My Manifesto — What Makes A GreatCoach?

Hi friends,

This post is going to be the first post in a series where I give my very personal thoughts on coaching and the state of running.

Today’s Topic:

What makes a good coach?

This question popped up on a questionnaire I filled out last week for NAZ Elite, and it really got me thinking — that’s pretty relative right? After all does good mean successful or that your coached runners to prs or maybe all of your runners just enjoy training.

However, a good coach or more importantly - a great coach - needs to be all of these to call yourself successful:

Your runners need to enjoy training

• You must be in tune with your runners, don’t let them burn out.

Your runners need to be in the position to run their best every training block

• The training must suit their needs, and you must be willing to react and anticipate any problems they may have.

Your runners need to be comfortable talking to you

• This means being open with your athletes, don’t just tell them what you think they want to hear. Be honest and be real, because if your athletes can’t talk to you — how will they tell you how they are feeling.

You need to be able to market yourself and expand your coaching presence

• This is something I struggle with and something I need to overcome. A successful coach needs to be able to sell their brand, have your coaching philosophies in front of as many eyes as possible. This means being able to influence runners — experienced and beginners alike.

You must be able to talk confidently about your coaching methods

• If you can’t talk confidently about the science or reasoning backing your training then your runners won’t feel confident executing the plan. Don’t just say regurgitated terms, really KNOW why the training works and what you are accomplishing. You don’t have to be a Biology major but you do need to know why you are training this way.

You must be flexible with your coaching methods

• Sometimes your methods won’t work like you expected: maybe it’s how the runners are responding, maybe it’s a lot of external stress on the runners, maybe you didn’t execute your end of the plan as well as you wanted. You must — MUST — be able to change your approach! As one of my mentors told me, “let the runners have the glory,

You must be willing to learn

• Whether that’s by reading or asking questions, be a sponge and never stop learning — even if you can’t incorporate a method or you disagree with the reasoning behind it. The more you know the more you can be ready for any questions your runners may ask.

You must be willing to move on

• Sometimes things just don’t work out — you need to be fluid. Maybe there is a athlete relationship that isn’t working or a way you are explaining things or maybe a way you are marketing yourself. Don’t be afraid to shut it down and move on to something else… don’t be afraid to fail.

This may not be everyone’s definition of success but to truly be the best at your job you must set out to accomplish these parameters — to truly reach the top of the coaching world.

These guidelines are for everyone but mainly these are guidelines for myself as I start my journey into the coaching world, a reminder to the standard I want to hold myself to.

So here is where I will lay out all of my philosophies on all aspects of coaching.

No secrets and no stopping until I reach the pinnacle of the sport.

Happy Running,

Justin