NOT A FLAME POST!
AND NOT RELATED WITH VQ!!!
One of my coworkers made a comment about a tri coach. She made a comment about her physical apperance.
So how many of you think that coaches should look fit/athletic?
In my opinion, it is totally un related, more than physical apperance their knowledge is important and their approach for coaching but seems like some majority be judgemental on how the coaches look also.
I think age plays a role in that. If they are young to middle aged then why are they not taking their own advice? Thats simply something telling about their personality and own motivation. Older and wiser… maybe retired from the sport then its ok for them to be out of shape a bit.
To your point , no it doesnt matter what you look like but it certianly aids you when potential clients are out looking at your website. So does a list of clients and their achievements. I would weigh the list of client achievements higher than looks. even that can get you into trouble. the coach should have exp working with people like you and delivering the results that you are looking for, no matter what they look like.
Ive met the strength training coach for the UT football team. He is definately not one of those you would say looks the part at all, but he delivers the results fo sho.
I think it’s a blurry line.
One thing for sure, I don’t believe that all good athlete make good coaches. Just because they had the talent to win doesnt mean they have the knowledge to give.
On the other hand, I would prefer that the coach had some experience at the higher levels of competition, that they know first hand what it was like, what to expect, etc.
I know what I didn’t really buy into was a few times some clearly overweight guys telling me that they just rode 50 miles in under 2 hours on their “easy” training ride and that they should coach me, even though I have never heard of them before. I’m thinking if they meant they went “riding” on their mopeds as opposed to “bicycle”.
It depends on the circumstance. If people are attempting to utilize their racing history as “experience”, then yes…they better be able to practice what they preach.
However, if they are using exercise science as their “experience”, then no…no need to be fit. I’d refer to Dr. Joe Vigil for anyone who question otherwise 
(a true “scientist” in the world of coaches)
Interesting question. In triathlon, the expectation seems to be that the coach should at least be very fit, and in many cases it helps a great deal if they are a current or former pro. As someone already pointed out, however, coaching and competing require two different skill sets.
if you look at other sports - most notably football and baseball - a decent percentage of the best coaches weren’t pro players, or if they were they very often weren’t the best.
Looking fit might increase their “credibility” but, other qualifications such as education, experience (as a coach), and maybe success as an athlete would be more important to me.
Flame on -
“In a hierarchy every employee tends to rise to his level of incompetence.”
Maybe the Peter Principle applies to athletes, too: “Athletes rise to their level of incompetence, then become coaches.”
Flame off -
In my experience, the most important thing in a coach (in an individual sport, team sports involve somewhat different considerations) is neither their ability/fitness nor their knowledge – though the latter is more important than the former. It’s their perceptiveness – their ability to see, hear, and understand what you’re doing, thinking, needing, etc. There’s tons of knowledge out there and a fair % of it is fairly easy to access. The challenge is applying it to a particular person. Best athletic advice I got was from someone with far less ability than I had and who really did not look like an athlete. But, he was a very perceptive observer.
I would not want a coach that’s slower or less fit than I am.
I just don’t think they’d have anything to add.
you are getting their knowledge.
I just went the route of a very fast local coach whose accomplishments are more from his talent than his training technique. Plus he is so busy with his own races he doesn’t have that much time. Dumped him because I did better when i trained myself.
So, it would matter more to me that the coach has the knowledge, time and experience coaching a variety of athletes than what he looks like.
I was disucssing this the other day with some people…not necessarily what a coach should look like…but along those lines…when I used to take aerobics, I didn’t like to take them from people who were overweight.
But a good athlete doesn’t make a good coach. There are a few people around where I live that have started coaching…just based on how they’ve done in races (they are all top triathletes). One coach was coaching 4 people. 3 of them ended up in the hospital with serious injuries. This coach is a natural athlete and has never been injured. But when I was asked what IM I was doing and I answered, the coach wanted to know why I was trainng so early (It was 3 months out). The coach let me know that when they were doing an IM they didn’t start training until 2 months before it. This coach has been doing triathlons for 2 1/2 years, and offering coaching services to people with much more eperience (not quite as talented, but much more experience).
Another coach in the area is a 23 year. This coach been doing tris since he was a teen. He wins races, and has since he was a teen.
I wouldn’t recommend either coach to anyone… I dont’ think they understand what it takes for someone to start out slow and build (as evident by the injuries). They both look like they could be great coaches, totally fit, but I’d rather have someone who understands physiology, nutrition, building a training schedule, then someone who looks like they workout.
Somewhat tangential to this, I heard a report on NPR about a high school girls basketball coach who was a complete geek in both appearance and profession.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5460334
This guy has a motivational strategy that is a bit unconventional as he has the team envision themselves as wild animals devouring their competion. He even has them doing hard hitting contact drills and encourages these girls to knock each other down.
Awesome.
Bela Karolyi is a legendary coach in women’s gymnastics - yet I don’t think he would look too inspiring himself if he were to try an act on the balance beam or uneven bars.
I am 5’2" 360 pounds if that matters:)
.
I would not want a coach that’s slower or less fit than I am.
I just don’t think they’d have anything to add.
By your logic, you just eliminated coaches for all the top pros I think. Unless Paulo can pull another rabbit out of his hat?
One of the best “non-athletic” coaches: Col Stewart -
List of athletes who would agree with you:
http://www.colstewart-tricoach.com/athletesgallery.html
Dan
.
When I swam, I didn’t see much of a relationship between how fit the coach looked and how good a coach he or she was. If I wanted a triathlon coach, I would look for someone that had success coaching people whose athletic background and time constraints were similar to mine so that these people achieved goals similar to what mine were. For example, since I used to swim competitively, but am really slow on the bike, I would not hire a coach primarily known for getting non-swimmers to swim reasonably well.
As long as they have been at the top some point and experienced the level of fitness you are searching for then there current condition doesn’t realy matter.
I would expect a coach to look after them selves but there current fitness level has no direct correlation on how well they can coach.
I think all coaches should be hot!
SERIOUSLY, I think the best way to evaluate a coach is to see how their athletes perform or how they improved. I dont have a coach, but this is one factor of how I would pick one.
How old are you Ed? You sound like a young lil’ fella wasted in the midwest