out by someone who does know those things. Always remember that you are still setting an example for those kids on how to act and civility in tournaments going forward. That goes for seasoned captains as well, meaning the start of on the water conversations with another boat should be respectful and not personal attacks. Now this tip may not get the kids to catch any more fish, but it will make the experience much more fun and meaningful and more importantly will be reflected in the way the kids conduct themselves on the water, tournament or not, in the future when they are only kids at heart.

I have been involved with THSBA for almost 10 years now (well minus the last year, wife had medical problems). I can say that the experience and the time on the water with our Youth these days does nothing but help them become better people. I have always taught politeness, fishing etiquette, understanding the rules, and learning to fish. If you are a new angler out there to captain for your kid and their friend please be thoughtful towards other anglers. Before you go into a crowded area to fish think about how you would feel if someone got right in front of you, or was fishing to close to your boat, before you crowd anyone else. Keep in mind as someone gets to close, that it is a friendly competition and start off with a smile before you engage conversation. Mainly be prepared because as this continues to grow it is going to happen more and more , and our response is what the students learn from, a lot more than what they learn from the boat that got to close or cut you off.

I wish this had started back when my son was in school (He graduated in 2010). There are lots of kids out there that without this program will probably never get to go out on a boat and fish at all. The lessons you can learn in a single day on a lake is priceless.

THSBA has done an amazing job organizing and managing these events for the students. They primarily focus on SAFETY from start to finish and despite some opinions have shown they care about the students. They have had some insane growth to deal with, and this has caused several challenges, but they have found a solution and implemented quickly.

This is a tournament trail environment because it is a tournament trail. No way around it and doubt anyone with THSBA will argue that. They are not there to keep the playing field even but to say they are not fair in just not true. There are always going to be some that put in the time and the hard work just like there are going to be some that are just happy to show up on tournament day and try to make something happen. I have known teams that went out 7 or 8 times to the tournament waters before the cut off date, and I have known teams that had to put the ramp in their phone for directions on tournament day. I have also seen both teams succeed LOL. Sometimes luck does play a role. Yes, some boats are rigged with more technology just like some boats are captained by more seasoned anglers but the graphs, nor the captains can make the cast or manage the retrieve. Skill level just like in regular tournament trails is all over the board from students that know how to tell when best to use a fast moving bait or drag a jig on the bottom, to students that don't know how to tie on a bait or even what line to use. But the basics are they are all out there on the same lake during the same time period to see who can bring in the biggest bag. In all the years, I have had success and failures with the students but never, not even once, has any student in my boat ever asked to not go to weigh in. They all have been more than eager to get back and talk about their day and find out what their friends were able to make happen.

Probably what I like about this the best as a captain, is seeing the school team work together by having meetings and talking about the lake and patterns that have worked in the past, and seeing some rather shy kids come out of their shell and make new friends with common interests. These days these kids can use as many good role models as they can get as well as new friends. This is way more than just fishing and that is why I have been as involved as I can through the years.

Jody

Good post!

23y/o Champion here, no scope.

First tourney of the season for Hill Country division, 2 freshmen in the boat.

Full time job, Dad, baseball coach and weekend warrior when those duties arent calling.

Won it.

But yes, it sucks going up against parents with no boat, but a bank account to hire (basically) guides. Some of these hired guns literally are retired or extremely well-off in life and spend 5 days a week on the water. Hard to compete against it, but you just put your head down and stay focused. I've seen many guides blank on their home lake in my life.

Are all the entrants this way? Absolutely not. There are some flat-out sticks in this league.

Don't let it scare you off. The hardest thing about all of this is learning the rules and the inevitable lessons the kids will learn. Its weird how some kids get DQ'd for not having a wristband on, and other tourneys arent even asked to produce one bc its 32dg outside and sleeting.

That being said, I'm thankful for THSBA giving these kids something else to do.