Traits of Exceptional Coaches (this isn't one)...

Myths – coffee is bad for you, new hip hop is better than old skool hip hop, strength training makes you slower. Another common, interesting observation comes from some S&C coaches that the best coaches they have seen often say very little, and are almost observers, mere facilitators. What do you think? Below are my rapid fire key points to argue the point against:

Just because you don’t say much, doesn’t mean what you say is of quality

There is an assumption that often communicating less as a coach, automatically means it’s accompanied by quality – this is a huge assumption. There’s no logic to support this, and in fact the art of communicating quality points, very concisely is a huge skill and one less likely to occur, compared to just saying little and providing little quality in what’s said.

Quality beats quantity (but sometimes you need quantity too)

Sure, there’s no debate that quality communication on the gym floor surpasses endless waffle. Yet, there’s a bizarre assumption that just because quality matters, that then quantity doesn’t. While there are people you coach whose character works better off less frequent quality communication, on the contrary there are others that may love higher frequencies (e.g. the more social side of training with you, or understanding the detail behind training) – Its common for high quality and high quantity communication to be a highly effective tool.

Encouragement has somehow become ‘uncool’

Maybe it’s just me, but the simple but powerful act of encouraging someone when their training, seems to have almost become uncool – why? When I can hear or see a coach providing encouragement 20m down the gym from me, this only shows great things – they care, they’re engaged and they are trying to give whoever they are coaching the greatest session possible.? I mean we all talk about muscular recruitment and its power in athletic performance – since when did encouragement reduce this?

You cant use one small niche, to justify one global approach.

Someone once said to be that when they coached special forces soldiers in America, they didn’t need to get overly involved as a coach in some of the ways mentioned – I get this. But how many people you coach posses the unique, rare psychological traits of a special forces operator? While some people have high levels of intrinsic motivation in the gym, many more do not, and using the context of the few to justify how you coach the many, seems flawed.

Passive coaching creates passive behaviours that don’t support what’s been asked

Hands in the pockets, crossed arms, fixed in such positions for relatively long durations, limited movement, monotone voice – all behaviours coaches adopt when being too passive in their approach (often blissfully unaware). Yet, this occurs when those you coach are trying to perform tasks which require the total opposite e.g. a shed load of intent and energy during lots of movement.

You’re never completed the game (if you think you have you’ve failed)

Maybe I am just a dreadful coach, but this aspect of my coaching has continued to evolve over the last 19 years. I can’t often see ahead how it will improve, but by being open and challenging myself I learn lessons I never knew existed – coaching new goals, new characters, new injury issues, new environments, will all challenge everything you have already done.

Have a great weekend.

Dave