Ok, I’m trying to figure out which is the best approach to becoming a triathlon coach. Should I sign up for USAT’s Level 1 coaching certification clinic? or Should I attempt to build my triathlon resume by doing really well in some triathlons? I have been competing for several years and have a few wins, typically finishing in the top 5% of the triathlons I do. I just don’t know if I should focus more energy in to doing well, or should I put some time and energy into getting “certified”? Or does anyone else have some ideas that I haven’t thought about?
You will best serve your clients if you focus on kowning the reasons why things are done when they are done instead of banking on your race results to teach you how to coach. Of course being fast never hurts to get noticed, but being fast is no guarentee of being a good coach or even an ok caoch. Same with certifications. They say you have achieved a level of proficiency (usually a very, very, low level with an intro cert like USAT 1) but mean very little.
When you read books like Daniels, Friel, Exercise physiology texts etc and can understand the principles behind what is written on the page and how those can be used, not copied, and applied to 2,3, 15 or 50 different people and their unique circumstances, and why approach X may work for person A and F but not person B, C, D,E, then, maybe, I would start to think about calling myself a coach.
“You will best sever your clients”
Would Jeffrey Dahmer be teaching that certification class?
LOL!
maybe I should learn to type better.
One of the best replies I’ve seen on this forum.
Learn physiology. Learn about exercise science. Learn how and why the body reacts/adapts to training/racing. Being able to differentiate between clients is huge. Nothing worse than paying for a “coach” only to get an “administrator” (ex: I once knew 2 very different triathletes with different strengths who were given the same program off the Triathlete Training Bible website - definitely NOT what they, at least one of them, thought they were paying for).]
Looking at people who have helped the proliferation of “coaching” (Friel, Gordo, etc.) they have done this by digging in to “why”. Obviously, Friel has background, and Gordo is as much responsible for this growth trend because of his need to know why it happened to him (I remember back when the punk was just an age grouper posting on TNO…then when he finally beat Lori B…and then the explosion of “Gordoworld” on to the tri scene :-). If you want the same type of following, dig into the details.
Just keep making WSL puke his guts out at races and we’ll forgive all typing errors…