Somehow or rather, it’s a common belief that the best person to take advice from, is the person who has achieved the best results in a particular area.
Unfortunately, that isn’t true. The false assumption is that there is only one path from novice to expert.
The Problem
We can’t all emulate the greats. That’s mainly because we’re all dealt a different hand. We’ve got different bone structures, different leverages, different life contraints, etc.
When it comes to lifting heavy weights, this can become dangerous. Too many injuries can be attributed to people trying to squat, deadlift or bench heavy weights, because they either had bad form, or because they were simply not build for the lift.
Yet we’ve seen so many bad coaches constantly preach that to get big, one must do the big 3. Imposing that kind of tunnel vision onto a fresh trainee doesn’t serve any good at all.
So what makes a great coach great?
Experience, and respect.
Experience means that the coach has seen it all. He/she has coached so many people for the task, and seen and nurtured many permutations of athletes. That allows the coach to look at a trainee and know what to do to yield the greatest result while ensuring safety.
Respect means the coach treats every situation without prior predilections. They may have a preferred training program, which they may start every athlete on. But, they have the professionalism to react when things don’t seem right.
A bad coach will tell an athlete to man up when he comes complaining about back pain after squats. A good coach in that situation will ask an athlete to describe the pain in an attempt to diagnose the issue, while experimenting with substitue exercises that don’t aggravate the pain.
Most importantly, they rarely if ever bring up the “I’m the coach! So do what I say!” trump card.
Final Words
None of these qualities require that the coach be the biggest and strongest guy in the gym. [1] What they do require is a sense of professionalism – a constant, strong desire to get the job done right, and a deep well of experience to react to various situations.
Sports and strength training is a fields where a very high value is placed on anecdote; we don’t know why we do certain things, but we dam well know how to bring a trainee from scrawny to brawny. In that kind of world, trust in a coach is most valuable thing an athlete can give. A good coach knows emmpathy, and through his/her own trials and tribulations, would have the resolve to give that respect back.
Notes:
[1] Incidentally some of the best soccer coaches were the worst players. Perhaps it was accepting their perpetual suckage that led them to closely examine other tactics to compensate. (click to return to main text)
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