posted Jan 5th, 2016 - Live NSL Talk in the Coaches Corner has become a regular feature at events when the Sun Path Products NSL News provides live coverage from the competition site. The last Coaches Corner video was recorded during the Clash of Champions 2015 where Solly Williams, Craig Girard, Jeremie Rollett and Mathieu Bernier discussed the situation after the completion of the event.

The Coaches Corner turned into the "Talbert WAG Corner" at the World Air Games 2015. Chris Talbert reported as much as possible from and of the events in Dubai, this time without the live NSL Talk video.

The feedback and insights of the people who are in close and direct touch with the teams and competitors are always greatly appreciated and provide a much more realistic impression than written words can do. A good Coaches Corner conversation is also much more entertaining...

Clash of Champions 2015			Rd. 1	Rd. 2	Rd. 3	Rd. 4	Rd. 5	Rd. 6	Rd. 7	Rd. 8	Rd. 9	Rd. 10	Total	Avg
Rank	AAA Class		J,13,8	K,20,5	9,21,19	C,3,6	7,O,15	A,18,1	2,H,P,D	16,L,11	E,N,10,B	12,Q,F,22	Total	Avg
1	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	26	32	30	28	33	29	41	28	37	29	313	31.3
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	28	30	29	30	34	27	39	28	34	26	305	30.5

Gary Smith and Chris Talbert took the time this morning to join an on-line live conference for the latest Coaches Corner. It was actually not a morning session for Gary Smith who lives on the island of Texel in the Netherlands. It was lunch time for him, while Chris Talbert was in his office at the Sun Path headquarters in Raeford, North Carolina.

It was much more challenging for Chris Talbert to provide up-to-date event information from Dubai, where he was nine hours ahead of the Sun Path Products NSL News Eastern U.S. Time in Florida. He wrote his updates often late at night after the long meet days, or very early in the morning before heading out to the dropzone.

The live video conference this morning could bring Gary Smith and Chris Talbert together with the Sun Path Products NSL News at a more convenient time on all three ends.

World Air Games 2015			Rd 1	Rd 2	Rd 3	Rd 4	Rd 5	Rd 6	Rd 7	Rd 8	Rd 9	Rd 10	Total	Avg
Rank	4-way Open		B,C,17,2	N,19,4	13,14,F	6,E,O,L	7,1,A	D,18,P,22	M,H,5,15	16,9,12	21,K,G,Q	11,20,3	Total	Avg
1	NMP PCH Hayabusa	BE	29	26	23	36	28	23	31	24	27	22	269	26.9
2	Arizona Airspeed	US	29	27	22	36	28	19	29	25	30	20	265	26.5

The topics were naturally related to the indoor and outdoor double-header in Dubai. Gary Smith and Chris Talbert went through all three traditional Formation Skydiving events. It was only logical that the 4-way Open Class received more attention than the other events, as it is the most popular event with the highest performance level.

However, Gary Smith's position as NMP PCH Hayabusa's coach also contributed heavily to the topic. It was no surprise that he reported good vibes from the Belgian headquarters. The three reigning 4-way world champions with new member Jeroen "Bob" Nollet defeated Arizona Airspeed three times in Dubai, at the Clash of Champions 2015, the World Air Games 2015, and they also won the 1-round "Speed Battle".

Gary Smith said that the group dynamics are better than ever, and the current Hayabusa lineup has no plans to stop at any time soon.

Clash of Champions 2015			Speed Battle
Rank	4-way AAA		M,B,P,J,C
1(1)	NMP-PCH Hayabusa	BE	63(-2)
2(3)	Weembi Lille	FR	59(-3)
2(9)	Black Cat	RU	59(-2)
4(2)	Arizona Airspeed	US	58(-4)
5(5)	Evolution	CA	56
5(5)	FLY-IN Women	FR	54(-3)
7(10)	FLY-IN Open	FR	54(-3)
8(5)	Qatar Tigers	QA	53(-2)
9(4)	Golden Knights	US	50(-6)
10(8)	Thunder ISR	BE	44(-5)

The topic of the current lineups was leading to the next point of NSL Talk discussion. Thomas Hughes had announced in Dubai that he will step back after the Mondial 2016. Chris Talbert explained that it is not unusual that team members tell in time when they plan to retire. It makes it easier for the team to look for new members.

He added that it was yet new to him that a top team would announce the name of the new member as early as Airspeed did with Mikhail Markine, who will take the open slot at the end of the 2016 season. Chris Talbert was assuming that a team might do that to secure a top competitor for the next lineup, as the talent pool is limited.

The next showdown between NMP PCH Hayabusa and Arizona Airspeed is just around the corner, as both teams will attend the Wind Games 2016 at the end of this month.