Friday 30 November 2012

Pete and marc's paths lead to Herts



















Marc wanted coaching and found me via google. The day arrived and our session began with my skills check. I found they needed work on looking, body positioning and foot work and set about correcting this with a set up change to help.
 The first application of both the mental and physical skills sets was the drop technique. It took no time at all for them both to ride all 3 drops and the ease at it all was striking to them.
We moved onto the skills trail and I began by braking the trail down into bite sized chunks before later linking them all together via braking areas and  line choice.
 Flat, bermed, off camber and switchback turns were linked to  rock gardens, pumping, steps, fly out jumps and drops. They were riding the whole trail end to end and knowing why it was right or wrong in any sections.
 Our final application of the skills sets was to the 6ft tabletop and gap jump. I worked hard on body positioning here and both Pete and Marc were surprised that could clear the tabletop and Marc used his mental skills to ride the gap jump too!
 Our session ended with a welcome pint in the local pub. Amazing riding and improvements guys.
High5!

Wednesday 28 November 2012

Lee and Ian share a brotherly session




















 Brothers Lee and Ian came to their session with some missing skills that were identified during my skills check. Footwork, looking and body positioning needed work collectively so I made a simple set up change and set to work.
The drop technique was first and it was there that I worked on their mental skill set too. It took no time at all for them to ride all 3 drops easily and comfortably. From there we moved onto the skills trail and I worked hard on their cornering and soon they were linking 14 sections on the trail together by the identified braking areas and line choice. Berms, flat, off camber and switchback turns were linked to pre jumps, steps, rock gardens, fly out jumps and drops. Errors were now being self diagnosed and they were riding fluidly and more controlled than ever and faster too!
 It was too windy for jumping the 6ft tabletop so we moved onto the pump and jump trail to work on pumping sections on the trail and jumping when required.
For our final application of the skills sets, we moved onto riding steeps and the effect of body positioning there and  applying the mental skills to decide whether to ride something or not. Our session ended soon after as the light faded and mental fatigue was showing bringing a fantastic session to a close.
High5!

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Giving Georgina control






 Georgina has been riding for 5yrs and always felt like she got away with stuff rather than feeling in control. Any air was accidental and when she had days that felt good she had no idea why. That was about to change.
 The day began clear but soon the rain set in and I ran her through my skills check. I found looking and body position needed work. I made a small set up change that transformed Georgina's control instantly and off we went to apply it to techniques on the trail. Drops were 1st and using both mental and physical skills she began landing perfectly and remarked at how simple it all  felt.
After a while we went to the skills trail and I worked on the trails 14 sections and we began linking them together piece by piece . Flat , bermed, off camber and switchback turns were linked to rock gardens, pumping, steps, fly out jumps and drops. I worked hard on body position and line choice in all areas too and soon Georgina was riding the whole trail faster and more controlled than she'd ever ridden before.


 We moved onto riding steep stuff and her new body position offered greater control and options even when riding down a slope into a berm and letting the rear drift into place and linking in a jump too! We rode moved back to the skills trail and rode it together and already the skills were emmbedding and the smile on Georgina's face was a picture when our session came to a close as she knew she now had control.
High5!

Monday 26 November 2012

Dan, Mick, Bill and Dave's session



































Dan, Mick, Bill and Dave turned up for their session as arranged and the heavy rain that was promised didn't appear which was nice and I started to put them all through my skills check. I found that collectively, They needed work on footwork, looking and body positioning in all areas and so I made the necessary set up changes to help this.
 We began with the drop technique and they all rode the largest drop and commented how easy it all felt. A cornering excersise followed before we finally made it to the skills trail. Pre jumping, steps, rock gardens, fly out jumps and drops were linked to flat, bermed, off camber and switchback turns. I worked on the correct braking areas and soon they were riding the entire trail end to end. Any errors were now self diagnosed as they knew why it was wrong or right.
 I worked on line choice, particularly when linking drops into corners.
 We moved onto applying both mental and physical skills sets to the jump technique and for this I used a 6ft tabletop and gap jump. I worked on body position here and speed management so they could develop speed and effort judgement. It wasn't long before they were all riding the gap jump!
 I moved us onto the pump and jump trail and worked on pumping, manuals and jumping and choosing what technique to use and why, in each section.
 They were tiring rapidly and as the rains came our session ended to a tour of the herts woodwork.
Amazing riding guys.
High5!