Get Your Coach Rating

This is a 3-day course. Weather permitting the days are divided like so:

• Day 1 – Class (SIM/IRM, Teaching methodology, Freefall skills, debriefing, etc.)
• Day 2 – Air and Ground evaluation (Category G1 and G2)
• Day 3 – Remaining class or evaluations (Recurrency jumps, FJC, etc.)

Literally EVERYONE! This is the one course that will benefit you even if you never work with students. The concepts that are covered are applicable to every aspect of skydiving, from student training  to canopy coaching, body flight, relating to other skydivers at the DZ, or just helping your friend get better in the sky.

We’ve had all sorts of candidates and all of them are 100% glad they took the course, regardless of their goal in the sport.

Besides that, if you’ve ever looked up to your instructors and thought they were the coolest people at the DZ, the coach rating is where you can start your journey to become an Instructor one day, and keep on passing the torch!

Or if you just want to give back to the community and take a more active role at your home DZ, then this is definitely the rating for you.

There are three basic things that you can do with a Coach rating:

• Train and jump with students after they have been cleared for self-supervised freefall (Cat. F, G, and H)
• Teach the general portion (non-method specific) of a Solo First Jump course.
• Conduct ground training and jump with licensed skydivers for recurrency jumps.

The Coach rating is mostly about teaching students, so the best way to prepare is to work with students at your home DZ!

The Rating is designed as a Mentorship rating, where you work alongside seasoned instructors with real students. However, you don’t have to wait to have the rating to do that!

Before the course, get with an experienced AFF-I and observe their ground training and then their post-jump debrief. Pretty soon you’ll be able to ask if you can participate in the ground training as well. That is the best possible preparation since at the course we won’t have a chance to work with real-life students. The course will focus more on the methodology and delivery of information.

Also, make sure you assist in at least one First Jump Course, and you complete the Coach Course pre-course exam on the USPA website.

A really good time! That is always our primary goal at Skydive Ratings. Skydiving is supposed to be fun, so if we’re not all having a great time, then there’s no point! It won’t be a course where you get tested or hazed … we are all on the same team. We are invested in your success and want to see achieve your goal of earning the rating.

Our main focus is to create a continuous positive learning experience, regardless of whether you earn the ratings at the course, after a week, or after 6 more months of experience.

We’ll be in the classroom for about a full day, then we will have two skydives to do – the air evaluations – and then we have another day of ground stuff to go over. We’ll do our best to keep those 3 days fun, entertaining and an all-around great experience for everyone involved.

To pass the course, you’ll need to complete two satisfactory (score of 75% or higher) Air Evaluations and Ground Evaluations sessions, which are going to be the G1 and G2 ground training and freefall from the ISP (Integrated Student Program). You’ll also have to demonstrate satisfactory student supervision (Gear check, ride to altitude, etc.) and debrief skills.

Within your membership cycle (yearly) you’ll have to complete and provide verification of:

• 15 Coach jumps
• Assisting in a First Jump Course
• Participating in a Rating Renewal Seminar

Expired for less than 2 years:

• Complete one satisfactory Coach Evaluation jump with a Coach Examiner or Designated evaluator
• Complete the Coach pre-course exam
• Assist in an FJC
• Participate in a Rating Renewal Seminar

Expired for more than 2 years:

• Retake and pass the full Coach Course