I just recently went to the certification course for USA Triathlon Level 1 coaching. Some really great presenters, and met some very good people that are on their way to being good coaches. It got me to thinking about some good and bad qualities in a coach. The best quality in my opinion and experience is a coach that is willing to allow you access to him or her. Fields questions, and doesn't set parameters of how much you are allowed to contact them. To clarify though I do think its ok to put stipulations on how you contact your coach....i.e. you cant call me anytime you want day or night,,,,but you can email me as much as you want. There are of course other good qualities too such as, Experience, Background, Education, etc..
But this also got me to thinking about a very prevalent negative quality of coaches that is out there. For me this is the coach that only wants to train and race and coaching is more of a side thing. If I am going to pay my hard earned dollars to a coach then I deserve their focus and attention to my needs as an athlete. As I looked around the room of future coaches I was sizing up who I thought would be an average coach and who would be a great one. To me the great coaches will emerge as the ones that put their own racing goals aside in the interest of the athletes they coach. Coaching is about someone else, not yourself as a coach. You have to put your ego aside and look out for others. Does this mean your racing career is over if you coach, absolutely not, but it does mean perhaps you will no longer race at the same level you did once before.
So what's the bottom line. When you look for a coach, besides the obvious of experience, education, and background make sure you feel you are compatible with the coaches personality, after all many coaches are competitive as well and may not like being challenged. And make sure that you feel you as the athlete come first over the coaches own training, since you are paying him or her to help you accomplish your goals.
Post Script - for my past coaches out there, I was always happy with your work. This is based on recent observations.
Front Running Sports is a specialty running, walking and triathlon store in the greater Orlando, Central Florida area. We specialize in a fitting process utilizing video gait analysis.
But this also got me to thinking about a very prevalent negative quality of coaches that is out there. For me this is the coach that only wants to train and race and coaching is more of a side thing. If I am going to pay my hard earned dollars to a coach then I deserve their focus and attention to my needs as an athlete. As I looked around the room of future coaches I was sizing up who I thought would be an average coach and who would be a great one. To me the great coaches will emerge as the ones that put their own racing goals aside in the interest of the athletes they coach. Coaching is about someone else, not yourself as a coach. You have to put your ego aside and look out for others. Does this mean your racing career is over if you coach, absolutely not, but it does mean perhaps you will no longer race at the same level you did once before.
So what's the bottom line. When you look for a coach, besides the obvious of experience, education, and background make sure you feel you are compatible with the coaches personality, after all many coaches are competitive as well and may not like being challenged. And make sure that you feel you as the athlete come first over the coaches own training, since you are paying him or her to help you accomplish your goals.
Post Script - for my past coaches out there, I was always happy with your work. This is based on recent observations.
Front Running Sports is a specialty running, walking and triathlon store in the greater Orlando, Central Florida area. We specialize in a fitting process utilizing video gait analysis.
