How do you choose a coach?
I’ve got a few tips for you here.
First one is, how do you communicate?
Do you have a weekly call scheduled?
Do you have WhatsApp access?
It’s really important that you communicate well with the coach that you appoint.
You also need to have a meeting with them beforehand because not everybody’s a good fit.
I can say this with experience.
Not everybody’s gonna get on with me.
I don’t get on with everybody either
You need to be able to talk to your coach because communication is the most important thing.
The next thing is, how are the sessions delivered?
Are they delivered by Training Peaks or a Google Sheet?
We prefer Training Peaks because it comes delivered straight to your phone or your laptop, or even your watch on the morning that you’re supposed to be doing that session.
It also updates with all your metrics so we can have a look at those as well.
The next thing is, where is the coach based?
Are they based in the UK?
Are they based abroad?
Do you prefer to be coached by someone who you can see on a regular basis?
That’s also a really important thing.
We are based in Yorkshire and we have regular sessions with our athletes every week.
Swimming sessions where we can catch up with people, see how they are.
We also pick up little nuances of whether they say that they’re poorly or whether they’re injured or that’s the art of being a coach.
It’s been able to read an athlete.
It’s not always necessary though.
We coach people all over the world.
Again, that’s why we use Training Peaks cuz it’s easy.
Another thing you need to consider is do you have a weekly call scheduled with your coach where you can discuss that week’s training.
What went well.
What didn’t go so well.
What you’d like to improve on.
What you think you can do.
What races that you want to do?
It’s just a weekly catch up, which is really important in a coaching relationship.
The last point is how accessible is the coach?
Are you able to just communicate once a week on the weekly call or are you able to send them WhatsApps if you’ve got a problem or you’ve got something that you want to discuss or something’s come up at work and that you need to change a session?
We have that.
That’s how we coach, because without communication, there is no coach.
If you are wanting to take your triathlon to the next level and getting yourself a coach, then have a look at our profiles on our website and we will schedule a call or a meeting if you’re nearby.
And we can get cracking.
