As a coach I have had to deal with a whole range of things for athletes. I thought I would share some of these and my thoughts on why I am prepared to help an athlete deal with them.
Oh, most of these will not appear in any coaching manual.
Here is my dream, my professional life ambition: My dream is to take an athlete all the way to Olympic gold.
Whilst following the dream, I want to get the absolute best out of all the athletes which cross my path on their triathlon journey... oh and I want them to enjoy, as part of a team, what they are doing in the process. I want to become the best coach I can be.
I know that my number one goal is athlete dependent and I cannot control whether an athlete with that ambition or talent will cross my path, but, I will continue working as hard as I can to enable that opportunity to happen. That's why I have done the coaching courses I have. As part of those courses and my continuous professional development I have spend countless hours observing other coaches, being mentored, reading, watching... learning.
"Control the controllables. If you can not affect it, do not let it affect you." - Toni Minichiello
To achieve my professional goals, I have to become more than a coach to an athlete... and as I said most of these aren't in any coaching manuals. But here is a short list!
- Bike Mechanic
- Philosopher
- Psychologist
- Marriage / relationship counsellor
- Masseuse
- Chef
- Driving instructor
- Maths teacher
- Financial advisor
- Travel agent
- Pack horse
- Handling parents (not mine)
- Taxi driver
- Wedding planner
Coaching is not just about setting a swim set, working on an athlete's bike handling or watching them run laps of a track. Coaching is about enabling the athlete to do all of those things to the best of their ability. If they are stressed about something then they simply won't be able to focus on their training... if as a coach I can enable them to be in the moment... focused on what they came to do, they will get so much more from their training... and as a consequence the other things in life too.
I am not claiming to be an expert on anything in the list above (bloody hell... far from it!). But I can listen, I can observe, sometimes I can offer advice... but... everytime I can make an objective decision about the athlete, their training and how, what ever is bothering them will affect that. Every athlete is different and their training programs reflect that... coaching is more than just setting a list of sessions each week.
Every athlete has to have their session balanced to fit their lifestyle. The sessions have to be customised to fit the athlete's personal level of fitness and their goals. The athlete's training week is then written to be sustainable over a period of time... and in a way that allows the athlete to train in a consistently.
I am passionate about my coaching. I have been a professional coach for nearly 20 years now and I have developed my coaching and how I deliver my coaching philosophy, "Balanced, sustainable and consistent training" over those years.
Actually I don't think I have scratched the surface...
Triathlon Training Camp
1st to 8th October 2022
Our fun, friendly, social and motivational upcoming Triathlon Training Camp will be held in Colonia de Sant Jordi, Mallorca.
Colonia has played host to some world famous triathlon names like Jan Frodeno and Kristian Blummenfeldt. The BEST centre is an amazing place to swim with a 50m pool and a gym on site. Colonia is also on the coast and boasts some beautiful open water swimming.
This one week camp offers a comprehensive and balance programme of training across all three triathlon disciplines with an emphasis on Swim Technique. The week long programme will include sessions focused on swim technique, cycling on the iconic roads of the island and run, technique and strength building.
"Dynamic coaching team that really complemented each other. Good mix of activities. Overall I thoroughly enjoyed the camp and would recommend it." (Ellen)
Paul is a Professional Triathlon Coach. Passionate about the sport of Triathlon. Paul empowers athletic achievements with quality individualised bespoke triathlon coaching.
Coach Paul is a British Triathlon Federation Level 3 Coach and a Triathlon Australia Performance Coach.
He is also an IRONMAN Certified Coach and a Level 2 Training Peaks Coach. F4L Triathlon Coaching offers triathletes and other endurance athletes a full coaching and training service that caters to all levels of triathletes. F4L offers professional triathlon and endurance coaching and the reliability triathletes and endurance athletes require. Each athlete is an individual, every athlete has different needs.
