Private group of 5 session

u



Dave, Martin, Fred, Nim and Steve came over for an all round tune up session and during the skills check I found footwork, body position and looking faults and on another check I found that one of them pulled the bike towards themselves and the other 4 had looking faults that made their push harder work.
After a few set up changes I began correcting the faults that I discovered.
The first technique we applied the physical and mental skills to was drops.
After clearing up any mis advice commonly given else where, the guys all began flying off the drops and landing perfectly. Time to move onto the trail itself.
I began working on pumping the trail and linking the 14 sections of the trail together, braking and pedaling in the correct places.
Rock gardens, steps, fly outs. Flat, bermed, off camber and switchbacks corners were stitched together and the guys were looking and feeling smoother as we worked our way down the trail. The end of the trail requires riders to link drops into a berm and we worked hard on this before going up and riding the whole trail end to end a few times.



All the guys were riding faster and more controlled and the trails energy was controlled and used.
Lastly we moved onto the tabletop and gap jump to work on jumping.


In a few small steps all the riders were in the air and flying over the tabletop and landing on the transition perfectly, some even used their mental skills to sail over the gap a few times too.
Awesome session!

It's not about the bike Gary

Gary is a very accomplished road cyclist and races mtb. He wanted to develop his off road skills to gain time in races so I set about it with this in mind.
During the skills check I discovered footwork, looking and body position faults and also that he pulled the bike too. I set about correcting his set up and also the missing skills before we moved onto drops.
Gary was worried about the suitability of his carbon hardtail but this soon ended as he was sailing off the drops and landing perfectly and commenting on how it feels so smooth.
We then moved onto the trail and Gary commented on the tight looking corners but soon he was flying round them.
As his looking and footwork became easier i then worked on his body positioning too.
We worked on bermed, switchback, off camber and flat corners. Rock gardens, drops, steps and pumping.




We worked methodically down the trail, linking each section to the last. I worked hard with him on linking drops into corners and removing his braking in corners.
We then rode the trail end to end and with each run Gary got faster and smoother too.
The final run was a peach so we stopped riding the trail and moved onto jumping. To Gary's surprise the technique was actually a lot easier than he thought and soon he was up in the air and landing on the transition. The smile on his face was a picture.


Gary then used his mental skill set and applied it to ride the gap jump side too!
Awesome session Gary and I look forward to our on going connection.

Chris's return session

Chris came to me in a group session 18months ago and wanted to bring his riding on further. The skills I installed back there were still present but he had developed a body position fault that I set about correcting in corners and I needed to work on the peripheral fears I had uncovered from the last session as he had a fear he recognised now but couldn't overcome.
I worked on his body position in the drop technique as he has a tendency to sit right back and also on his mental skills too as he rode the drops landing perfectly.
We then moved onto the trail and worked heavily on cornering and linking all the sections present on the trail together and flowing.
I worked heavily on his peripheral fear as we worked on drops into a berm. In time, Chris was really beginning to fly along the trail.



We stitched each section to the next using the identified braking zones and then rode the trail a few times end to end. each run got better and better as it became a more unconscious action.
We left the trail after a while and I began on working on jumping tabletops with him. In 6 runs Chris sailed over the jump easily and then rode it time and time again.

As tiredness began to show it's head I called an end to the session and i can't wait for Chris' riding updates.
Great session

Andy's freeride one to one session

Andy wanted to develop his riding and as he has only been riding 14 months, wanted to iron out any bad habits.
The skills check revealed body position and looking faults but found a solid push with no faults so I knew the session would really take off.
We began small on the 3 skills drops and then onto the end of the coaching trail to work on drops and carrying speed into corners.
We then moved to the tabletop and gap jump side of it and it was clear Andy had a solid foundation on which I could build.
We worked on a 12ft log booter gap jump and used cornering and pumping to gain speed and pop for the jump. Andy used his mental skills to great effect here and for the rest of the session.


Then we moved onto a learner dirt jump with a steeper take off than the table top and worked on that before adding in a hip jump too where I worked on style in the air. After a few runs we then moved onto an advanced drop and linking it into a 9ft gap step down and into a berm.



We worked on braking areas and carrying speed through sections. I then ramped it up a bit to a larger advanced drop into the same berm and here Andy needed to manage his own speed more effectively into the berm as more speed was gained from the height of the drop.


Lastly Andy then rode everything we had covered again to deeper embed the learning from the session.
I look forward to seeing you again Andy.
high5!

Ainsley, Dave and Rog's session

The guys came to me after reading my feedback on the web. On meeting I ran them through the skills check and found their missing skills and also what was already present in their riding.
Once corrected, we moved straight to the 3 drops and worked on that technique and in no time at all they were riding all 3 of the drops easily.

We then moved onto the trail and began working on the 14 sections contained and began linking them via their entry and exits.
Flat, bermed,switchback and off camber corners, rock gardens, steps, fly outs, pumping and drops were linked gradually as we worked our way down the trail. We worked heavily on linking corners and drops.


We then rode the trail end to end a few times and the flow of the trail really began to be felt and the riding improvements could be felt and seen.
Finally, we moved to the table top and the gap jump and I set about showing how/why the skills applied in this technique and the lads really got to grips with it and used their mental skill set to great effect to ride the tabletop and the gap jump too.

After all 3 had cleared the gap jump both Dave and Ainsley then rode and cleared the gap jump too and after a few runs we called an end to the session.
Great session.

Duncan's Nottingham crew

Duncan has been on my coaching session before and this time he brought his crew. I began with my skills check , where I identified the missing skills and the already present ones and I set to work on them all.
Drops were first, In no time at all , all 6 of them were landing perfectly on all 3 of the drops at different speeds and they all demonstrated control.
We then moved onto the trail where I worked with them on linking sections on a trail together and we worked on the 14 sections contained within.
We worked on jumps, linking corners into drops, steps, rocks, pumping , flat, bermed, switchback and off camber turns.
Each was linked by the correct braking area and the flow of the trail was beginning to be harnessed.





We worked our way along the trail before having a few runs down the entire trail and the trails energy was being used more than the riders. Each run was more fluid than the last.
Finally, we moved on to the tabletop and gap jump.
I controlled the riders speed as they focused on the remaining skills and everyone cleared the tabletop with ease. some even used their mental skill set to ride the gap jump too.
great session.

Matt and Steve's session

l


t

On meeting, I gave them both my commitment for the session and an outline of what we will be doing. The mention of drops raised eyebrows!
During the skills check I found faults in footwork, looking and body position in cornering and looking faults in the push check with Steve but found that Matt had the technique down perfectly.
The first technique we covered as always were drops and in no time at all the boys were flying through the air off the drops and landing perfectly. I even began teaching them how to style it a bit too.



From there, we moved onto the trail and began working on the 14 sections contained within it and linking them together using their exits and entries.
Flat, bermed, switchback and off camber corners. Steps, drops, fly outs, rock gardens and the speed manual were technique was used to gain speed from the trail.
We worked our way methodically down the singletrack trail and the flow really began to show as they began to become more unconscious with their footwork and looking skills and also the body positioning particulay in Steve really shined.
We rode the trail end to end a few times and they flowed fluidly even though they both micro analyzed their errors.
We then moved onto the tabletop and also the gap jump side of it and began working on jumping and also moving the bike in the air to style it too.


They both used their mental skills set to ride the gap side easily and to end the session they wanted to see a larger gap so we moved onto a 9ft gap jump.
Matt correctly used his mental skill set to say no to it but Steve found he was a yes after I demonstrated it and rode it so smoothly 3 times over and that ended our session.
Great session guys!