Anyone for a game of catch? on Quidditch Pitch

The Coach

February 05, 2022 6:39 PM

Flying Lessons - First Years by The Coach

“Hello hello, first years!” The coach welcomed them to the pitch with a beaming smile. It was ‘first years’ rather than ‘beginners.’ Whilst they were lumped in with the second years for all their other classes, flying was just them. And anyone who’d either somehow failed this the first time around, or just wanted to take it again for the sheer fun of it. It was a shame that the class didn’t continue beyond first year. The coach was a firm believer that flying was a life skill, and like all skills, it was best fine tuned with practise. However, once the kids could stay more or less upright and fly from one of the pitch to the other without falling off, they were given a pass and allowed to move on with their lives. It didn’t seem adequate, as a foundation for a life long skill. And after this, only those who were interested in Quidditch really had a chance to hone their skills. Flying wasn’t just Quidditch. Maybe a flying club would be a good start? Giving students a chance to improve skills without having to sign up to play sports? Anyway, that was a thought for another day. Right now, it was lesson time.

“Alright folks, gather round! Now, I know some of you will be very comfortable on a broom, and others of you will be brand new to this. That’s alright. We’re going to go over some information about class, and some safety rules. After that, the experienced flyers will be free to do their own thing, whilst the beginners work through some basics.

“The first thing I want to make clear, is that this is flying class, not Quidditch class. I’m sure some of you are champing at the bit to join the team, and some of you couldn’t be persuaded in a month of Sundays. Doesn’t matter. This here is a class for you to learn the basic life skill of flying. Flying can be a very practical way to get around—it saves energy and, when done properly, is lower risk compared to apparating—that’s disappearing from one place and reappearing somewhere else, for those that don’t know. It also allows you to be precise and flexible about the start and end points of your journey, unlike Flooing—traveling via the magical transportation network contained within fireplaces. Yeah, magic’s a little wild sometimes,” the coach acknowledged, aware of how those options might sound to Muggleborns hearing them for the first time.

“The basic rules of my class are that you try your best, you engage in activities that develop and enhance your flying, whatever that means for you personally, for the whole period, and that the more experienced you are, the more you look out for yourself and others. I trust experienced flyers to go off and do their own thing sometimes, but if you act in a way that endangers you or throws off people who are just learning the basics, that’s a privilege that can be taken away.

“In order to pass this class, you will need to check off a basic list of flying skills, that I will share with you at the end of the lesson. I will also expect each of you to set an individual goal. If you’re totally new to flying, then meeting the class checklist is a valid goal, but if you’re experienced enough that you can already do it all, then I want you to set something that’s a meaningful level of achievement for you. I’ll be giving you more details about that with the checklist, and working with you over the next few weeks to check everyone’s goal is fair and realistic.

“Flyers, there’s a few obstacles for you to challenge yourselves on, and in future weeks, I will be spending time with you too, and setting up more complex drills for you to hone your skills. There’s also balls for you to start basic games with, though you won’t find active bludgers or snitches out just yet.” There were balls of the right sizes, so they could do drills and play games, they were just going to need propulsion from each other, as the balls weren’t going anywhere by themselves. “You may go.

“Those of you who are new to this, grab a school broom if you need one. You’re then going to lay it beside you like this. Tell it ‘up’ in a firm, commanding voice, and then mount like so.” The coach demonstrated all the steps. “Don’t point the nose of your broom too sharply upwards, it’ll go where you’re pointing it. Try to push forward more than up, so you can get a gentle glide going. I’ll be coming around to troubleshoot and to check things like your grip as you get going.”

OOC: Welcome to flying class!

As this is class, you can earn house points by posting. Points are not based on how well you claim your character does, but on your writing quality. Therefore, a post of a character struggling that is long, detailed, and realistic will score more highly than a short 'I just aced all the things' post.

Normally, you are not allowed to write for other characters, but you may use the information already given here to say the coach helped (e.g. it says the coach is willing to help with getting brooms up or sign off experienced flyers, so you're allowed to say briefly that that happened and then move on with your post, e.g. 'The coach checked his grip and, after adjusting it slightly, said Bob was ready to try flying.' Please don't write long, interactions or give the coach dialogue - the post should still be about your character. If you want to have more detailed help, have your character call the coach over, and I will reply like a normal role-playing interaction).

Please remember that you are being supervised by a professional. Whilst people do enjoy throwing their characters around and breaking them, it can be very hard for people writing the staff to justify their own inaction, and how they made such a big mistake and allowed a student to get so badly hurt. Please make sure you're stopping your post in a place that allows others to reply and take actions that would be realistic for their characters.

Happy flying, any questions ask on the OOC or in chatzy.

Subthreads:

Who wants to play? by Yaniel Ayala Velez

Anyone for a game of catch? by Xander Faro

I'm flying! by Antonia Guter with Fortune Ardovini

13 The Coach Flying Lessons - First Years 0 The Coach 1 5

Yaniel Ayala Velez

February 05, 2022 8:27 PM

Who wants to play? by Yaniel Ayala Velez

The morning’s classes had been challenging. There was the magic itself, though that part had gone okay, for first tries. It was more dealing with a room full of people, and trying to make sure you were making positive impressions that was draining. The promise of flying had helped though. Not only did it glow on the timetable, like a little beacon of something nice to end the day with, it had also meant that skirts and dresses could be ditched in favour of a baseball jersey and shorts. Yarielis wasn’t sure if they had time to change before flying class, so had just worn those all day, under the school robes. It seemed silly for it to make a difference, when clothing was mostly hidden anyway, but the first year just felt so much better. Maybe it was a fabric thing. It was the layer that had skin contact, after all. Sports clothes were designed to be comfortable and easy to move in. ‘Comfortable’ and ‘easy’ were a stretch when trying to deal with new people all day, and were a miracle probably beyond the powers of a couple of garments of clothing, but they had helped.

Now it was time for flying! Yes, yes, yes! Not only was this something that the first year already felt confident in, but it was hopefully a chance to kick back and just have some fun. There was potential for judgement, sure. The broom Yarielis was proudly clutching was a good few years out of date. It had been a second hand purchase, because it was silly to keep throwing money at new brooms for someone who wasn’t done growing. It was a good broom, not only in terms of make and model, but also condition. When you bought things second hand a lot, you learnt how to appraise them properly. This particular purchase had been direct from the family that was getting rid of it, rather than a second hand store. The acceleration and braking charms were still in good working order. The cushioning one had worn out a bit, and the whole broom had needed a bit of a fix up, but the rest was cosmetic. That was part of the fun of buying direct from another family, rather than a second hand shop; the stores would polish and trim the brooms up to give them their best shot at resale, whereas buying from another person usually meant doing that yourself (plus the price was usually better, and you got to pass your money directly onto someone who needed it). Yarielis had had a great afternoon of clipping tail twigs and polishing out scratches, and bonding with the new broom, and both parents. There wasn’t anything inherently magical about giving a bit of elbow grease to a broom shaft, or neatening its tail twigs, so it was something Papa had joined in with too.

Yarielis listened carefully to the intro speech, glad that the experienced flyers would get both some freedom and some structure. Those of them who knew their way round a broom weren’t going to be made to go through hovering drills, but they would still get the benefit of the coach’s expertise. The idea of a personal goal was interesting and daunting, as Yarielis’ head immediately flooded with all the possibilities. How to pick the right one? That seemed like something there would be more time to think about after class though, as they would be getting more guidelines later. For now, it was flying time!

They seemed to be keeping their uniforms on for flying, which made sense, because they’d need to practice flying in robes for Quidditch. Yarielis was still glad of the more practical clothes underneath. Ones which didn’t restrict, and which could get sweaty (hopefully not too much because ew, gross) and dirty, and which felt good to be in.
Yarielis kicked off, getting the feel of the new broom again. They’d had a couple of family days out to the park in the magical part of town, but there hadn’t been a lot of chances to fly between acquiring it and setting off for school. It still felt big. That was mostly a plus point, in that Yarielis didn’t feel cramped up, or in danger of falling off, but it was an adjustment in terms of turning circle. Still, after a couple of practice laps, it felt much more natural. Time for some ball practice! There were beaters’ bats and baseballs—clearly if they were pitching them themselves, something with the weight of an actual bludger would be a challenge.

“Hey,” Yarielis called to someone else who seemed to be eyeing the supplies. “You want to take turns pitching and batting?”

13 Yaniel Ayala Velez Who wants to play? 1554 0 5

Xander Faro

February 07, 2022 4:23 AM

Anyone for a game of catch? by Xander Faro

It had been hard for Xander to concentrate in his earlier classes when possessing the knowledge that later on he would finally be able to attend a flying lesson!

Now, Xander was no beginner at flying, but he was definitely an optimist, and so had come to the conclusion that the flying lesson would surely be taught at several levels, rather than everyone spending the time learning basic commands and broom control.

It was perhaps a stretch to say Xander had grown up riding a broom - babies had notoriously poor motor control, after all - but Xander had been riding a broom since his first training broom at age 4. His energetic and impetuous personality had latched keenly onto broomsticks as a method of transport, with Xander loving the feeling of freedom and adrenaline he got from rushing through the air. As soon as he had mastered the basics, he had tried to spend every minute possible on his broom, but after a thankfully non-fatal incident including the cat and his mother's heirloom vase, brooms had been banned inside the house, and also restricted to daylight hours only. Xander’s parents had also come to the realisation that common sense was not necessarily innate.

However, flying at home on your own (or with your older cousins, when they decided to humour you) was nothing compared to the prospect that lay before Xander now: a proper flying lesson with people his own age!

Xander was pleased to hear that his supposition had indeed been correct, with the flying coach taking into account the fact that not everyone was a complete beginner. He wondered what exactly the basic skills list would consist of, and also what he could choose as his own personal flying goal.

Once the more experienced flyers were dismissed, Xander headed over excitedly to the balls. What with Quidditch trials coming up, he reckoned it made sense to practise a bit, before having a go at the obstacle course.

Picking up a Quaffle, he looked around to see who wanted to join in. "Anyone up for a game of catch or something?" he asked.

9 Xander Faro Anyone for a game of catch? 1550 0 5

Antonia Guter

February 12, 2022 8:21 PM

I'm flying! by Antonia Guter

Yes! Flying lessons. The first couple of days here had flied past in a blur. Antonia was pumped for the lesson. To her, it’s just one more step towards becoming a proper witch.

Before the car crash taking her parents away from her, she remembered being told stories before bed. The stories would always begin with a witch casting curses and spells on a princess. And a prince or knight(mostly prince) would then rescue the cursed princess with a true love’s kiss and they would live happily ever after. In the stories, witches are evil and true love conquers all. But Tony wasn’t interested in the later. She loved the witches. In those stories, being a witch consists three major elements——a black cat, ominous looking potions, and of course, a flying broom. She was pretty bummed about not being assigned her own cat upon arrival, but was thrilled to learn the other two are included in the curriculum.

She could hardly eat at breakfast and was so excited her legs were bouncing. If her classmates from Green hill were to see her like this, they would hardly believe it’s the Antonia they knew. She had completely changed, not in her looks but the way she walked, now with excitement bubbling in her chest she could hardly contain her smile. Antonia followed the coach’s speech with her ears, but her eyes were fixed on the brooms set aside. She couldn’t wait to get one and try for herself. She was a bit envious learning some of her peers have already had previous flying experiences but was determined to catch up.

She picked one broom from the pile——they all looked identical but some had dents and bents in different locations——and laid it right next to her per the instruction. “Up”. She said. The broom rolled around in contempt. She tried to think about the exact words the coach used. Firm and commanding. Ok. Antonia schooled her face and pushed down the smile. She then tried to recall the time when she had to babysit three naughty 5-year-olds who broke the glasses in the facility so Mrs. Walkins could call their parents to get them and tried again, voice calm but menacing. This time, the broom shook as if considering before shooting up and landing in her waiting palms.

With her smile returned, she mounted the broom and slowly feel her feet being lifted off the ground. Still a bit wobbly, she pointed forward and for the first time in her life, was truly flying. I could get used to this, Antonia thought to herself, this is fun.

56 Antonia Guter I'm flying! 1542 0 5

Fortune Ardovini

February 13, 2022 11:52 AM

It's great! by Fortune Ardovini

This was one of the classes that Fortune was looking forward to the most. Not really because he needed 'lesson' in how to fly on a broom, he'd been doing that for a while now, but because he'd get the chance to actually fly on his broom again. Plus he and Xander wanted to find Quidditch talent, and this was undoubtedly the best class to do it.

So, as he arrived at class he scouted out the other students to get an idea of who might be interested. It was at that point that he realized that he really had no idea how to do such a thing. Before he could think to much along those lines the coach started class. He was glad to hear that he could just go flying about without sitting through all of the introductory, basic stuff. He wasn't so sure about this whole 'goal setting' thing that the coach wanted. He could fly, and he could throw and catch balls while doing so, what more did he need? The mention of obstacles sounding kinda fun though. Maybe something like improving the time it took to fly through an obstacle course?

The coach dismissed the experienced flyers, so Fortune hopped on his broom and took flight. It was great to be flying again! He didn't want to get into to much trouble right away, so he took it a bit easy as he circled the pitch, just reveling in the wind blowing all around him. He spotted Xander looking for someone to play ball with. He refrained from joining in so that they could cover more ground with finding players. If Xander was out with the 'experienced' people, maybe he'd better scout out the people new to flying.

Fortune spotted a girl that looked like she had gotten off the ground fairly quickly, she also looked like she was enjoying it. He thought that was a good sign. Remembering the coach's warning about the experienced flyers interfering with the beginners, he slowed down and glided up next to her to match her pace. "Hi," He said to her gently, hopefully not surprising her and breaking her concentration, "It looks like you're doing good." He observed with a smile, "Flying is great, isn't it?"

2 Fortune Ardovini It's great! 1549 0 5