I have been looking for a coach for a little while now. After some research I have ended up with 2 coaches on my shortlist. Since this will be the first time I will be coached in triathlon (I have been coached in team sports, golf, music, in the gym etc), I wonder what qualities to look for when deciding which of the two to go for?
Both are quite scientific in their approach. Both have competed at a high level. Both have had a lot of success with their athletes.
Any insights?
If both are very similar I think communication is the key. Which is the best fit that you think you will be able to communicate with going forward as it takes time for you to understand your coach and them you. Science is all well and good but unless they hear you and you them then you aren’t getting the most out of your coach. Access to your coach for this reason is also another big one IMO.
Which one has more experience?
Is their experience all online coaching or do they run workouts on a regular basis where they see their athletes do the workout?
How much access do you have to them?
You’ve mentioned they have had a lot of success with their athletes. Have they had a lot of failures?
If so, why did those athletes not do well?
What is their injury rate with athletes?
Do you know what type of training works best for you? If so, which one more closely aligns with that.
communication
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Top of my list was to find someone who could actually train with me from time to time. I didn’t want a coach beside me on a bike or just remote, I wanted someone who could run me into the ground if needed and could work with me on form and pace accurately on the go. I only run with her once a week or so, but makes a huge difference
I don’t know how to get hold of information regarding failed athletes and injured athletes? I guess I could ask them, but the answer probably wouldn’t be completely unbiased. Their experience is different, but one definitely has been longer at it than the other one. I don’t know that much about communication yet, so do you suggest that I try to mail them a bit more?
I don’t have a problem getting my ass whooped in the pool by my swimmer friends or in running by the local running club. In other words, I don’t need my coach to do that part 
what sort of contract do the coaches have? when I picked a coach she had a minimum of 3 month commitment. I figured worse case scenario it didn’t work out and I move on within 3 months.
evidence that the coach’s athletes have improved over the time of coaching
I’d ask how often that coach’s athletes suffer from overuse injuries
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I wanna make sure the coach has coached and/or is currently coaching folks in my age group much faster than me.
I would definitely get more information. Just by asking the question about athletes they haven’t had success with, you’ll get a good idea of how they are as coaches from their response.
I wasn’t getting at a coach seeing you face to face. The question was about how much and the type of experience they have as a coach. If they’ve primarily been just an Internet coach or a “paper†coach, then you might want to renew your search.
Tim
How did those 2 wind up on your shortlist over the 12984384 other coaches out there? You must have some kind of criteria that you’re using to eliminate other coaches, you need to decide which one best meets your own criteria. It’s fairly subjective anyway…
Testimonials (which have a telephone number or email address attached)
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Free trucker cap and not quitting on me midseason (Pink).
Communication has been mentioned. Particularly, listening. Do they listen to you?
I’d ask how/why they were successful with their best athletes AND how/why they were not successful with others. If they can’t tell you what then did wrong/how they changed…they aren’t going to learn/change much.
Do they have the time/energy to think about you as an individual?
How many of their athletes have the same workouts over and over again?
Do they have a “system”? If yes…I’d go another direction.
Did their athletes improve? Or did they just happen to coach people who were already fast?
A lot of past athletes know other pros. They coach them. They have ok results. And people assume the coach is good, when all they did was keep a train running.
Injury history. How many athletes got injured? How? Why? How was the recovery and return to racing?
Good luck.
Brown eyes, tall, athletic, sense of humor, FTP above 4.5 w/kg.
I remember an amazing thread on when a coach fired an athlete for not being marketable enough.
Yes. It was pure awesome sauce.
I remember an amazing thread on when a coach fired an athlete for not being marketable enough.
I think most of these questions can only be answered by the coaches previous (or current) athletes. Is it ok to ask for athlete’s contact information to get information about the coach? I would assume it would be pretty hard to get truly honest answers from a coach when it comes to the negatives about their coaching.
Yes, exactly.
You’d want to ask to as many different past athletes as possible.
Usually you can get successful athletes contact info from the coach. Just ask. If they won’t do it, that’s a red flag.
If they are fairly well known, you can often look up past athletes who had poor results. Find them on Social media and ask.
Most people are up for talking about themselves and what they liked/didn’t like about a coach.
I don’t have a lot of experience with different coaches since I have only been with one coach but I feel that having a good discussion with a coach is probably the most important. I need as much a person that understands my personality as understands the best way to get the training adaptations required for success. He helps to protect me from myself and do some stupid training things as he does to push me to reach a little farther. I am positive that he would not hesitate to tell an athlete that he doesn’t think they would be a good match if that initial discussion seemed to be hard.