During the spring of 2015, I interned at CSP-FL and focused mainly on the technical side of coaching—designing programs, spotting compensation patterns, selecting the best exercises and progressions for each athlete at different points in their season, and weighing why one movement might be better than another. I was finishing grad school and wanted clear, concrete answers, aiming to master every exercise. I studied hard—not just the coursework and in-services but also for my exams, reading every article I could find and spending long hours with my head in books. When I asked the new class of interns what they wanted to learn, I saw similar interests: nutrition and supplementation for sport, arm care and rehab after surgery, set/rep schemes, developing throwing programs, and density training—the technical side of our daily work. But the most important lessons I learned as a coach weren’t technical.
Comfort with the technical side comes with time and practice—by reading the science and other coaches’ approaches, and by making mistakes and trying new things. Now, as a staff member watching the latest interns, I believe these are five of the most important things I’ve learned by doing and observing:
1) Learn everybody’s name, and a few facts about them. Greet each athlete by name every day. There’s real power in a person’s name, so use it often.
2) Learn how to ask questions and listen actively. Start each session by asking how the athletes feel, about their weekend or game, to gauge fatigue and mood, and to set the tone for the day.
3) It doesn’t matter what kind of day you’re having; leave your troubles at the door. As a coach, you’re the emotional anchor and set the atmosphere for the gym and the session. Don’t let your bad day become theirs.
4) Whether it’s busy or slow, don’t lose your focus. When it’s slow, it’s easy to drift and chat with other coaches or interns, but staying focused on the athletes helps you learn more about them and improves your coaching. Building relationships is also part of your professional network.
5) Seek out the quiet ones and the younger ones. These athletes are often the hardest to work with—not the most obviously talented, but the ones still figuring out how their bodies move or who are too shy to ask for help. They need the most technical help and to feel part of the gym culture you’re building.
While I learned a lot about the technical side during my internship and continue to study through articles, books, and daily interactions with coworkers, the core of what I do is interact with people, build relationships, and earn their trust. After all, as the saying goes, people won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
