Mark's one to one session

Mark has ridden off road for nearly 16 years on and off and came to me as he felt he had plateaued. After the skills check I worked on the missing skills from the physical skill set and later on I would work heavily on the mental skills.
We began with the drop technique and soon, with the addition of the missing skill, Mark was landing perfectly. Mark rode all 3 drops at different speeds as I built up his experiences with this technique.
We then moved onto the coaching trail and we worked individually on each of the 14 sections contained with in it methodically, linking the previous section to the next. We worked on cornering in bermed, flat and off camber. Also, rock gardens, pumping, up ramps, steps and linked drops. By the end of the trail Mark was absolutely flying down and is to date joint quickest from top to bottom.
I then took the opportunity to work on alpine style switchbacks with him as he was going abroad to ride next year. Looking and footwork were worked on heavily here as he got more fluid.
Next on our menu was the jump technique and it was this that Mark felt was a limiting factor in his riding, but as I managed his speed whilst working on the other skills he took to the air.


The tabletop was ridden and landed perfectly in a short time and so Mark choose to ride the gap side of it too. Same result!
Finally, we worked on carrying speed through berms as Mark rode in faster and faster.
Our session came to an end as mental tiredness crept in pretty much after 4 hours of coaching.
Great session Mark!

Teaching Gill to fly!

Gill attended a group session with myself a few months back but had confidence issues develop.
We spoke about why this had happened and Gill explained that she wanted to get more airtime since our session, when 3ft drop was the move of the day and had become disillusioned with her riding.
Our session began as always with the skills health check, I found that one of the king pin techniques had been replaced with a pull. In a short while, I replaced the pull with Gill's natural push and we began getting air. 1st up were drops. from 6 inches to over 3ft, Gill landed both wheels together time and again. From there we worked on linking the sections of the trail together and Gill rode the coaching trail in 30 seconds which was joint 2nd fastest of all riders.
Next up was jumping and the tabletop loomed. In a short while using the physical and mental skill set, Gill sailed over the 6ft tabletop. Now came time to use her mental skill set again and she moved over to the gap side of the table top and sailed over it 1st go. Smiles bloomed. lastly we worked on a larger 9ft gap jump and Gill once again , using her mental skill set just flew over it . time and again.
An amazing session ended. High 5 Gill!!

A beginner's session for John

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John contacted me as he wanted to ride off road and being a total beginner, have the skills to deal with the terrain.
The skills check told me what I needed to know about what was missing skills wise and also what was already present. As John had a hidden gem in a natural push I began with the drop technique and John was landing both wheels together almost straight away! After few runs we moved onto cornering and linking corners together. Here we worked on John's looking and footwork. We worked on rock gardens, steep roll downs, steep up ramps, steps, drops and controlling the trails energy.
Each technique was tackled using the physical skill set required for them and also the mental side of the skill set.
I also covered basic trail maintenance, We changed inner tubes and how to set up gears after a cable change. I also covered removal of the rear wheel which is something many riders struggle with.
The final technique we covered was a steep roll down into a corner. Here we worked on braking techniques as well as body position, footwork and of course looking.
Great session John!

Richard's mtb skill session

Richard came to me via recommendation. Being a pro triathlete, he wanted to get skills coaching for exterra and such events.
On meeting as always, I ran him through the skills check where I identified his missing skill from the skill set of four and also found what was a natural action and began working on that.
We began with the drop technique. Here I worked heavily on his footwork and looking skills. Gradually and of his own choosing, Richard worked his way across the 3 drop sections as he repeated the physical action required and also applied the mental skill set too.
We then moved onto the coaching trail and the 14 sections that it contains. I cut teh trail into 4 segments and we worked on each segment before linking it to the previous one and so on. the trail has drops, various corners, rocks, steps and pump bumps.Each section was linked and the correct braking zones were identified and used by Richard as he got faster and smoother. I worked on steep roll downs and alpine style switchbacks too as I added those experiences to the new, growing tool box Richard now has.
Finally we worked on an isolated berm and worked heavily on Richards' speed management as he gradually added more and more speed and carried it into and through the berm.
Here we ended our first session and I look forward to our on coming sessions.

Ian's 50th birthday treat!

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Ian came to me via a recommendation and for his 50th birthday he treated himself. I asked what his aspirations for the session were and he said he'd like to be able to handle airtime and polish up his downhill speed/control.
After the skills check I discovered his one missing skills and set about installing it before moving onto the drop technique. Using the skill set, Ian quickly became comfortable with landing both wheels together and I worked on his body positioning in the air too. I began working on his mental skills too as Ian chose to move onto the larger drop section and landed perfectly time and again.
I then moved us onto the coaching trail where I broke the trail down and worked on each section contained and gradually we moved down the trail linking each section to the last. I timed segments of the trail to show Ian his improvements with each run. We worked on flat, bermed, off camber and switchback corners, rock gardens, up ramps, steps and drops. All sections were linked together smoothly and Ian was flying down the complete trail with incredible time savings!
After a short drink break it was time to teach Ian to jump. For this I use the purpose built tabletop with one half being a gap. Starting on the tabletop I gradually worked on the skill sets application in jumping as I slowly sped Ian up until he was clearing it perfectly. Now he was smiling ear to ear. Ian decided to ride the gap side and straight away cleared the gap and rode it a few times amazed at how easy it felt.
Finally, I brought Ian over to a log gap jump that he saw when he parked up and using a couple of mind tricks he sailed over it which brought our session to an end.
Amazing session Ian!

The day Kate blossomed.

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Today was Kate's 2nd visit to me and I was interested to see what was absorbed from the first session and also how the mental skills had embedded.
after the skills check we moved onto Kate's previous Achilles heal of drops. By managing her speed I began matching her natural puish to the speed needed to accomplish the technique and very soon Kate was landing perfectly. In her own time, Kate moved across to the middle drop and once again landed perfectly time and again.
From there we moved onto the coaching trail and it's fourteen sections contained within it. I began with corners, we worked on bermed, flat and switchback corners and the skill set was applied accordingly. As we gradually worked our way down the trail linking the previos section to the next, flow began happening naturally. Rock gardens, up ramps, step downs and drops we linekd together and I timed the runs to identify where progress could be seen and felt. After a few complete runs Kate was absolutely flying down the trail in a time I had previously not seen on the trail. Smiles all round!
Finally, I worked on carrying speed through berms and we worked on body position and looking heavily.
We ended a great session with a fresh coffee and chilled out under blue skies.
Awesome day Kate!

Giving Jim's riding some footings

Jim came to me for coaching after being recommended by one of his riding friends. On meeting i gave Jim my commitment for the day and went onto the skills check where I discovered his missing skills but also that he naturally had the push to unweight but had things covering it up that he'd picked up over his years of riding. From there I went staright to the drop technique and here I worked on his push to form this technique and soon had him landing perfectly. From there we moved onto the coaching trail and it's 14 sections contained within it. I broke the trail into 4 segments and worked on each segment before adding it to the previous one. We worked on cornering in many forms, upslopes, rock gardens, step downs, drops and over lapping sections. Using the skill set, each technique was performed faster and with greater control and the flow began to show. I worked on Jim's mental skill set too and how to apply it. After a few complete runs of the trail I finally moved onto a berm where we worked on carrying speed through it and worked on removing the comfort braking from his cornering. We ended our session with smiles all round and I know Jim has improved greatly through out the day.