Z-man

This past weekend, I was asked to attend our region's candidate instructor checkout day, as outlined by PCA national. I passed the program and now I am officially an NNJR approved instructor! The first mentor ride was a nightmare - I didn't think I'd be that nervous. My mentor advised me to calm down and relax, which I did for the remainder of the day and all went well.

One of the key things I learned - the less words/instructions you use to communicate effectively, the better. There simply isn't time on the track to do an inch-by-inch analysis of the track!

I had my first student the following two days - a terrific guy in a 944S2. Had a blast driving with him! And it was wonderful to see his progression throughout the weekend, as well his comments like "Man, I am having fun now!" To which I could only respond, "So am I!!"

Becoming an instructor was a goal I set for my self after the first event I attended. I know it would take a lot of time and effort, but I made it and look forward to giving back to the club - had there not been instructors willing to teach me, I wouldn't have progressed through the ranks - so to all of you - THANK YOU. And: I'll still be asking for you to ride with me to help me continue to progress...

-Z-man.

Apex Rex

And you didn't even kill me when you took me out for a ride

Congratz Z

JCP911S

Congratulations... you will learn more instructing than you ever did being instructed. I found it forced me to think about WHY something should be done one way or another...and really break thinkgs down into pieces... really makes you think analytically.

Three things I found help me in the car

A) Regardless of your instructing experience, you still know more than the student does

B) Can't teach everything.. pick one or two things to work on each weekend and concentrate on that... beter to learn one thing well than four things poorly

3) Figure out what each students capability is and teach to that... I always say there are three priorities..

1) Drive your car home in one piece
2) Have Fun
3) Learn something

In that order......

Have fun

38D

Z- congrats on joining the ranks. I think you will find it both educational and rewarding. Also, always remember that students make mistakes -- sooner or later you will have an "uh-o" moment with a student, and that is when you really find out how good of an instructor you are.

shiners780

Did they teach you the instructor's mantra:

"Trust me, I'm an instructor."

Congrats!

Sanjeevan

Z-man, I just want to thank you for making that choice,...we (students), really appreciate what you guy's do.

Phokaioglaukos

As a student who has at times had a recently minted instructor, I can assure you that if you have learned this lesson you have learned a lot!

Thanks for sitting in right seat.

mein51

HAHAHA! That reminds of the time we saw a new Ford GT drive in and half of us scramble to see if he was a newbie or not
Try to go over certain words with your student if you have any. For instance, "start accellerating" doesnt always mean mash the freakin pedal to the floor (my first student spin was due to that).

Larry Herman

Yeah, and remember that yelling "Oh sh*t, we're going to die" is more cathartic than instructional!

Congrats!

Jack667

Congrats!
from a fellow newbie instructor
I've been in the right seat for one weekend and it was rewarding...

VaSteve

Congrats, Z-man. If I ever do a NNJR event (if I ever get my car back together), I'll request you.

mrbill_fl

oh yeah, you'll learn a lot teaching.....

fwiw, I work on braking first.
Once I can get the student to really use the brakes, I'm more confortable allowing them to go fast. The line is taught in class, so its just reinforement.

fwiw: I use the skippy Threshold braking language... #10 peddle is lockup, (abs on), #1 peddle is calipers just touching...

-comming into a brake zone, I'll say, BRAKE: give me a 3 peddle... 5 peddle... 8 peddle, release, turn, gas, gas, gas... it gives a quanitative value for brake pressure....


and my instructor mantra is 'do as I say, not as I do'

Mike Buck

Congrats Zoltan.

I did Potomac PCA instructor class earlier this year. Course, then I broke my car at the NASA VIR race in February and haven't been to a DE all year. So I've done the class part, just haven't sat in the right seat yet. Like you, I'm happy to give back to the program the helped me, just need to get my crap together lol

TD in DC

Congrats! Do you plan to ask students the following question: Can I drove your car?

That is the first thing I plan to do

TD in DC

It is rather disturbing when Larry starts screaming that just before we pit out