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
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