Questions to ask potential coach
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2014-07-28 7:18 PM |
Veteran 1016 Deep South, Georgia | Subject: Questions to ask potential coach If you were looking for a coach and interviewing prospective candidates, what questions would you ask during an interview? "What are your qualifications?" would probably be the first question, but beyond that is there anything you feel would be essential? |
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2014-07-28 8:39 PM in reply to: Dominion |
Expert 1233 | Subject: RE: Questions to ask potential coach 1) Do they have experience working with someone like me; age, fitness level, time availability to train, etc. 2) What can I expect in terms of commitment from the coach; daily e-mails, weekly calls, personal training sessions, etc. 3) How much does it cost. I had talked with a potential coach once. Nice kid, sort of put me through a 'canned' evaluation, presented me with some nice charts, and showed me where my weaknesses were. (At first I thought he was doing the same thing that management consulting firms do). Then he presented his $400/mth fee, and I actually asked him if he was previously a consultant before becoming a coach! |
2014-07-28 11:25 PM in reply to: 0 |
Pro 15655 | Subject: RE: Questions to ask potential coach The questions you ask should be directly related to what you want out of them. Are you looking to finish a triathlon of a specific distance, are you looking to qualify for Kona, are you looking to qualify for AG worlds, turn pro, etc. Once you establish what you are after, your answers to their questions are as important at their answers to your questions. Can you be brutally honest with your current level of fitness, your past performances, your talent level, time constraints, and other commitments? A good/productive melding of coach and athlete is not a one sided affair. Edited by Left Brain 2014-07-28 11:28 PM |
2014-07-29 7:10 AM in reply to: Dominion |
Champion 9407 Montague Gold Mines, Nova Scotia | Subject: RE: Questions to ask potential coach Here are some thoughts I shared on coaching a while ago in this thread - http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp... For roughly the same price, an athlete can find a coach who will write a personalized training plan for the athlete, one who will provide a generic training plan, one who will "develop" a training plan using an algorithm and different levels inbetween. Further, the number of athletes that a coach takes on will vary greatly; because of this there are coaches who limit contact, limit the number of changes they will make to a plan, etc. The key is finding out what you will get beforehand and making sure you are comfortable with the level of coaching you will recieve. Here are some questions that I would ask of any coach before beginning to work together: - How many athletes do you coach? - How do you approach setting up training for an athlete? - Can I see some sample training programs? - What results have you seen for athletes similar to me? - Can I talk to some current athletes? - Can I talk to some former athletes? - How do you monitor training? - Do you limit schedule changes? - Do you limit contact? - Are you continuing your coaching education? Shane |
2014-07-29 8:12 AM in reply to: gsmacleod |
Champion 19812 MA | Subject: RE: Questions to ask potential coach Shane's advice is right on. Some/many coaches give canned plans to all their sprint or IM athletes which I find going against the idea of hiring a coach. Talking with athletes will help you get a feel with what the experience is working with a prospective coach. How is their response time to questions via email, calls, texts, ect? Something I found only one of the coaches I used did, was adjust my training based on how I did the previous week within the context of my other training in recent past. I find many coaches are what I call plan writers. They write a plan for you but don't adapt it based on your progress because they don't check on how you did with the workouts you completed. Plan writers often write a plan for a longer time like month at a time.
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2014-07-29 9:20 AM in reply to: vonschnapps |
Champion 10471 Dallas, TX | Subject: RE: Questions to ask potential coach Originally posted by vonschnapps 1) Do they have experience working with someone like me; age, fitness level, time availability to train, etc. 2) What can I expect in terms of commitment from the coach; daily e-mails, weekly calls, personal training sessions, etc. 3) How much does it cost. I had talked with a potential coach once. Nice kid, sort of put me through a 'canned' evaluation, presented me with some nice charts, and showed me where my weaknesses were. (At first I thought he was doing the same thing that management consulting firms do). Then he presented his $400/mth fee, and I actually asked him if he was previously a consultant before becoming a coach! 4) How will I get my workouts (method? when?)? 5) How many changes to my training plan will you make per week/month and will I get charged? 6) What is your methodology with regards to writing an annual plan, build/recovery weeks, individual workouts? 7) How do you communicate with your clients and how often? |
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2014-07-30 6:44 AM in reply to: Dominion |
Veteran 1016 Deep South, Georgia | Subject: RE: Questions to ask potential coach Good info! Thanks for the input everyone. Some of these I wouldn't have thought of on my own. Anyone got anything else? |
2014-07-30 7:38 AM in reply to: Dominion |
Master 6834 Englewood, Florida | Subject: RE: Questions to ask potential coach Originally posted by Dominion Good info! Thanks for the input everyone. Some of these I wouldn't have thought of on my own. Anyone got anything else? I ran into this today from DC Rainmaker, although it is from a while ago. Pretty similar to what was said here. http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2009/02/thoughts-on-triathlon-coaching.html
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2014-07-30 9:14 AM in reply to: gsmacleod |
Pro 6011 Camp Hill, Pennsylvania | Subject: RE: Questions to ask potential coach Originally posted by gsmacleod Here are some thoughts I shared on coaching a while ago in this thread - http://www.beginnertriathlete.com/discussion/forums/thread-view.asp... For roughly the same price, an athlete can find a coach who will write a personalized training plan for the athlete, one who will provide a generic training plan, one who will "develop" a training plan using an algorithm and different levels inbetween. Further, the number of athletes that a coach takes on will vary greatly; because of this there are coaches who limit contact, limit the number of changes they will make to a plan, etc. The key is finding out what you will get beforehand and making sure you are comfortable with the level of coaching you will recieve. Here are some questions that I would ask of any coach before beginning to work together: - How many athletes do you coach? - How do you approach setting up training for an athlete? - Can I see some sample training programs? - What results have you seen for athletes similar to me? - Can I talk to some current athletes? - Can I talk to some former athletes? - How do you monitor training? - Do you limit schedule changes? - Do you limit contact? - Are you continuing your coaching education? Shane In addition to the above: Ask whether they coach full or part time. Not because a full time coach is better than a part time coach, but a full time coach with 20+ athletes likely isn't over extended, but a part time coach with a dozen may be, so it provides some additional perspective to some of the answers to Shane's questions. Do they put everything in writing as part of their coaching agreement? For example, my agreement specifically says I will maintain my two primary certifications as a coach and personal trainer at all times, which includes continuing education requirements. How long is their agreement for? Is it month-to-month from the start, or is there a requirement for a minimum term? What happens if you're not satisfied and want to stop working with the coach?
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2014-07-30 2:15 PM in reply to: 0 |
Expert 2355 Madison, Wisconsin | Subject: RE: Questions to ask potential coach This is a good thread and I will make sure to try and bring this back to the top in early October when searching for coaches. Lots of good stuff here, as well as DC Rainmakers blog too. Couple points I want to add. I have tried two evaluation processes with athletes. One was sheet to fill out, the other was a conversation piece. As a coach the conversation piece was far more beneficial, as said for athlete I believe too. You can learn a lot about an athlete through what they say, how they perceive things to be, motivations, etc. That said this is a good way for the athlete to understand the coach as well. If the communication in this area is bad, that is a bad sign, if you feel you both gel here that is a good sign. Some of the best coaches I know of, I even know Olympic coaches that failed their Level I USAT test. Certification are just that, certifications. It in no way says they are qualified. The process of applying that knowledge into real world scenarios is what is important. If a coach does not know how to apply the science and methodology they probably are not a good fit. Try to figure this out early on. Ask for references from athletes Search Find out what YOU need in a coach, and find a coach that can fit that NEED My biggest pet peeve with coaches is limiting communication. Now of course there is a line that needs to be drawn (we all have our private time), but if you see a coach that says "x" amount of email interaction, phone time, etc per month that is a sign to walk away, again that is my opinion. Also means they are part-time and cannot afford too much time with each athlete or they work with a TON of athletes (not always a bad thing). I'll add more to this later just wanted to get some thoughts down for everyone. Edited by bcagle25 2014-07-30 2:16 PM |
2014-08-14 8:33 AM in reply to: Dominion |
Pro 6011 Camp Hill, Pennsylvania | Subject: RE: Questions to ask potential coach I posted this in another thread about whether coaches can help prevent injuries, but wanted to share it here too, because I don't see where it was mentioned... I think it can be confusing for people, because they may think that a coach is going to have all the answers. Instead, there is a fairly specific scope of practice for coaches, personal trainers, strength and conditioning coaches, nutritionists, registered dietitians, physical therapists, physicians, swimming technique coaches, bike fitters, etc. In some cases you may find someone who has qualifications in more than one area, such as Suzanne being both a coach and physician or myself as a coach and personal trainer, but even in those cases, it's necessary to understand what service that person is providing. For example, even though Suzanne is a physician, when you hire her as a coach, you're a coached client, not a patient, so she cannot diagnose and treat medical issues under a coaching agreement. You would need to go into her ER for that. The best coaches tend to have a team of people that includes specialists like I listed above that they refer their athletes to as needed. This is OT, but it should probably be added to the list of questions asked of a potential coach - Do they have a team of outside experts they can tap into? |
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