Photo by Jason Now Call
If you’re wondering about becoming a formation skydiving coach, Julianne Grau answers the inevitable questions:
- Should I become a coach?
- When am I ready?
- How do I start?
There are few things more rewarding than growing yourself as an athlete in the sport of skydiving. Learning to fly is something we have been told is impossible our whole lives, yet here we are with a license to do just that.
The path to becoming a coach looks different for each individual and isn’t for everyone. If you have really been enjoying the mentorship of experienced jumpers, taking every chance to learn the fundamentals of skydiving that you can, and you want to start giving back to the community, becoming a coach might be a great way to do just that.
Requirements
There are basic requirements for getting your coach rating. In the United States they are very minimal; 100 jumps and a B license. Some people take years to get the jump numbers necessary to take the coach course and some people take a season.
When considering getting your rating, focus less on jump numbers and more what you have to offer a new jumper.
Skills
Ask yourself if you have the appropriate flying skills:
- Have you jumped with some newly-licensed jumpers who can’t quite hold a slot, maybe slide all over the sky and you were able to hang with them the whole time?
- Could you identify the issues they were having in freefall and do you think you have helpful advice?
- Are you getting super-proficient at both falling quickly and slowly on your belly?
- Are your docks clean?
- Are you always where you want to be on a skydive?
- Have you’ve been a part of many well-organized, successful jumps?
- Do you have the capability to calmly, professionally debrief a wild skydive while staying encouraging?
Learning looks different for everyone and coaching can be hard! You have to be able to maintain a positive demeanor.
I once heard a coach debrief a student with this, “Sorry I couldn’t get to you, it looked great from above.” This wouldn’t have been as big of a deal had it not been a paid coach jump. If people are going to pay to jump with you, you need to have something to offer them. “I couldn’t get to you” is not acceptable.
Video debrief
Being able to wear a camera is also a critical tool for debriefing and learning. The students need to be able to see their bodies in freefall so they have a visual of what to fix. You can tell them “more arch” until you’re blue in the face but unless they see the visual of their body, they won’t really understand what you want from them. Most dropzones have higher requirements for wearing a camera than getting a coach rating, so keep that in mind.
When are you ready?
When I knew I was ready was when I was kind of doing it already. I found myself as the most experienced jumper on a lot of jumps. I had around 250 skydives, a camera on my head, the flying skills to perform on any belly jump from 2-16 people, the videos to prove it, and I was jumping with a lot of newly licensed jumpers. I was keeping things safe, making good choices and had good tips for them. The manager of my DZ took notice and encouraged me to get my rating. It was a clean transition. I was ready. I never had to tell a student I was coaching, “Sorry, I couldn’t get to you.” It has been more rewarding than I could have ever imagined, helping others grow in the sport I love so much.
Stepping stone
Getting a coach rating can also be a very important stepping-stone to becoming an AFF Instructor. This certainly applied to me… the AFF Instructor story is here…
Working in Skydiving Series
Check out other articles aimed to help you work in your chosen area of the sport
- So, you wannabe a freefly coach?
- So, You Wannabe a Skydiving Instructor?
- So, You Wannabe a Jump Pilot?
- So, You Wannabe a Rigger
- So, you Wannabe a Cameraflyer – part 1 and part 2
- So, You Wannabe a Canopy Piloting Coach
- So, You Wannabe a Packer
- So, You Wannabe a Tunnel Instructor
- So, You Wannabe an AFF Instructor
