posted Jul 5th, 2008 - The Skydiving Magazine published an article in the July issue that announced a roster change in the US national 8-way team. Golden Knight Eric Heinsheimer has replaced John Hart and now trains with KnightTrax for the World Meet 2008 in August.

This is the second change of the KnightTrax lineup that placed 2nd at the USPA Nationals 2007 and was later nominated as the US national 8-way team for 2008. Golden Knight Sean Sweeney had already taken Solly Williams' slot at the end of the 2007 season.

The KnightTrax lineup now consists of six Golden Knights (John Hoover, Brian Krause, Matt Davidson, Kurt Isenbarger, Sean Sweeney, Eric Heinsheimer) and two Fastrax members (Thomas Hughes, Doug Park).

Golden Knight Larry Miller is filming the team, Paraclete XP member and former Airspeed world champion Kirk Verner is the alternate.

Eric Heinsheimer had to wait until he had fully recovered from a neck surgery last year.

The Skydiving Magazine reported that Eric Heinsheimer was asked to fill the slot when the change "was prompted by the other members of the 8-way team". KnightTrax thought that they needed Eric Heinsheimer's years of 8-way experience to improve the team's chances of winning at the World Meet in August.

The new lineup has completed approx. 150 training jumps with Eric Heinsheimer. Seven of the eight KnightTrax members were on site at the Paraclete XP Money Meet 2008. John Hoover, Brian Krause, Matt Davidson and Kurt Isenbarger competed with the Golden Knights 4-way team.

Thomas Hughes filled Chris Farina's slot for Perris Fury, and Sean Sweeney competed with Teiwaz. Eric Heinsheimer visited the competition site to watch the action and help with some coaching. Larry Miller was filming the Army team, and alternate Kirk Verner competed with Paraclete XP. Only Doug Park was not present.

KnightTrax plans to complete another 200 training jumps in 8-way before the trip to France and the showdown with the French 8-way team for the gold medals.

John Hart plans to focus more on his team projects at Start Skydiving, the new Fastrax headquarters.

He has already competed at this year's meets of the Mideast Skydiving League with one of the project teams. Fastrax member Niklas Hemlin was in the same lineup of Wait & See. John Hart continued his series of 4-way tips for 4-way junkies.

4-way Tips

Greetings Four-Way Junkies,

The next several articles will be dedicated to mental training. It is one of the most overlooked topics, yet the important part of formation skydiving. Please contact me with any and all questions you may have at jhart@teamfastrax.org.

Areas of Focus for Mental Imagery and Visualization

All of the areas below are areas where you can use mental imaging: - Creeper/Drill Training Sessions - Tunnel Training Sessions - Jump Training Sessions - Competition System

The Team Fastrax System

We will only make small changes to our system, and those changes will only happen if it is determined to make a big difference. Otherwise the "Fastrax System" becomes a mandatory ritual that is second nature like breathing. It automatically brings the team to the optimal "Zone".

4-way Tips: Training Sessions

- Stretching Yoga Exercises, 15-20 minutes. Mostly sun salutation exercises with focus on flexibility and breathing

- Centering, 5-10 minutes. Seating meditation with emphasis on breathing, focus and awareness. Repeat and think positive thoughts "I'm a champion".

- Creeper Drills 60-90 minutes. Determine formation draw. Circle as a team and play the movie, practice focused breathing, smile and walk through the dive until everyone is comfortable. Next lie down on the creepers and repeat the process.

- Take a break (1-3 minutes) and allow yourself to relax and recharge for the next draw.

- Team Communication, 5-15 minutes. Open conversations for everyone, pass the rock, focus on the positive, but don't be afraid to bring up areas of improvement and concern. It is important to communicate honestly. Once the session is over you must move on, even if something was said that upset you.

- Business Discussion, 5-15 minutes. Focus on team operational and administration issues.

4-way Tips: Competition

It is important to develop a competition routine that works for your team. Team Fastrax uses the following routine which encompasses a great deal of mental drills.

- Puzzle: Look at all possibilities to engineer the dive - Angles: Angles, grip discipline, keys, random shapes (favor the next random), each team member identifies slot improvements/focus points - Exit - Hill - Block technique - Randoms - Pauses: no grip pauses while promoting fast communication and keys - Sprints: Sky dive rhythm.

Identify and practice areas of sprints and touch-n-go keys for random and blocks - At Speed - Speed CD: Normal learning speed, extreme speed, competition speed, extreme speed, competition plus speed - At Speed - 25minute call: Final creeping At Speed - 20minute call: Alpha CD - Rigs - Mock-up - Boarding Area - Visualize the dive at least three times while climbing to altitude - Once on the ground shake hands and move on to the next round.