Being a coach comes with a completely different perspective from that of an athlete, but the goal is the same - to be the best. Here’s what I’ve learned about coaching over the last couple months.
What I’ve learned so far:
1. Stop Searching for Perfection
Every athlete wants to win gold medals, and every coach wants to have a gold medal program. You want people to look at your athletes and say, “Wow, that coach knows what he/she is doing!” Perhaps the biggest mistake a coach can make is doing too much in search of the perfect program. Should we do strict presses and back squats three times a week or should we just focus solely on the Olympic lifts? What about core - should we do it everyday or do front squats count as core? There are a million different programs out there that might all work, but it’s important to remember that if what you’re doing right now is working then your program is obviously pretty darn good (thanks to Dan John for that advice). Perfection in training is not the goal, but perfection in competition is. Just remember that.
2. Be patient
If something just isn’t clicking right with one of your athletes don’t give up. Things take time to learn, especially if they are used to doing it a different way. Try to put yourself in their shoes and remember what it was like to be a beginner. At some point we all had no idea why our coach was yelling at us to “get under the bar faster,” but eventually it made sense that if you got under the bar faster you could lift more weight. You may have to use a different cue or find a different drill for a certain athlete, but don’t give up when it comes to technique.
3. Stay open-minded
I almost had a heart attack when one of my athletes complained that their wrist was hurting. At the gym I trained at we rarely did wrist strengthening so as a coach I didn’t feel that things like wrist curls or farmers carries were a vital part of a good program; however, when an athlete has an injury that is the most important time to stay open-minded. After that incident farmers carries and overhead carries are now a regular part of our program.
4. Pretend like you know what you’re doing
When our team stepped into Cannon Falls High School for our first meet I was sweating and shaking. It had been a year since I had competed and I was letting every voice in my head tell me how badly things would go if I messed up, but for the sake of the athletes a coach must at least pretend that they know what they are doing when it comes to competition. The coach makes most of the decisions at a meet: when to warm-up, how to warm-up, what to put on the bar, how long to wait between sets, when to go out and lift, etc. If the athlete doesn’t trust their coach that’s just one more thing for them to be nervous about. Watch what the other coaches and teams are doing, and pay attention to details. You’ve got this.
5. If you want to go to the Olympics don’t be a coach
I’m sure it can be done, but the amount of work that it takes to program for others can be a huge stress on your training and it can dull your enthusiasm for the sport. In my situation coaching is keeping my eye for technique fresh, but for a healthy athlete with large aspirations it might hinder their motivation for training. When you are a coach your athletes always come first, but when you are an athlete your training always comes first. It’s tough to do both. When it’s time for me to go back to full-time training I will make sure to leave my athletes with a coach who is devoted to his or her athletes, because that can make or break an athlete’s career.
If you are thinking about becoming a coach you should definitely go for it, but first make sure that you have a solid plan and are ready to devote a lot of your time to your athletes. Coaching is very enjoyable, especially when your athletes improve and succeed :)
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