Becoming a Coach and Learning How to Coach

Between my 30 minute breaks of Candy Crush I have been gaining inspiration.  I found myself questioning a lot of things as I sucked away part of my life to the sound of “sweet, tasty and delicious”.  In the past, I would spend my time reading at least 1 article each night. I actually have done this for years.  I read what others in the industry write, scientific journals, research articles, business articles, coaching information etc.  And I found myself getting more and more pissed off.  Pissed to the point where I started to feel like I didn’t care what others in my industry were doing. And this pissed me off because I believe that caring is the last bastion of hope in this world.  I pride myself in my level of care to my clients, athletes, friends and family and I felt this was starting to carry over into my daily life.

I care enough to realize that everyone reading this is probably way smarter than I am and I hope that they can take a small tidbit of information and make it their own.  I do not have anything to sell or look to gain anything to sell and for years I believed that others in the industry felt the same.  See, I believe that if you are actually publishing relevant information, you should have a consideration for the audience that may be reading it. The only thing less sexy than my writing is the philosophy that I learned from one of the best coaches I have every met. Ian Hyde-Lay had always preached to his athletes the importance of doing the basics and doing them well.  I see this philosophy get pissed on daily from people in our industry because they have something to sell or are looking for a level of fame that is undeserved.  I urge you to convince me that there is a flaw in this logic.  I know this is getting super ranty (just made up a word there) but wait, there is soooooo much more!

 

I know that I can come off as a Negative Nancy quite often, but I feel it is my calling sometimes.  It is not my intention to write to rip people apart but to hopefully offer and alternative way to thinking on certain topics. Today’s topic is understanding the difference between learning how to become a coach vs. learning how to coach.  Both are equally important in my opinion, but the concern I have is all too often too much merit is put into learning the how to coach part. 

 

The underlying difference between the two (albeit they are similar) is harsh.  It will piss off the young or egotistical (or both) coach that lives in the most informative time in history and has a plethora of information at their fingertips.  Please understand this may seem harsh, but like everything in life there needs to be balance.  One of the key steps to becoming a good coach is learning how to coach and the rant below will discuss the comparison.

 

THE PROBLEMS WITH “THE HOW TO”:

Are you one of these guys?

To the coach that has every great coach’s handbook, informative video, motivational quotes and mannerisms.  The ones that coach the way they were coached without questioning if it’s the right way for the population you are dealing with at the moment. The ones that can’t quite understand the difference between knowing and knowledge. The ones that don’t understand that expertise is more than reading a book and writing an exam that leaves them with the title of expert, specialist, master or some other bullshit title.  The ones that feel the need to write of their experiences and share it with their social network instead of actually trying to live the non-glamorous life of a coach that quite often requires more than an 8 hour day, working weekends and vacations spent with the teams you work with instead of time spent with your loved ones.  The ones that talk when they should be listening. The ones that spew regurgitation from the seminar they just attended without fully understanding it or how it may work into the population they are working with.  The ones that are unsure of the difference between confidence and ego.  The ones that believe there is only one way to do things and that systems work for all populations.  The ones that put a movement, drill, exercise, technique on a pedestal without questioning if it is correct for the athletes they may be working with.  The ones that don’t question themselves on a daily basis and continually ask themselves “why”.  The ones that fear people that may challenge them and write off any information that may contradict or question what they were taught by their mentor(s). The ones that lack empathy or the ability to have the slightest clue about the outside stressors the athlete may be going through. The ones that don’t understand there is so much more to sport than running drills, technical sessions and games.  The ones that don’t believe discipline, heart, grit, temperament, desire and will can play more of a role in sport than the athlete’s ability to dead lift or lift heavy shit.  The ones that don’t believe you can draw from leaders in other disciplines and industries to help you get better at your craft.  The ones that think “these athletes just don’t get it”. The strength coaches that would rather only work with athletes and don’t quite get the fact that the human body hasn’t changed in the last 100 years or so and either has a barbell (and can’t adjust things to react to the differences in central nervous systems).  The ones that don’t believe it is just as important to learn from people that you disagree with as it is to the ones you do.  The ones that don’t eat, sleep and in my case not sleep thinking about what I can do better. The ones that are afraid to trust their gut because there isn’t a scientific journal that says it’s ok for a coach to use an Olympic lift for something other than a power exercise. The ones that negate scientific evidence because what they are doing worked for them when they were a high school baller. The ones that can’t understand the fact that what works for one, works for one.  The ones that think it is more important to spend countless hours testing athletes when they have limited time with them.  The ones that regurgitate tests that take the human element out of things and are willing to push forward even though it may not be best for the athlete. The ones that don’t understand it isn’t hard to get an elite athlete to work hard, it’s hard to hold them back when they need it.  The ones that question the work rate and toughness of athletes that have been at the top of their game for years.  The ones that can’t grasp the fact that chances are, the people they are working with are in fact not “elite”. The ones that don’t seize an opportunity to work with any age group or skill level because they can’t grasp the fact that our best coaches should be in fact working with these populations.  The ones that can’t grasp the fact that every team you work with is a cornucopia of different ages, abilities, ethnicities, personalities and drive.  I hope you are picking up with what I am putting down, and as always; if you are offended, than maybe you need to be offended.

 

HOW TO BECOME A COACH:

Do the basics and do them well.  Learn from everyone you meet. Listen to your athletes.  Chalk every experience (good or bad) as a success in making you better.  Care about your athletes as if they are your family or friends (this means answering texts, emails, calls after hours).  Take advantage of people that are willing to let you learn from them.  Don’t question their methods, ask them questions.  Be approachable by all and willing to share what you have learned to those you work with.  Spend countless hours coaching, observing, watching movement and learning.  Become athlete centric, it is your job to make them better and in the process guess what happens? Understand that you cannot speed up the process of experience. Take the information above regarding the “how to coach”, dissect it and understand how it will make you a coach.  Be passionate in everything you do.  Volunteer your time.  If you want to gain experience, you may not always get paid for it and if you can’t give a little bit of your time, coaching isn’t for you.

Sorry for the repeated use of the words “piss” and “the ones”.  As my high school report card always used to say “best of luck in your future endeavors”.

 

Yours in Strength,

Joe McCullum

A reflection of my epic Vacation to the West Coast and the South

This is still very rough!

 

I had spent the last two weeks laughing with old friends, watching sport at the highest level and absorbing the shit out of some serious sport culture!  I also ate grits, catfish, ribs, black eyed peas, fried okra and washed it down with some of the finest bourbon the South has to offer.   I am going to continue on from where I left off in my last rant/blog about the importance of friends and family with the second part of my trip and segway it into the difference in sport culture that has been created in the U.S.  But, before I go further I want to touch on something that bothers me about the perception of pro athletes.  I was lucky enough to see Jason before and after the Canucks game, and the same with Jordan and Chris.  When we see the news about these athletes it always seems to paint a negative picture so I want to make something clear.  For every asshole there are a lot more great people playing sport that should be highlighted.  After getting to go on the field or down below to the locker rooms all of them sent me a text thanking me for coming and taking the time to see them.  It is a weird feeling because I know that most people would be shitting themselves to get this opportunity and don’t quite get the bond that we have.   I think the perception is that most pro’s would just think of it as extra work when they could just as easily grab their post-game meal and get on their flights.  These guys hurry out of the locker room because friends and family are important to them (even if it is after a gutting loss).  So next time you hear about some idiot getting a DUI or having an assault charge, know that there are far more great people out there impacting our friends, family, communities and social networks more than you can ever imagine.

Any who, the second part of my trip had me and Craig flying from Seattle to Nashville on the red eye. We arrived in Nashville and met up with Chris at the hotel where the team stays before home games.  Leading up to this, I asked Chris where Craig and I should stay and where are friends should stay that are coming into town on a work trip and would be later joining us at the game.  He was awesome enough to hook us all up at the same hotel with a great friends and family rate not far from the stadium.  We were also greeted with 6 sideline passes for the pre-game.  The boys from Onni had been awesome enough to include us in with their “client appreciation” trip which included a fully catered tail gate party (with all the bud light you can drink) and to seats in the box they had rented for the evening.    I have been a part of this type of experience in the past and every time I get these opportunities I think it will be hard to top as I had no idea what was in store for the next two days.

The day after the game, Chris picked Craig and I up for our 3.5 hour road trip to Ole’ Miss.  When we arrived, we checked into the hotel and promptly headed towards the campus.  The town of Oxford looks like the set of Back to the Future, only everyone is wearing Ole’ Miss clothing.  After dinner we had a night out at one of the local establishments where I got to meet Elvis and a few of Chris’ old team mates.  If you have heard of “Southern Hospitality” you will understand why I am not going any further into detail.  The people were absolutely amazing!

We were woken up early by Chris with a hot bag of biscuits with fried chicken and grape jelly.  Don’t knock it till you try it.  We headed to the facility where we had basically a coaches parking pass and were promptly met by the football staff for a tour of the facility.  We started in the equipment room which is bigger than most Canadian university weight rooms where we were given Ole’ Miss shirts and hats so we wouldn’t look out of place.  We were then toured to the meeting rooms for each positional group, the “War Room” which is their recruiting room which has a huge round table with about 12 chairs for the staff to discuss and determine recruiting depth charts.  After this, we went through the locker room where we met some of the players and got a feel for the pre-game routine.  We then headed to what I was looking forward to most, the indoor facility and the adjoining weight room.  Again, I don’t think people in Canada can quite fathom the size or depth of detail that has gone into these facilities.  I have been pretty fortunate to see some big time university and professional facilities and each one gets me a little more pumped about the culture that is set forth by these institutions.  Throughout the tour, we were met by other coaches, families of coaches, support staff and recruits with open arms.  A friendly handshake and welcome by all.  Obviously with Chris having been a first round pick out of Ole’ Miss, we were privy to a little more than the average tourist and both Craig and I ate it up.  About 30 minutes prior to kick off we headed out to the field where we were right in the mix of things.  I was 15 feet from Miss Ole’ Miss as she sang the national anthem.   We kept asking Chris when we had to move, specifically after we almost got ran over by the marching band.  As the game got under way we were escorted to the VIP area where there was a steady buffet of biscuits and gravy and other southern health food which was mixed in with light beer and bourbon.  As a side note, there was a veggie plate that went untouched until I just brought it to our table as I was fearing I may get scurvy if I didn’t get some vitamins in me.  The game was all Ole’ Miss and helped push them up the most competitive non-professional sport ladder and into the top 25. 

I am hoping you picked up what I put down here without much mention of culture.  Like all American universities, the support of the fans, families and staff are unparalleled.  In Canada we have small pockets of great sporting culture, specifically in smaller communities but absolutely nothing that rivals what we were a part of.  Having said that, are they a bit crazy?  The answer is YES, but it is freaking awesome.  I am not expecting Canada to be like the States, but I would love to see a little more buy in by our sporting bodies.  Like everything in the sport world, there needs to be balance.  We are too far one way and the Americans are a bit too far the other but like both our medical systems, we could probably do a better job and meet somewhere in the middle.  After reading the recent information coming out about our local University’s attempt at cutting sport and what I am exposed to with my high school teams I feel deeply saddened.  I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to play and coach in both countries and I see a huge value in sport as do those that I surround myself with.  We have great athletes, staff and facilities in Canada but we lack a culture that is athlete centric at all levels.  Every institution and industry will struggle with some level of bureaucracy, but it is time for a change here.  I am not insinuating we should mimic the NCAA’s sport system or their Olympic Training Centers, but we are absolutely ignorant if we don’t take a look at what they are doing and try to see which parts of their successful culture can be utilized within our systems.   As I mentioned, we are doing a lot of great things, but if we think it’s the best it is time to check our egos.

Yours in lifestyle changes,

Joe McCullum

The importance of sport, friends and family

This is very rough....

As I take a lull at the midway point of my vacation I felt the need to reflect and share how cool my life is.  I am not sure if this is motivated by the REO Speedwagon song I just heard in the car ride back to my brothers place or if I am actually a closet emotionally challenged guy.  So here goes;

I have always been a believer in the importance of sport in society.  You can take this however you like, but the fact is we are at a time in history where sport is at its utmost importance.   As government and schools try to neglect its importance we need to fight and stand strong to ensure that we are not creating a world of losers.  I am not saying there aren’t loser athletes out there, but the lessons learned in life through sport (regardless of level) are imperative for the growth of our world.  I don’t feel the need to go too far into detail here but the thought that physical literacy is not as important as academia on some level is absurd.  This is a bit of a recount from what has happened in the last week and what is happening soon. 

This is why sport, family and friends drive me in this world.

I started my trip with a night in Seattle with my older brother, his wife and my nephew.  In San Jose I met up with a long time friend from back east and we met up with my long time friend Mark Uyeyama who is the head strength and conditioning coach for the San Francisco 49ers.  From there we went to watch one of my favorite clients and athletes Jason Garrison of the Vancouver Canucks take an epic win over the San Jose Sharks.  Throughout the game Mark and I chatted as if we had not missed a beat since we lived together in University.  I have only seen Mark a handful of times over the last 13 or so years, but we chat about work and life on a regular basis.  We share the same passion and line of work but we are in very different settings.  It was awesome to chat about sport in general with a guy that works and I would say is a leader in the industry of elite athletes about the similarities and differences between football and hockey. 

After a few days of destroying Makers Marks and amazing Mexican food we headed to Palo Alto to catch up with Jordan Gross of the Carolina Panthers and Dustin Mcquivey and family.  Part of the reason for this trip was to watch some high level sport, but it was far more about catching up with old friends.  As we were meeting Jordan we got to catch up with Coach Joe Kenn of the Panthers (he was our strength and conditioning coach at Utah) as well.  And again, old stories come up as if no time had passed.  From there it was onto San Francisco to prep for the game where old friends and coaches fought a redonkulous battle. 

The game was on November 10^th and there was a wonderful pre-game ceremony to commemorate all of the veterans.  This made me more emotional than the REO Speedwagon song earlier.  About 5 or 6 years ago I was in Ireland with the national U-20 rugby team for a series of matches at the same time of year.  I remember vividly coach Tim Murdy talking to the young men just before our moment of silence as we gazed upon the cenotaph in London Derry.  I don’t know what the feeling is that came over me or how to describe it, but it’s only happened to me 3 times.  The next time I felt it was at Vimy Ridge while on a rugby tour with the Capilanos.  And then again this past week.  I don’t know if this last time occurred because I was sitting next to Dustin, his family, Jordans family and our friend and former assistant strength coach Cheyenne Pietri or if it was the fact that it brought up the loss and memory of our teammate/friend Steve McCain that passed suddenly this year.  Even though I hadn’t seen Steve since I left back home to Canada, I always laughed about good times we had eating at the buffet.  Steve and Dustin are the opposite of me in some ways as they are both Mormon and I am a piss tank and at times slightly vulgar.   Very unlikely friends but there is a bond that I don’t believe you can get if you haven’t played sport.  In life we have acquaintances, co-workers, friends of friends but outside of sport I don’t think you have the kind of friends an athlete has.  The kind that picks you up even if you fucked up royally, makes you laugh in inappropriate settings helps you bury a body should you need it.  Well maybe not the last one, but I can tell you I have all of these types of peeps in my life and I am truly thankful for it.  After the 49ers game we reconvened for a night out on the town with some more old friends in Jordan’s brother in law and his peeps who are now my peeps.  To be honest, I still haven’t stopped laughing.

I am now back in Seattle and am getting ready to meet up with Craig McLaren as we head to Nashville to watch the Titans face Indianapolis on the Thursday night game.  One of my long time friends and athletes is playing for Tennessee and is helping to make this trip more epic.  I have to go back for a minute.  Craig and I are meeting some friends that we have know since we were 13 that are in Nashville for work.  We will be in a box with about 20 or so guys from the Onni group of Companies and I will get to catch up with one of my best friends from high school that I rarely get to see because he travels and lives abroad now.  Paolo and I played football, rugby and wrestled together and spent way too much time together in my youth and it is going to be great to catch up with him at the game (I forgot to mention, we got some field passes which is kinda a big deal).  The day after the game, Craig, Chris, His wife Katherine and myself are heading down or up (I don’t know my Southern Geography) to watch his old Alma matter in Mississippi play at home. 

Please don’t get me wrong, we can make friends anywhere and some of us are lucky enough to have a wicked family, but at the end of the day I don’t know many people that could share what I did with people from two different countries and geographical opposites as I am and did. 

To quote one of my favorite poems:

“The woods are lovely, dark, and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep”

Yours in Bourbon,

Joe