Coaching advice needed

[cocheese 0]

1) Use one or two coaches or use many different coaches ?
2) Learn what i want or think i need, or ask what should i learn or need to work on ?
3) Consecutive coach jumps, or spaced apart with solos and/or fun jumps.
4) Pay for slot and $20 or find coaches who will do it just for the slot ?
5) Get copies of the video, or just watch it with the coach and be done with it ?
6) Work on a specfic task til it's down pat ( multiple jumps) or try to learn a new skill/technique each jump ?
7) Supplement with tunnel time or buy more coach jumps ? (freeflying head down )
8) Wear video myself to increase learning ?
9) Jump with people who have less experience and use them as a space ball, or is this counterproductive ?
10) What are some other tips or formulas for the best coaching methods ?
Looking for advice from highly experienced jumpers or coaches. No i didn't do a search on this.

[cocheese 0]

ok i just found some good info in Karenmeal's thread in the freefly forum. Gotta go to work now. Later.

[WrongWay 0]

Not exactly "highly experienced", but you know I have a ton of coached jumps, so here's my take on it.

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1) Use one or two coaches or use many different coaches ?

I'd recommend many different coaches, that way they can each teach you something different AND in a different style. You must remember that what you're learning is an IDEA, not something out of a textbook, so the more different angles you have, the better an idea you will form, and the better flyer you will be.

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2) Learn what i want or think i need, or ask what should i learn or need to work on ?

Any good coach should be able to see what you need to work on after a couple of jumps. You could say "I want to work on transitions" and do a jump and then the coach say "Hey, let's work on your body position first". 95% of the time they'll know what they're talking about.

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3) Consecutive coach jumps, or spaced apart with solos and/or fun jumps.

This has been debated over and over again. Personally, I like to do a whole bunch of consecutive coach jumps. Also, IMHO, for what you're trying to learn, solos won't help you nearly as much as flying with other jumpers/coaches.

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4) Pay for slot and $20 or find coaches who will do it just for the slot ?

Depends on how cheap you are, and how much that coach is worth paying. Most of the time, you're going to have to pay for quality coaching, but every now and again you'll find somebody cool who will just charge you slot (and that person, while they could be a great coach, will most likely not be as good a coach as the paid ones).

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5) Get copies of the video, or just watch it with the coach and be done with it ?

GET COPIES. You know all the coaching I've done, and I've watched every coached jump I've ever done AT LEAST 20 times a piece. Video is a wonderful learning tool....STUDY IT LIKE A CITIZENSHIP TEST.

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6) Work on a specfic task til it's down pat ( multiple jumps) or try to learn a new skill/technique each jump ?

Depends. If you're wanting to learn new positions like going from your sit to your head and being solid on your head, then work on that specific task. If it's something minor like transitions or something of that nature, then do a couple, take notes on every word they say and study the video to improve on your own time, and move on to other skills.

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7) Supplement with tunnel time or buy more coach jumps ? (freeflying head down )

That's a personal preference. Both are excellent methods of coaching. It really just depends on who you want to learn it from and how you want to learn it.

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8) Wear video myself to increase learning ?

Personally, I'd only wear video on a coached jump if I wanted to work on my video skills or get video for a year end. Other than that, you're paying good money to learn something, so I'd do all I could to take away any distractions so I could soak up all the info like a sponge and not have to worry about a camera.

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9) Jump with people who have less experience and use them as a space ball, or is this counterproductive ?

Not exactly counterproductive, but not exactly usable as a spaceball either. When you're first learning, you want to use EXPERIENCED people as spaceballs, for two reasons....they can actually stay still, and they won't unexpectedly kill you. After you can fly precisely with a coach without them having to make up for your movement much, then you can fly with more inexperienced people. Inexperienced people are actually very good for one very important skill...sticking close to a moving object. Almost everything moves, even the base on bigways with experienced people....even spaceballs are known to actually move 1 to 3 feet. That's why people are always making constant adjustments and never staying in a stiff body position. Jumping with newbies and learning to stick on a moving object will not only give you skills that will guarantee you will be "in" every single skydive, but you will be able to hold a no tension dock on these people and make up for their movements.

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10) What are some other tips or formulas for the best coaching methods ?

Find a coach you're comfortable with. Do not jump with one who intimidates you. The second you see that the guy is coaching you for the money and not the teaching, no matter if he's a world champion or your best buddy, move on to another coach. Have fun on every coached jump and relax...they're there to help you, not to judge you.

Good luck to you bro. I'll be out at Tecumseh either this weekend or the next for sure, so we'll make a couple jumps.

Wrong Way
D #27371 Mal Manera Rodriguez Cajun Chicken Ø Hellfish #451
The wiser wolf prevails.

[cocheese 0]

What an awesome reply Jason. Thank you. See ya this weekend.

[Peej 0]

Jeez dude, leave something for the rest of us to add! But seriously, that's GREAT advice

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