Alta Therapy’s director and lead clinician, Chloe Svolakos, is a USPA certified Coach and is qualified to support students’ progression in skydiving, once they’ve completed the Accelerated Free-Fall (AFF) Program.

Based out of Skydive Sebastian in Florida, Chloe’s mission is to blend skydive coaching with clinically backed sports psychology. Chloe works with new jumpers and jumpers coming back from injury or hiatus. 

All training sessions are conducted with students’ safety as the top priority and in full compliance with USPA requirements. 

Hey there!!

Ahh! Congrats on completing your AFF certification! Now that you’ve attained the fundamentals of solo jumping, you probably want to jump with others and build skills that will prepare you for small group jumps; That’s where I would love to step in and work with you.

As a coach, I specialize in helping newer jumpers build the skills and confidence needed to safely and effectively jump in groups, whether you’re looking to join fun jumps, work on formations, or participate in team competitions. 

If you’re coming back from any level of injury, I truly would love to support you on the mental and emotional aspects of your return as well as walk through your medical profile to really build solid goals to challenge you, work through doubt, rebuild confidence, while incorporating important and tailored guardrails for safety. 

Blue Skies,

-Chloe

1. Conduct training in the non-method-specific portions of the skydiving ground school:
   (1) Equipment familiarization as it pertains to the first jump
   (2) Basic canopy control
   (3) Parachute emergency procedures
   (4) Landings and landing emergencies (obstacles)
   (5) Aircraft emergencies for students cleared to freefall self-supervision and who have completed the Category E aircraft briefing in the USPA Integrated Student Program
2. Teach the general portions of transition training for students changing from tandem to solo methods.
3. Conduct group freefall and canopy skills training and jumps with students who have been cleared by a USPA Instructor.
4. Make gripped exits with students during group freefall skills jumps.
5. Supervise recurrency jumps with licensed skydivers.
6. Supervise static-line and IAD students beginning in Category C after each student demonstrates a successful clear and pull:
   (1) All ground training must be performed by an appropriately rated instructor.
   (2) The student must be trained by an instructor to independently handle aircraft emergencies.
7. All student training and recurrency jumps with a USPA Coach are conducted under the supervision of a current and appropriately rated USPA Instructor.

Purpose: Establish consistent routines that help the team enter a state of readiness and mental calmness before each jump.

Application: Develop a series of rituals or actions that help the team mentally prepare before the jump, like breathing exercises, focusing on key performance cues, or affirming trust in their training and each other.

Purpose: Use imagery to rehearse successful skydives and team coordination.

Application: Encourage athletes to visualize the skydive from start to finish, focusing on ideal body positioning, clear communication, and smooth transitions between each phase of the jump.

Purpose: Help team members create clear, actionable, and realistic goals to guide their preparation and performance.

Application: Use SMART goals (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Time-bound) to break down the process of preparing for a competition—focusing on skills, teamwork, and communication during training.

Purpose: Enhance collaboration, trust, and communication within the team.

Application: Engage in team-building exercises that focus on trust and communication, as well as debriefing sessions after each practice or competition to reinforce group dynamics and mutual support.

Purpose: Increase motivation and engagement by setting up small, manageable tasks that lead to success.

Application: Focus on incremental progress and daily tasks that contribute to long-term goals, like mastering a particular maneuver or enhancing communication during a jump.

Purpose: Manage physical and mental stress before or during a skydive.

Application: Use progressive muscle relaxation techniques to help team members reduce tension and stay calm. This is particularly useful when preparing for a high-pressure jump or in stressful competition environments.

Purpose: Increase awareness and control over thoughts and feelings during a skydive.

Application: Teach skydivers mindfulness techniques that can help them stay present and calm during the jump—focusing on their breathing, sensations, and performance rather than worrying about external factors or potential mistakes.

Purpose: Reframe negative or self-limiting beliefs to promote confidence and self-efficacy.

Application: Help team members identify and challenge thoughts such as “I’m going to mess up” or “We can’t win this.” Replace them with more constructive thoughts like “We’ve trained hard, and we are capable” or “Mistakes are part of the learning process.”

Purpose: Identify and modify self-talk to keep the team members focused and positive.

Application: Help athletes become aware of their internal dialogue before and during jumps, encouraging them to replace negative or anxious thoughts with more helpful, supportive ones.

Purpose: Interrupt negative or unhelpful thoughts that can cause anxiety or distraction during a skydive.

Application: Encourage skydivers to say “stop” mentally when negative thoughts emerge (e.g., fear of failure, doubts about the team’s performance) and replace them with positive, focused thoughts like “I am prepared” or “We’ve trained for this.”

Purpose: Promote emotional resilience and reduce fear of failure or self-criticism.

Application: Encourage team members to treat themselves with kindness and understanding, particularly after a mistake. Use phrases like, “It’s okay to make mistakes.” “What can we learn from this?”

Purpose: Reinforce positive behaviors and improvements to boost confidence and morale.

Application: Recognize and reward individual and team achievements, both big and small. This helps foster a growth mindset, where success is seen as a result of learning rather than innate ability.

Purpose: Analyze performance to identify what went well and where improvements can be made.

Application: After each competition or training session, conduct a debrief with the team to assess both strengths and weaknesses. This fosters continuous improvement and helps avoid repeating the same mistakes.

Purpose: Improve the team’s ability to stay focused on the task at hand, especially when distractions arise during a skydive.

Application: Train athletes to focus on specific cues or signals during a jump (e.g., their body position, the movements of other team members, or the sequence of the dive) and gently refocus their attention when it drifts.

Purpose: Help team members become desensitized to anxiety-producing situations, making them more resilient in high-pressure moments.

Application: Gradually exposing the team to higher-stress or more complex competition scenarios (e.g., jumping in high winds or dealing with unfamiliar conditions), allowing them to build confidence and competence.

Purpose: Build resilience to stress by exposing athletes to controlled stressors during training.

Application: Incorporate stress drills (e.g., jumping under time pressure, performing tasks with high complexity, or competing against other teams) so that the team can practice maintaining focus and composure in stressful situations.