FWIW I had. A local coach who changed continents. As long as he is responsive no real issues

We WhatsApp daily

I had a local coach for a few years. Ya, sure, it was nice to see him personally on occasion. He was and still is a great guy. We rode together once for a ride. I've never needed that "family" feeling thing that some training groups have. I have been working with JonnyO for over 2 years now. We are only 1930 miles apart and we've never met face to face. I love working with him. He's a great coach! I have absolutely ZERO issues with him being "remote".

I'll join in with a reply as well. I've had both local and remote and found the remote ones were far better coaches in my case simply because of where I lived and what was available. Seldom is the best coach a local one unless you need to have others to push you. I found the coaches made me accountable, but the remote ones were so much better, workouts were far more interesting, and I flourished under them. I found the local coaches to have their own "clique" and sadly most of the fellow athletes limited themselves to the people in their circle, which I found to be a small way to look at things. Get the best one you can to optimize your abilities. The key is inside you and the desire to be consistent and follow the plan. Do the work.

As a coach that works with a number of athletes remotely (even working with several from Europe), don't confuse *personal trainer* with coaching. If you're looking for a person or group locally, find a tri club, or maybe there is a group a local coach puts together "in addition to" coaching you specifically. There are add-ons coaches will do as well, such a swim video analysis, bike fits, nutritional plan design, VO2 or blood lactate testing. All these take time & time is billable.

If you just want face time, you can use apps on your phone or if local, meet them for coffee. As mentioned, the quality of a coach has nothing to do if they are local or not. The important things are: Are you progressing and staying healthy? Do you get along with your coach and have a friendly relationship? Do you trust them with your lifeSTYLE and putting them in charge of that (which certainly affects your personal life or professional life in some ways). Things to think about.

I've coached people I've never met face to face to KQ/Hawaii & Team USA teams. Although I feel I do my best coaching face to face, and enjoy it more, it has no bearing on the successes of the athletes.

When I first looked for a coach, I looked only at local coaches. The one I picked was local but I saw him maybe once a year at events. He was very compassionate and into the mental side of training and racing but was more plan writer than a coach in writing my plan as he had no way to get feedback on how my training was going.

I changed after a few years and used two different coaches. Found one that was a great fit but took awhile to find.

I agree that limiting to local coaches will likely not find you the best fit for a coach for you.

Even if your local coach lives 2 miles away the majority of your interaction with that person will be via email or text or phone

There are about 20 threads in the archives that can give you numerous viewpoints/benefits/drawbacks of both scenarios. Probably worth a quick search imo

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Brian Stover USAT LII
Accelerate3 Coaching
Insta

It depends on your needs.

I have local coaches and I get a lot of personal contact, they are there when I need them, they do fittings, nutrition, running/swimming form, testing VO2 etc. If you need/or want that kind thing local is the way to go assuming your coach is willing to do that. If not then remote is fine. I recommend you figure out your needs from a coach and then go shopping.

All the tech we have, such as training peaks, you don't need a remote coach. A good coach, will be present at the work out analyzing form flaws, which all athletes get at elite level too (fatigue)

I worked with a remote coach last year. For a variety of reasons, I fired him and switched to a local coach in March. Ultimately, I wanted someone who knew my face, knew me, and could work with me in a 1:1 capacity. I do 2 1-hour sessions per month with my current coach, and the instant and immediate feedback during my workouts is invaluable.

In roughly 6 months of working with my local coach, I've PR'd every single distance I've done this year from 5k to 70.3 rather than staying stagnant at the same level I have been at for the past several years. I've made some huge gains. Yes, part of this is because he's just a better coach overall. I truly believe, for me, the biggest difference has been the in-person coaching.

YMMV. Your ultimate need is likely going to be the driving factor here. Do you feel like you need that 1:1 interaction to help you with form, technique, etc? If yes, then local will likely be better. If not? Remote will probably work well.

I’ve been following this thread as I’m interested in getting a coach starting in January. I don’t have the slightest clue where to start or how to find the “right coach”.
I am going to do my homework the next few weeks for sure.

Just curious. How much on average would a coach cost? Per month?
I know this could vary a lot for multiple reasons but on average let’s say.

Thanks for the input.

Quinner

Quinny. You are in a fairly common predicament. As Brian Stover commented, doing a quick search around SlowTwitch may get you started in the right direction. Are you doing master's swimming or any coach-led swim sessions at present?

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http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

I started a master class last year from March-June. They stop for the summer. I will be rejoining it again in January as well. Just at the local ymca. 3 nights a week. Hour each time. I felt it helped a lot as I used to only train for the swim by doing freestyle and putting in Km’s. Not drills. Intervals. Nothing like that.

I think it matters what stage you are in. I have a local-ish coach because I still need help with form and technique. If you are more advanced than I don't think distance matters.

I totally agree that it depends what stage that you are at in regards to wanting/benefitting from having a face to face coach.

I'd say that it is likely athletes in their first year and at the highest level.

Those who "know the drill" and have the motivation and experience, for the most part can get away with remote coaching.

What do the experienced / big time coaches here say?

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http://www.fitspeek.com the Fraser Valley's fitness, wellness, and endurance sports podcast

I started with a local coach and moved away but kept with the same coach. 99% of our communication is via email/text/training peaks comments. When local I would see my coach a few extra times either at local races, a cycling class, or socially and that would give me a some extra time to discuss things but nothing that couldn't be done via text or email. Local was fun in the sense that some of her athletes would get together for workouts occasionally if we just had a free day but most of us were following a plan so most times the workouts didn't coordinate well together.

I'm looking for a coach and JonnyO was a name that came up. Can you tell me what sort of results you've gotten from working under JonnyO? and a little bit about what changed in your training from pre to post JonnyO?

Thanks!

This thread is interesting for multiple reasons.
I have not had a coach for triathlon yet. I have been considering it but I am a believer in having a local coach. I'm not pretending to know alot about what it takes to be a coach but the idea of having one on one session from time to time were they can lay eyes on you just resonates with me.

The second aspect of this is another slowtwitcher who is local and a really good athlete himself is planning on starting to coach. Now that appeal's to me but does his performance translate into being a good coach.....Hard to say.

I think it really depends on what you need. I coach many local athletes that I can meet in person and provide direction and feedback during a workout. I do also coach some remote athletes that just need guidance with a plan and someone to talk to. It really depends on what you're needs are. I myself see a swim coach weekly because it is beneficial to have someone on deck providing valuable feedback in the pool- With that, I wouldn't ever need anyone at the track or on the bike.

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USAT Level II- Ironman U Certified Coach

In-town vs. out-of-town depends on your needs. If you need someone on deck or a group to get yourself out the door, you need someone in person. Otherwise, it's likely you'll find a higher quality coach out of town.

A person's personal performance doesn't mean anything. If that is his only credential, good luck being a guinea pig.

Yeah I don't no him well enough to no what his other credential are. And I agree personal performance alone doesn't translate. However there are people out there with credentials who probably suck all the same. And at least it's not Taren with his Ironman coaching certificate.... LOL

Ask for credentials from multiple coaches. Then do a bit of research into some of their past/current athletes.
Any coach who knows what they are doing has those details at the ready.

Certifications are not credentials. There isn't a cert out there that means anything. Look for degrees and even more than that, experience as a coach.

Unless you're looking for those incremental services that will probably cost more like coached track workouts with a group, swim technique sessions, or something like that, I don't really see a reason to worry about location. It's about whether or not they're responsive and if you two get along. My coaching is remote and I've managed to get into a great rhythm with my coach where we have FaceTime calls to get more in depth discussions done fast, but the majority of the work can be done via TrainingPeaks/e-mailing regularly. I think it's about giving the coach enough feedback where they feel they can make decisions and assessments, and you feel they're paying attention to those notes and adjusting accordingly

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