Brian and James's session

Brian booked on a group session last year but a bad back and then bad weather stopped him and finally today he and James made it to me.
I explained the rough outline for the session and during the skills check i made the necessary set up changes and also identified the missing skills and also the good stuff that was already a natural action.
We began with applying their natural unweight of the front wheel to the drop technique and in no time at all they were landing perfectly. I gave them a mental skill set of 4 questions to ask themselves when faced with something on a trail that gives them the fear.
From there we moved onto the skills trail and I worked hard on cornering in particular.
Pumping, flat, off camber, bermed and switchback turns were linked to rock gardens, drops, fly out jumps and steps. Methodically, we moved down the trail, linking the previous section to the next one. I identified braking areas and worked on braking techniques to enhance the riders overall speed control.

They moved from total fear of berms to comfortably riding them at a speed they could control and the smiles were spread all over their faces. After a few complete runs of the trail, the mental side of the session really took its toll and the session ended.
To end the session, I gave them a riding demonstration of the exact same skill set in use in my own riding on the high woodwork of herts.
Great session and I look forward to the ongoing riding updates from them both.