VIC Mentor Update for Barwon Heads June 2018
Foul weather friends..
The winter chill has bitten with a vengeance, and we Melburnians have long months ahead of grey skies and gloomy days. So this is a PERFECT time to get in the bigway mood!
How can that be so? We have no tunnel. Drop zones will soon get waterlogged. Many of our skydiving friends are hibernating or travelling to exciting destinations for the northern hemisphere summer. A weekend lie-in is more appealing than ever, and we can use this time to get some ‘good partner/good parent’ points at home.
All these things are true, but, as we keep on saying, records don’t come easy. Look at the weather as an opportunity, rather than an obstacle.
Some of us are travelling to the Whitsundays in July for the Bowen Bigway Boogie. Woo hoo! I can’t wait, and I know the uber awesome Jonny Goss is making some great preparations to host us. This will be my one big escape for the winter, and a rare chance to actually do larger skydives before the Larry Henderson meet. (Slots are still available for Bowen, by the way. You know you want to! Register here… )
But it isn’t my only opportunity to prepare for Perris next year. There are still some good jump days to be found at Barwon Heads and Torquay, with blue skies, soft ground and smooth winds. If our mates are too soft to put on their thermal undies, pack a spare pair of socks and play with us, well, we’ll just do smaller drill dives to build our own skills. (We did some of these a couple of weeks ago. You should have seen the look on their faces when I ‘fell’ off the plane and they had to dive faster than they expected. Nic Kearns did a stunning dive, stop and dock with her trademark giant grin!)
Anyway, here is my list of ideas for Perris Preps this winter:
- Get to the gym. Build core strength and general strength. Set some physical goals for this time next year and make progress on those goals now.
- Get together for dirt dives. Use these to practice your visualisation for different slots. Share exit tips. Look at larger formations and learn to understand the dive plan pictures that get posted for bigway events.
- Get together for conversations. Talk to people who’ve done P3 camps and ask questions about mind management as well as practical tips for the trip.
- Watch bigway videos. Especially for all the events happening in Perris Valley. Think about the approaches. Look at the radials and the no momentum docks. Watch complete strangers from exit through to their dock and see how they fly. When do they go fast? When do they slow down? When do they reach their ‘no momentum’ point? How gently do they dock?
- Read the articles on the Aussie Bigways page. We are so fortunate to have high calibre coaches, mentors and experts. There are some amazing tips and stories to be found. Use the resources here. Follow the links. Get your brain into the right headspace. Part of the reason we were so successful in our 2010 triple record day was that we soaked up every titbit supplied to us. We were absolute sponges for information. Be a sponge this winter!
- Save your dollars. If your planned jump day falls through, don’t blow it on a big night out at dinner. Use it as ‘bonus’ savings towards your Perris trip. You may even have enough unused jump money for an extra hour in the tunnel. Imagine how much catch-up opportunity we’ll have when our tunnel opens. Hopefully before we leave!
It’s important to remember that we are in the final stages of building a TEAM. We have stated our goal, we have said it aloud, and we have set our own personal goals for flying skills to build over the year ahead. (We HAVE all done those first steps, haven’t we?)
The only way to achieve those goals is to keep edging closer towards them. Move forward, not back. Don’t stop for a rest. Be a sponge. Don’t hibernate!
Kelly Brennan – Vic Mentor for Barwon Heads
Recommended Posts
Captains Announcement June 2021
June 25, 2021
How Big is Big and What Makes a Record?
May 04, 2021
End Of Year Bigway And AdvancedOz Camps
October 22, 2020