All the way from Yorkshire, a 2 to 1 session.

 Steve and Judith's search for mtb skills coaching led them to me and after traveling down last night and staying local at a b+b they arrived on time and we chatted over a coffee about their aspirations for the session. I could tell that I would have to work hard on removing some habits in their riding as they began talking of lacking confidence and the dreaded fear.
I found partial footwork and missing body positioning and looking skills and I set about correcting them.
 We began with the drop technique and I also worked on installing the 4 mental skills questions I teach and in no time at all they were airbourne and landing perfectly, much to their surprise. Their new body positioning made everything easier and they centered on the bike and the smiles never left their faces.
 Onto the skills trail and After some braking and body positioning exercises, we began linking the 14 sections on the trail together.

Pump bumps, upslopes, rock gardens, drops and steps were linked to flat, bermed, off camber and switchback turns by the correct braking areas. We broke the trail down and worked our way along it so as not to crowd an already re-wiring mind and soon they were riding fluidly and controlled but way faster than ever!

I worked hard on linking drops into corners and the required braking and line choice involved.  We took a break as they were beginning to tire and that bought us more time together . They were riding the trail together end to end and loving it, any errors were being self diagnosed as they now knew why it felt wrong at times. Just short of 5 hrs into the session and mental fatigue appeared and the session ended to a riding demonstration of the same skills i teach in use in my own riding on the herts woodwork.
An awesome session to end a fantastic week of coaching for me.
High5!

Sarah and Chris's 2 to 1 skills session

 Sarah and Chris are husband and wife and wanted to share a skills session to work on their skills, in particular Sarah's mental skills as she had developed a lack of confidence whilst racing downhill after some crashes.

 The skills check showed I had to work collectively on their foot, looking and body positioning and I made the necessary set up changes .
 As ever, I began with the drop technique and it wasn't long before they were both flying off all 3 drops and I was able to teach Chris how to start to move the bike in the air too.
 We moved onto the skills trail and began working on linking the 14 sections contained within it together a few sections at a time.

 Flat, bermed, switchback and off camber turns were linked to steps, rock gardens, fly out jumps, pump bumps and drops. We moved down the trail methodically to enable them to focus on each segment before adding it to the previous until they were riding the entire trail end to end. Chris was absolutely flying down the trail and soon was right on the speed of the trail where he needed his skills in place and any error was self diagnosed. Sarah was smiling all the way down on each run and was so happy with her final run down it that she didn't want another!
I could see Sarah was beginning to tire, so I moved us onto the 6ft tabletop and gap jump. Chris was flying over the tabletop and it wasn't long before Sarah followed suit. Chris then began styling the gap jump too after a while.

 We moved on to another section but they were both showing mental tiredness signs and couldn't answer their mental skills questions positively so our session ended right there with grins all round.
 Awesome session!
High5

Tim, Colin and Karl's session

Tim, Colin and Karl made the journey from Hungerford and On meeting we had a coffee and chatted about their expectations for the session. The skills check revealed I had to work collectively on their footwork, looking and body positioning and also their mental skills, so I set to work. I made set up changes and off we went to the drops sections and the effect was pretty much immediate. They were landing perfectly and applying their simple skill set.

It wasn't long before we moved onto the skills trail and we worked on braking technique and also a body positioning correction excersise that I teach to enhance the changes. Pumping was used to gain speed and we linked berms, flat, off camber and  switchback turns to fly out jumps, drops, steps and rock gardens. We worked our way methodically down the trail and it wasn't long before they began riding the whole trail. I worked on line choice and the mental skills when linking drops into corners but soon they were flying and loving it.

After a break for food and drink I could see they were beginning to tire but I wanted to move them onto the 6ft tabletop and we applied both mental and physical skills sets to the technique. Tim was first to clear it, closely followed by Colin and then Karl. the smiles on their faces said it all. Tim used his mental skills to then decide to ride and clear the gap jump too! After a while they began showing signs of mental fatigue so after 5 hours our session ended with myself giving them a riding demonstration of the same skills sets in use in my own riding on a high fast line at herts that had everything I had taught them on it but on a grander scale.
Awesome session guys.
High5!