What makes a good Coach/Freefly School

[fuga 0]

Hello, im interested in everyones views (absoultely everyone) on what makes a good freeflycoach/school? What have do you like about coaches/schools you've been to? What dont you not like about coaches/schools you've been to?
What do you think coaches/schools could do to improve on what they do already?

Any ideas appreciated

Thanks

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[littlestranger 0]

A good freefly coach is creative and fun.

They want to jump with you even if you suck and never make you feel like it was a waste of their time.

The're not afraid to suggest you try something new, even if it scares you; someone you trust to never ask you to try something beyond your ability.

They make every jump the best time you ever had.

[weegegirl 2]

Hmmm.... good freefly coach....

1) Taking their time and making it worth your money. A good coach will spend all the time necessary to prep you for the jump and debrief you when it's over. You are investing in the coach, the coach should invest some time in you. TJ Landgren, for example, not only spends all the time necessary with you, but he makes himself available to you for questions, advice, etc down the road. He is very thorough and makes every jump well worth the buck.

2) Personalization of the training. A good coach won't teach everyone the same way with cookie-cutter-training tips. They will evaluate you in the air and be creative in how they direct you.

3) Ability to help you relax (aka sense of humor). Coaching dives can be stressful as all hell since you are really focusing on improvement and not f*cking up. But when you climb out the door and get ready to exit and someone looks at you and says "Chicken F*cker!" you can't help but laugh, relax, and melt into the zone.

[SkydiveNFlorida 0]

I did a coach jump that I was unhappy with. The reason is that the coach didn't seem to take much time with me. Went up on 3 jumps after mine before debriefing me. Then, instead of giving me tips, suggested I do 10(!) or more jumps with him.

I think that a good coach would spend more time before the dive, preparing, talking about what your concerns are, where you have problems, etc. Debrief immediately after the dive, give advice and suggest a plan of attack. Such as "you need to work on this, try this, etc, do a couple jumps and then we'll do another coach jump". Something to that effect. Not many people have the $$ to spend on 20+ coach jumps, so I think a good coach should understand that and form a plan of attack that will meet the needs of the jumper both skill-wise and $$-wise.

I would NEVER do a coach jump with this person again. Nice guy, and an excellent freeflyer, but not worth it for me. Although i'm definitely considering getting headdown coaching with someone else once I get the $$ together.

Angela.

[heims 0]

Agree with stuff above (ground planning, debriefing, help you relax, etc). I would also add:

-Can give you feedback in the air (using signals to get you to fix things that are wrong). Giving someone the opportunity to fix a poor body position in the air so that they can feel what it is like to do it right can be one of the most important parts of coaching (there's a reason we use signals during AFF). It would be a waste to keep making the same mistakes (especially to be told over and over again in debriefs) and not have a tool to help you recognize the problems while you are making them.

-Videos of your dives and of other people doing the same maneuvers. Seeing what you are doing wrong or right and how others do it can be one of the fastest ways to build skill.

Blue skies,
Sherri

[jimoke 0]

Max Cohn....if you ever get the chance for coach jumps with him he is one of the best

The ground always, remembers where you are!