Observations from a fairly recent student

[Steve-O]

Our ground school at WSW I think is very innovative. I come from a background in education and have had a lot of experience with breaking down skills into steps, and then presenting them in a logical order.

Our 3 hour class includes the following topics.

-Short video called Upwind, showing the best of the best getting worked in the early days.
-A hands on session with a kite bar explaining QR, flagging lines, safety leashes, hooking up leashes wrong, different places to hook leashes and there results. I do this in the beginning because I feel it is the most important information for any kiter. (I also do this first thing in the water lesson after basic kite control is present, again most important part of the lesson IMO)
-also explain the rest of the bar as well, in theory of course!
-explain options of training with a focus on trainer kite and board lessons before taking a kite lesson. Break the skills down, and then put it all together.
-using the PASA handbook, take students through many topics that PASA has organized already. This curriculum should take 1.5 hours to cover alone.
-spend time on weather assessment, and weather patterns that occur throughout the year in Florida (this could be a course in itself....to be held one day soon)
-hand out many things to take home which include, Tampa Bay ride guide, Florida ride guide, tons of articles on things we just talked about, web links, weather links, and gear needed for kiting (no one thinks of booties)

The PASA handbook is the meat of this course and presents many excellent topics for discussion that a good instructor can elaborate on. The first statement in the handbook is "don't go out it winds to strong for your kiting level". That takes a good 10 minutes to elaborate on that statement. The use of a bar simulator in the shop really does a great job at explaining how the safety on these kites work. Extra handouts just hit home all the stuff we covered in those three hours for the student to read once they get home.

It really sets a great foundation for the water lesson and the sport itself. We recall info throughout the water lesson and don't waste time explaining info. With that said, we usually have success with a student riding in their 3rd hour of training. With limited teachable wind, I have found this teaching system to take most advantage of the time we have.

I understand every area is different and the situation is different. This setup works well for our area and our type of client. We adjust accordingly to the client when the need arises.

Maybe a meeting could be held at the surf expo for instructors to get together and share ideas.