The answer is in making a training plan which suits all of you. 

Just a little bit of organisation will make a team work. It's vital to have a plan, whatever your discipline. Things will run smoothly and everybody will be happier if you have a plan which you have all bought into.

The season in England doesn't last for long, so time is precious, and planning ahead is needed.

Make a time commitment
Decide at the beginning – and stick to it – how long you plan to train together, be it a couple of months or three years.

Set goals together
Ask yourselves as individuals what you are all aiming for?

• Do you want to get together once a month, have a laugh and not want the real team pressure feeling?
• Do you want to achieve a specific point average (be realistic)?
• Are you going to compete at specific events such as the Nationals?
• Maybe you just want to be the best you can?
• Whatever your level and desired commitment, once everybody has decided, you can plan your training around these goals.

How much training should we do?
How many weekends do you want to spend team training a month, and how many weeks can you afford to take off abroad? Sort out when everybody in the team can have the same time off. Work out how many jumps you can afford. The more jumps you do in a short space of time, the more you will learn.

If you do find that one or two people on the team are keen and able to do more, there is no reason why they can’t get some extra coaching i.e. two-on-two. It will still help to build a stronger team. We wanted to extend our training for the WAG by a couple of weeks but Sparkey was unable to make it because of work. So the team jumped with Solly which proved to be very beneficial as he was able to see things in the air that he couldn’t always see on the video. This proved to strengthen the whole team, and so was definitely worth it.

It may seem that the ideal is to train a few weekends abroad and then every weekend in the UK. But in practice this may be difficult, because of weather and the fact some of us have personal lives! Plan to stay as current as you can as a team when you get back to the UK, without selling your soul to 4-way every single weekend.
  

Where should we train?
Choose a weekend UK drop zone close to everybody's home, or share the distance. Ask about team discounts or a free camera slot. Bank holidays are a bonus, you can have a long weekend skydiving, and even pop over to Europe with not a lot of hassle, it’s just a little more expensive for travel.

As for where to train abroad, ask around. Weather is important and so are the aircraft, do they have side or rear doors? You might prefer one or the other, depending what you will be competing out of. That’s where setting the goals comes into its own.

Florida is a good place. The big attraction is the Sky Ventures wind tunnel in Orlando. Even on bad weather days, you can still practice your skills, improving your turns, stops and individual flying, (hey, flat flyers – try bootie flying or get on your back!) or 4-way. Wear knee pads at all times!

Your location overseas might be dictated by which coach you choose, if any. Some coaches will only teach at their home drop zone.

Book ahead as they can get very busy. Allocate the money. In FS a world class coach can be as much as $300 a day. It’s well worth it.

There are a lot more experienced jumpers out there who will be willing to coach (for beer!) at all DZs for all standards and other disciplines. Try for ones who are up to date. Don't be afraid to ask local teams questions – if you don't ask, you won't get.

Should we use different coaches at different camps?
I think sticking to the same coach is the way to go. Stay with one that you can bond with and like their style of coaching. Once you have found the ultimate coach, you can achieve lots.

Do we need a cameraflyer?
The camera has a very important role. No pictures, no points, no praises or prizes. You need camera on a training camp and ideally for weekend jumps together too. Get videoed as much as you can. You can see so much more than you can feel. And the camera never lies!

By far the best option is the cameraflyer being part of your team. Then they are with you all the time, they get to know the exit count and how steep or flat the exit is going to appear.

Alternatively, you can pay for camera on a jump to jump basis. You'll still get the quality if you do your research, ie, ask the right people. For a training camp abroad, you would need to pay their slot plus a fee per jump for their time and expertise. The plus is that you don’t have to pay to fly them over there.

At home, you can probably find a local camera jumper, but they might not be able to commit, even for a full day, as they can be busy filming tandems and other jumpers.

How much will it cost?
Training is expensive and money doesn't grow on trees. Work out how much you can ALL afford to spend. This will decide how many jumps you can do, how far you can travel (flights, car hire, accommodation) and coaching. Base your plan on what you can afford, rather than doing what you want to do and discovering you’re deeply in debt!

It may be useful to have a team account. Delegate responsibilities equally throughout the team, these can include arranging flights, sorting out the money, talking to sponsors. This spreads the burden, it can get quite stressful sorting just one thing out!

Can we get sponsorship?
Any sponsorship will help. It's not so much what you know – it's who you know. We've managed to gain some sponsorship with the companies we work for – Man Group lc and Ernst & Young. Try your immediate circle – the world of work plus your family and friends. You never know what will turn up.

We've tried hundreds of other large companies. Unfortunately, they've heard from millions of strangers, asking to be sponsored. So no luck there!

We were lucky enough to get gear sponsorship. Symbiosis Suits has been a great help. Imagine how much use jumpsuits get doing 70 jumps a week plus four hours in a wind tunnel.

If you do gain any sponsorship, be happy at what you receive and remember, it's not completely free. You must give your sponsor something back, eg, displaying their logos, doing demos, setting up a website or writing update letters. It’s a small price to pay.

Should we plan anything else?
Plan so you each have a commitment to fitness between camps and jumps. I know how difficult it can be fitting in exercise when you're working long hours but the results are worth it. Your brain will think quicker, focus clearly, and relax at all the right times plus your stamina and performance in the sky will be greater.

We’ve made the plan, what now?
Continually re-assess your plan during the training period. It's easy to lose sight of your main goal.

Keep it in perspective
Now you’ve made your plan, don't get too wrapped up and focused only on team training. It's not healthy and doesn't do you or the team any good. Do something completely different. Chill out and have some fun – put your feet up, get that bottle of wine out!

Back to Aug 2001 Contents