Written Drill Dive Material

[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

I have been given the opportunity to LO for the first time as of next May and would like to prepare.

Are there workbooks with 2-way and 4-way drill dives? I will probably be working with jumpers who have just received their license and are not yet ready to be on a 4-way team.

I have not taken a coach course and am not (yet) an instructor. But I have done about 480 RW jumps, almost everyone with a coach and debrief. I've been to 6 (or so) RW camps and have had a few hours of tunneltime. I also have a degree in music pedagogy, and ten years of experience as a teacher.

Any suggestions on how I can be a good coach would be greatly appreciated. I live in Germany and as far as I know there are no coach courses on offer here.

Thanks in advance!

[humanflite 0]

Whats thsi music pedagogy then ???
Sounds fascinating!

[NWFlyer 2]

Old thread that might help.

http://www.dropzone.com/cgi-bin/forum/gforum.cgi?post=1663957

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Any suggestions on how I can be a good coach would be greatly appreciated. I live in Germany and as far as I know there are no coach courses on offer here.

You could get a copy of the USPA Instructional Rating Manual (IRM). Like most USPA publications it reads like it was written by committee (wonder why? ) but there's some good material in there on teaching theory. Since you're already a teacher, it may not be that new to you, though.

But really, if you reflect on what you liked/disliked about coaches & organizers you have worked with, I bet you'll find a lot to use (and avoid) in your own coaching/organizing.

"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke

[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

"Post your 2-way drill dives" is a great thread! Thanks for the tip!

[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

Music pedagogy is basically learning how to be a good teacher in the discipline of music. You take courses in psychology, physiology, instrumentation, music theory, etc. and then a large part of the degree is teaching in front of others and getting their critique on your methods, and watching the others in your seminar teach and giving them critique. The professor tells you his opinions on what works and what doesn't and why. You learn how to ascertain what is stopping the student from being the best he/she can be and how to break through his/her barriers together so that the material becomes easy.

I assume this is what happens in a skydiving coach course too.

[BIGUN 1,053]

For future reference and as your L/O opportunities increase:

The Book of Skydiving Formations

Nobody has time to listen; because they're desperately chasing the need of being heard.

[ufk22 32]

1. Design your dives around the abilities of the group, don't try to make the group fly YOUR dive. Start with very easy, everybody facing the center, points. It can take a couple dives just for everyone to get their fall rate in synch.
2. If you're working with very low time people, don't go bigger than 1 good, experienced flyer/low timer. A dive with 1 who can and 3 who can't will be a waste, and no one will be sure who did or didn't fly right.
3. Spend as much time on the exit (exactly where to put each hand and foot, body position for and right after launch, how long to hold the launch grip, etc) as you do on the dive, maybe more.
4. Try to get people to focus not on what the next point is, but the move they have to do to get there.
5. Praise in public, chew in private.
good luck, it's a lot tougher than it appears

This is the paradox of skydiving. We do something very dangerous, expose ourselves to a totally unnecesary risk, and then spend our time trying to make it safer.

[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

Thanks for the tips. This all won't start till May or June 2010. So I have time to make a plan or ponder the possibilities.

I think my priority will be stable exits and 2-ways. I hope the more experienced divers are willing to be paired up with the less experienced ones. Last year I think the LO started straight off with easy 4-ways and a lot of funneling went on and few points were made. But there might be a team of teachers and LOs that come up with a group system that I will have to stick to. Don't know yet.

Didn't Arizona Airspeed or Fastrax have some sort of workbook or worksheets for RW beginners?

[ufk22 32]

By very low time, I mean just that. VERY low time. nothing wrong with a couple of semi-good (50-200 jump, just ok at RW) plus 1 very low time. If needed, keep the low man in a grip for a split second or more during transitions to keep him/her from floating/backsliding away, kind of holding them in place til someone else can take the new grip on them for the next point. I know it's technically not right, but so what??? As the day progresses, you'll need this technique less, as their confidence builds and they get into the flow. Also, design your points
so the the least experienced has the easiest job on the early points, getting tougher as the dive progresses.
Have a plan for moving on if someone is out and can't get back. Better to move on than spend the dive in a 3 way watching someone fly around below you.
If the exits are a problem, free-fly (as in unlinked) them. Better off losing a few seconds to build the 1st point rather than lose the whole dive to a funnel.

This is the paradox of skydiving. We do something very dangerous, expose ourselves to a totally unnecesary risk, and then spend our time trying to make it safer.

[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

Thanks again! I ordered the IRM and am now taking a coach rating course while on vacation in California.

[Skydivesg 6]

You sound like you know what you're doing.

Good advice.

Be the canopy pilot you want that other guy to be.

[ufk22 32]

You sound like you know what you're doing.

Good advice.

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I learned alot from some old guy from Iowa....

This is the paradox of skydiving. We do something very dangerous, expose ourselves to a totally unnecesary risk, and then spend our time trying to make it safer.

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[Rebecca-Berlin 0]

Just wanted to let you all know that I got my USPA coach rating certification mid-January.
Yeah!!!

Now I have to put your good advice to use and make sure my local (German) DZ allows me to do enough coach dives to keep up my rating.

The Formation Dives book is on my wishlist.