[center][h1][b]Team Valkyrie AGR Sport Headquarters
Aachen Germany
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Alexander heard back from Sami Lipponen and Tocho Lister before the end of the day. Mabel arranged for both men to come in for interviews the following day. Alexander had interviewed Sami. He was perfect for the job. He was not the warmest, most social guy but that is not what Alexander needed. He needed someone to organize and run the training for the junior academy. Sami had the experience and Alexander appreciated his straight talking no bullshit attitude. He knew Sami wouldn’t cater to egos and would tell the egotistical hot headed upcoming pilots exactly what they needed to hear. He would be the perfect guy to run roughshod over a group of adrenaline pumped egos in a competitive setting. He had the experience that they would respect him and listen to what he had to say. Sami had accepted the job and jumped right to work. He and Alexander had reviewed all the plans for the bootcamp coming up. He had introduced Sami to the support team that was already working on putting the bootcamp together. He turned it all over to Sami happily. They had worked out that Sami would be given a budget and could make his own plans. He would answer to Alexander and they would meet once a month to review what was happening with the Junior team. 

Alexander was relieved and felt that the junior team was in good hands. The junior program had not been neglected per say but it had stagnated. Alexander’s changes would improve the program and bring it back to being a model for others. The smaller endorsement deals with more local businesses was even more popular for the junior team. The new endorsement and sponsorship deals were funding the changes to the junior program. The funds for the bootcamp documentary alone gave the junior team a great start and budget for the rest of the season. The endorsement and sponsorship deals for the pilots attending the junior academy would make it a sought after experience next year. Alexander was pleased with how things were coming together. 

Alexander had interviewed Tocho Lister. He had liked the energetic man who embraced his culture. Hopi Indians culture centered around harmony and peace with all things. They were called “the Peaceful People”. Tocho was a good pilot but didn’t quite have the same competitive edge that you saw with most racers. He reminded Alexander of a rabbit on a sugar rush. He seemed to vibrate with energy standing in place. He came across almost like an overeager teenager ready to please someone. He was likable but his excitable nature left you smiling at him and wanting to laugh along with him. Alexander offered him a position working at Valkyrie as a test pilot for the research and development team and a pilot instructor and mentor to help out with the Junior team. Both positions only needed someone part time but this would allow Alexander to employ Tocho full time. He saw potential in Tocho that he felt he could develop. He felt that Tocho had untapped potential as a pilot. This would allow Alexander to groom him and evaluate how far he could push him as a pilot. He suspected that Tocho had never really had the training and opportunity to fully hone his skills as a pilot. He might be a possible replacement for Dorian or a good fit as a back up replacement pilot in the future. 

This wouldn’t replace Daniel Ogier, their current test pilot. If they were going to build an all new ship design, they needed a pilot on hand to be able to run tests as the engineering and development team began building and testing new designs. Daniel simply didn’t have the time to do that full time. Daniel had his own career going in the other circuit. Alexander wanted to hire a few more test pilots for the research and development team. It would be better for the team if they could test their ship against different piloting styles. Daniel could certainly help out there when he had time. Alexander was waiting to see how things shook out with Jamie Hart. He was interested in Jamie but he wanted to see if anyone else took the pilot in. Jamie’s attitude put Alexander off. He wanted to see him receive an attitude adjustment first. He was still on the fence about the pilot. 

Alexander heard back from Ben Hale almost immediately. He had declined the offer to join the bootcamp. Alexander understood why when he saw the press release and interview of the new team Nova. That was quite an accomplishment. Nova would be the dark horse team for the rest of the season. The new team would come out swinging with top tier talent. No one knew what to expect from the new team. Alexander was back to trying to decide who could replace Dorian when he retired at the end of the season. There were some promising junior pilots. Alexander decided to invite all three of them to the bootcamp so he could get a closer look at them. Alexander knew skill was only part of the equation. He wanted to make sure whoever replaced Dorian was a good fit for the team as well. It was one reason he had not jumped on the chance to talk to Max Wedgewood. Max had a larger than life personality and ego to match.  He was worried Max would come in and act like the team was supposed to revolve around him as the pilot. Paul understood and got that it took a team to win and that he was only one part of that team. He treated his colleagues with respect and gave credit where it was due. Alexander knew it was a problem he could work on with the cocky pilot. But he waited and wanted to review all his choices so that when he made the decision. He had all the information he needed to make the best choice possible. It was not a decision to run into lightly. 

Alexander smiled as he looked into the drone camera as he recorded a message for each of the junior pilots as he recorded an invitation to the bootcamp. 

[color=00aeef]“Hello , 
I am pretty sure you know who I am but just in case you don’t. My name is Alexander Knight. I am the crew chief and team principal for Team Valkyrie AGR Sport. I would like to invite you to come and join us at our annual summer junior academy bootcamp. The details, non disclosure agreement, and contracts are attached to this message. The bootcamp is in a few weeks. If you plan to join us, I will need to know as soon as possible. This was a last minute decision on my part. We usually only take the top ten applicants for the summer bootcamp. I am extending the program to invite one pilot from each of the junior teams to join us. This is a special invitation for you to join us this year. This year’s camp has been revised and offers some special things to those attending. I hope to see you there, Phoebe Costas, Olivia Lau, Amber Beck, Liam Hunter, Ousamane Harana, Hamid Atlassi, Alice Thovex, and Elise Vogel. I look forward to hearing from you.” 
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Alexander sent the emails out to all the junior pilots. He grinned as it would allow him to see what these junior pilots were like with competitors. He would get a closer look at most of the field. It would give him a leg up if he decided to bring in a junior pilot to take Dorian’s seat next year. It would be interesting to see which ones accepted his invitation and which ones declined. He knew that some of them were not ranked very well but was it due to a lack of resources? Putting them all through Valkyrie’s junior academy bootcamp put them all on an even playing field. It would allow Alexander to compare their skills in the same ship with the same training. It would give him a look at their personalities and character as well. It would also make for a very interesting documentary for Delta Hyper. They wouldn’t know about that until after they had agreed to the contracts and non disclosure agreements though. They wouldn’t find out how much more they would get by attending this year’s camp. All they would know was that housing, transportation, and food was paid for while they attended the camp. Alexander smiled as the bootcamp would become more competitive than ever with one pilot from every team being invited. He knew Ben Hale had already declined but Silver Apex couldn’t complain they had received an invite. He hoped after the special aired and the pilots could talk about their experience that next year’s bootcamp would be the one all junior pilots wanted to attend. Alexander was hoping to build a legacy of excellence based on merit and hard work. Only time would tell if he managed it. 

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