Life of a Coach

Life of a Coach

Everyday someone says to me via email, phone call, or in person that they want to coach athletes like I do.  Now I am the first to say that I love what I do, and I love my athletes. I mean I have to love them or I would quit.  Today I want to give you the real skinny on coaching athletes.  Today I am talking about coaching great athletes, or at least athletes that want to be the best that they can be.

Right before I sat down to write this, I read a Facebook post from Greg Nuckols talking about the amount of reading that he does to stay up to date on the latest scientific literature.  The reading amounted to about two hours per day, which is a massive amount of reading.  He added that to be great at anything takes an amount of work that most people aren’t willing to do, and I believe that statement hits the nail on the head.

Let me give you a taste of working with elite athletes.  Right now, here are the situations that I am dealing with:

·      One athlete is dealing with major shoulder pain.

·      One athlete competes this weekend and is totally prepared everywhere but mentally.

·      One athlete is dealing with a major glute strain and back issues.

·      One athlete is dealing with a neck strain.

·      Three are preparing for their first International trip, and I have to make sure that they are mentally prepared.

·      Three others compete at Senior Nationals this weekend.

·      I have a new elite football and basketball high school athlete that is coming off of two ACL repairs.

·      I have three rising freshmen in high school that I have to prepare for combines because they are good enough to get recruited already by D1 schools.

·      One of my elite senior weightlifters is dealing with major back pain.

·      One of my elite junior weightlifters is coming off of a knee strain and is having trouble getting back on the horse.

·      One of my Junior weightlifters came to me with a 265kg total, and we are trying to get him to a 315kg+ total by July.  (We are already at 300kg).

These are just a few of the bigger issues to give you an idea of what it takes.  Now this is definitely more than normal, but this is the situation that I am staring at right now.  If my job were simply showing up and coaching from 2p to 6p everyday, my life would be perfect.  That’s unfortunately not the case.  I have to find time to help each of them deal with their concerns.  For some of them I am required to find an expert outside of our team to help.  For some it is necessary that I perform some research to make sure that I am doing the right thing to address their needs. 

Remember this is not really how I feed my family.  I still have to run my companies, write articles, work on new books and projects, film videos, podcast, travel to competitions/events, and keep up with social media.  It’s a lot y’all.  Let’s not forget my family is always going to be the most important thing on earth to me, so I am going to give them several hours per day.  Not to mention, I am always going to make time for God, which is the most important thing of all.

As you can see, my time is quickly erased.  This article is not to make you feel sorry for me.  I love my life.  I have chosen this life because I love coaching athletes, and I love to teach all of you through writing, podcasts, and video.  This article is to warn all of you people that want to be coached.  I don’t want to scare you away from doing what you love.  I just want you to have correct expectations.

Yeah you can coach some classes, and you can forget about each of your athletes/clients the minute they walk out of your doors.  However, you will never be great if you do that.  It’s a simple as that.  You might build a good business, but no one will remember you as a great coach.  I’m not even sure that you will build a great business like that because people in general are going to hang around coaches that care about them. 

I believe that people deserve that best of me.  When they invest on me as a coach, they deserve a coach that will forever keep learning.  I will never be satisfied with my level of knowledge, and neither should you.  If you really want to be a coach, here are a few questions that you should ask yourself:

·      Do you really love people?

·      Is it easy for you to empathize with others?

·      Are you willing to live out what you are teaching?

·      Are you willing to spend a lifetime of continued education?

·      Are you willing to put the concerns of others above your own?

These are the real questions that great coaches will easily answer ‘yes’ to all of them.  Coaching is spending a lifetime of servitude to others.  It’s not about becoming the most popular coach.  Your goal is to develop the most incredible athlete.  Once again, if your goal is to become rich and famous, you are in the wrong business.  I am not saying that can’t create a thriving business, and I am not saying that coaches can’t form varying degrees of popularity.  These things come from coaches being most concerned about their athletes.  Basically popularity and success are byproducts of becoming a skilled coach that cares more about their athletes than themselves.

I’ll end by sharing the reason why I coach.  I spent the first thirty-five years of my life totally focused on myself.  I was able to accomplish some pretty cool athletic feats, but this life of selfishness left me pretty lonely and feeling unaccomplished.  Even though I was coaching during some of that time, I wasn’t a very good coach because I was more concerned about my own performance.  God has given me an avenue to use that time of selfishness to help others, and I can say that I am 100% more fulfilled. 

Let me give you one example.  At the 2017 Youth Nationals, my then 13-year-old Godson, Morgan McCullough was put in a situation to make the Youth Pan American Team, but he had to hit an all-time PR of 140kg/308lb on his third and final attempt in the Clean & Jerk.  He had tried this lift several times in training, and simply wasn’t confident enough to stick the jerk.  You have to remember he was 13-years-old, so I can totally understand being intimidated about hoisting that incredible weight overhead. 

After his second attempt of 135kg, he wanted to go to 137kg because 135kg had felt heavy.  I shook my head no, and explained that we needed 140kg for him to have a chance at Youth Pan Ams.  I gave him a pep talk like I have never given anyone before.  At that moment that young boy took major strides in becoming a man.  He looked at me with the confidence of Michael Jordan, and shook his head ‘yes’ in agreement. 

He walked out on that stage, and he stuck that weight like a champion.  I almost ripped the steps away from the stage in celebration.  I have never felt that much joy after any of my lifts or accomplishments, not even close.  That’s the love a great coach has to have for his athletes.  This is the way you have to feel if you want to coach great athletes.  Heck I would say this is the way you have to feel if you want to coach anyone.

I hope that this is an encouragement for some of you.  I equally hope that this is a warning for the rest of you.  If you want to be the rock star, go do something in life that is focused on you.  If you want to create rock stars, then coaching is perfect. This industry means the world to me.  It’s my mission.  If you want to be a part of this great field, I suggest that you heed these words carefully.

If you want to be a part of our gym, come check us out or visit our website at www.leanfitnesssystems.com.  You can email us at leanfitnesssystems@gmail.com to receive a Free two weeks if you mention this article.  Mash Elite Performance is located within LEAN Fitness, but coaches that feel the same way as me coach our adult classes.  No matter what you do, coaches that love their athletes/members will be coaching you.  You can also check out our seminars, classes, and Free Articles.