log bookIn an effort to promote fun jumping at the DZ and to help their club members gain skill, Skydive Orange brings in coaches from all over the world. In this case, they were flying in a man named Pete Allum.  I couldn't attend all of his sessions, but I was able to pick up a Thursday slot.  Alec's 14th birthday was on the 23rd and we had some big plans for the weekend.  

Even though we only got to do 3 skydives together, Pete (D-3627) left a lasting impression on me.  When you meet Pete, you'd never guess that he is a badass skydiver with over 20,000 jumps.  He's personable and humble. 

During our debriefing sessions, he started by discussing what we did well. Pete boosted our confidence before he started talking about what went wrong.  Even when we were discussing the errors, he smiled and treated us with respect.  Later, I discovered that not all coaches have this great disposition. In fact, some are rude and unnecessarily mean. If I am ever in a position to nurture new jumpers, I will use Pete's coaching techniques! Even his signature in my log book made me smile!

Pete lives abroad and travels the world coaching skydivers of all skill levels. I wondered how long it would be before I saw Pete again.