{"id":37824,"date":"2021-10-28T15:04:47","date_gmt":"2021-10-28T15:04:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/?p=37824"},"modified":"2021-11-03T10:38:14","modified_gmt":"2021-11-03T10:38:14","slug":"planning-a-team-for-next-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.skydivemag.com\/new\/planning-a-team-for-next-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Planning a Team for Next Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Nationals are over, you\u2019ve either just taken part or you\u2019ve never done it before. Either way, you\u2019re on the hunt for a new 4-way skydiving team. <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

How do you find your teammates, work out a training plan and make sure you meet your team goals? <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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Finding teammates you can have a laugh with makes training more fun
Photo: NFTO<\/a> Team during the World Cup in South Africa, 2019 by Martin Martinez<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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FINDING THE RIGHT TEAMMATES <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This is where it all starts. Let\u2019s take a look at some of the common criteria you might be looking for when selecting your new teammates:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previous History<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Many new teams start with a core of previous friends\/ teammates. This is always a good place to start as you know where you stand with them and you most probably get on with them already!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Personality<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Finding a good teammate is more than just a colleague. For the vast majority of us, this is our hobby and our passion. Getting on with your teammates is super-important, it helps you gel, gain skills more quickly and most likely, put in a good performance under pressure during competition. And let\u2019s face it, it\u2019s too much money to be spent if you are not having fun. Look for someone who has that right combination of drive, commitment and team ethic. You don\u2019t have to be a stoical selfless angel, but you do have to be able to recognise the good of the team to be able to fit in. Finding 5 like-minded skydivers isn\u2019t always the most important part of team building. Often it\u2019s the differences which come together to make the most successful team. You need many different attributes such as strength, exit technique, speed of turning, accuracy, timing and seeing the team rhythm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding 5 like-minded skydivers isn\u2019t always the most important part of team building. Often it\u2019s the differences which come together to make the most successful team<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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Having a good relationship with your teammates is gold \ud83d\ude42
Photo courtesy of NFTO<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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Team Activities<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

In addition, you need teammates who are great at admin, being leaders, managing social media, coaching, sourcing sponsors, keeping the peace, strategising and more. Often one teammate will be the most skilled. They can offer their skills on player-coach or the in-coach for when their external-coach is not available. There\u2019s often a teammate who is perfect for organising the finances or the calendar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Commitment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

There is no point having a super-experienced teammate if they are not able to commit to the training plan in terms of time or money. Likewise, you need teammates who won\u2019t get frustrated when you all can\u2019t give that extra 50 skydives or 2 hours of tunnel time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Weight<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

This is always a fractious subject, however, it needs to be discussed. It\u2019s very rare to find a team where no one is wearing a weight belt. There will always be one or two teammates who are heavier than the rest. The lighter people will end up wearing a weight belt to compensate for fall-rate. Having an even fall-rate allows individuals to adopt a neutral body position giving them the range to increase and decrease speed to adapt to specific randoms and blocks. If you are the sort of team that means business and are targeting medals, then maybe you need to be accountable to each other with fitness and weight targets. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s face it, it\u2019s too much money to be spent if you are not having fun<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

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You might want to be accountable to each other with fitness and weight targets
Photos: NFTO fitness training in the down time<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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ADVERTISING<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What do you do if there is no team to join or viable candidates at your local parachute center? Then, you have to look further afield. It might be worth putting a post on your Facebook profile saying you are on the hunt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You can ask the friends you\u2019ve made at other DZs if they know of anything or search for \u201cMeet and Greet\u201d type events. Often it\u2019s the local dz load organiser who is in the know and runs them. Being willing to travel will definitely widen your options!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You don\u2019t need to be a confident socialite at the centre of every party with all the connections to find the right skydiving team, but writing straight-forward down to earth emails will definitely help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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NFTO training at Skydive Algarve<\/a>
Photo by Simon Brentford<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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TRAINING PLAN<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Working out how often you are going to train, with whom and how much to spend is often the most challenging part of team building. It\u2019s often a case of the lowest common denominator, who has the least ability to commit their time and money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you\u2019re working out if you can commit, you have to be brutally honest. There has been many a team who have broken up with just a few weeks to go before nationals because one teammate ran out of money or annual leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Creating a team plan should include the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n