In Cross Country issue 154 we went deep undercover, sending in a French-speaking bi-lingual spy to the French Team Training Camp to find out what makes the top tier of France’s paragliding pilots so good.
Le answer? Mathurin.
Didier Mathurin is the professional coach helping to drive the success of some of Team France’s best paraglider pilots. From world record triangles to week-long open distance XC camps, there is a lot to learn from the Mathurin Magic.
Andy Pag was that undercover reporter and he spent several days interviewing some of France’s top pilots at the Paragliding World Cup in France in May. He came back with quite a story.
“Yes we have a big pyramid of pilots in France,” says Didier Mathurin, the man who oversees the French paragliding team. “But it’s one thing to have a lot of pilots at a good level. It’s another to develop pilots to a world class level.”
A former mountain guide and ski instructor, Mathurin took on the job of coaching the French national paragliding team in 2008 after nine years at the helm of the national hang gliding team.
Just the fact the French have a coach employed full-time speaks volumes about how engaged their national air sports association, the Federation Francaise de Vol Libre (FFVL), is with creating top pilots.
“Even ten years ago, we were winning comps and setting XC records,” says Maturin, “But there was a smaller pool of pilots that were getting those results. Now we have many more pilots achieving great things.
“That’s been my goal as coach. When I choose a team for a competition I know I’m leaving out pilots that are good enough to make the selection. That’s a great position for France to be in.”
The full six-page top-secret article is in Cross Country issue 154, July/August 2014.
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