posted Mar 16th, 2010 - It surely is an impressive field of teams that is already listed at the event pages of the FSL Shamrock Showdown 2010. The French delegation has currently three teams in full training swing in DeLand. However, only two of them will actually compete this weekend.

The NSL News invited the French national B-Team Aerokart Amada Maubeuge for a live NSL Talk in the NSL office, which was recorded this afternoon. The Amada members explained why they are not able to stay and compete at the Shamrock Showdown.

Two Amada members, Sylvain Girault and Thomas Perrin, are also training and competing with the French 8-way team. Sylvain Girault is the new 8-way videographer, Thomas Perrin is one of the new young B-Team members who was selected for the new 8-way lineup at the end of the 2008 season. The first part of the NSL Talk follows below, the second part can be reviewed by clicking here.

The French 8-way team starts a new training camp on Monday after the Shamrock weekend. Winning the gold medal for France this year has absolute priority for Thomas Perrin, and he wants be well rested and prepared for the training in Spain. Videographer Sylvain Girault is in the same boat.

The Amada members talk about their motivation to be B-Team members and leave no doubt that they all have the same goal. They want to become A-Team members and then 4-way or 8-way world champions. Their team mate in the Center Outside slot is the best example for how it works.

It takes quite some motivation and effort. The Amada members explain that they all have a real job and finance their 4-way training largely by themselves. More financial support kicks in once they make the A-Team.

The young French competitors also explain that it is unusual for a B-Team to stay together with the same lineup for longer than one year. The national coach usually scrambles the B-Team members around for a constellation that works the best for the main goal.

Amada is going into the team's second competition season after doing very well in the team's first year. Amada won the gold medals at the French Nationals 2009 with a 20.8 average and finished in 7th place at the World Cup 2009 with a 19.6 average.

The team members said that they would even like to stay together for a third season if this is what the national Formation Skydiving team manager Jerome David and coach Marin Ferre would decide for the 2011 season.

The French national B-Teams usually have an experienced player coach in the lineup who guides them in training and competition. The four Amada members are all coming from a similar experience level of the new 4-way generation in France.

They get some help from national coach Marin Ferre when he is around and has enough time. However, the former French 4-way world champion is very busy in DeLand preparing Aerodyne Cypres Maubeuge and Aerokart Deep Blue for the upcoming high-profile competition. Both teams will face very strong opposition.

Amada gets some of Marin Ferre's precious time at the end of the day when he looks at the day's videos and provides feedback and technical evaluation. Then the team is back on its own the next training day.

The Amada members are true NSL News audience. They have been following the events all the time. They will be back on the computer screen after their training camp will be over tomorrow.

There will be long evenings in France beginning on Friday, as they will carefully follow scores, videos and updates. Thomas Perrin and his 8-way team mates will follow the action already on Friday morning when the Golden Knights will post their first scores of the 2010 season.

Aerokart Amada Maubeuge will attend the French Cup meet in June and then try to defend the national 4-way title in August. Thomas Perrin will just have returned from Russia with a world meet 8-way medal around his neck. The only question is which medal it will be.