Hiring a Coach
Whether your looking to run your first 5k, set a pr at your next long distance event, hiring a coach can be worth the time if you know what to look for and expect. Here are some key points to look for when searching for a coach to help you with your goals.
Interview The Coach You are looking to hire and pay someone to coach you safely and effectively. You want to get the most for your money and interviewing a potential coach is one of the best ways to do that, if you go into it correctly. You can do this interview in person or over the phone ( video chat ). This way you can get a feel for the coaches demeaner and personality. Let’s be honest face to face is just the best way to do it.
Make sure you go into the interview prepared. Just like we interview for jobs or even first dates, we are trying to figure out is this going to work out for me in the long run, no pun intended.
Once you setup a time and place to chat with the potential coach make sure you bring a list of questions, goals and expectations that you want to accomplish. Examples of this would be
I want to run a half marathon in 2 hours. I want my 5k pace to be 7 min per mile. I would like to drop 5 mins off my total swim time in the Ironman distance. The more specific your goals and questions are instead of saying I just want to finish the race, you are more likely to get more direct and specific answers from the coach on how that is going to be accomplished. This can help determine if this is the coach for you.
Specific Questions As mentioned above you want to be specific and thorough with your interview questions. A few days before the meeting come up with any and all questions you might have and then start to refine them. One of your questions might be I want to get faster or stronger. This is a very common answer I get when I ask athletes what their goals are. While this is a great goal and it is one we all want, it is very generic. If we change that question to be I am looking to run a marathon in 4 hours, how can you help me do that. This is much more specific and you should receive specific answers from the coach on the how’s and why’s of the training plan. If you are an athlete that requires more feed back and interaction let the coach know this up front and ask how they plan to accommodate this need. Some athletes have demanding work and personal lives. You may want to ask the coach has he coached athletes like this and how do they go about writing the plans and following up with the athlete.
Here is a list of potential questions the athlete should be asking.
What is your training philosophy?
What/How do you communicate with your athletes? What is the frequency? Is there an extra cost for communication frequency?
Are these customized workouts or a copied plan?
Do you give data review and follow up? If so how often?
What training platform do you use?
What is your education and experience?
Sometimes I have high hour work weeks, how do you account for this?
What extra gear, if any, will I need to purchase outside of the training plan?
How much do you charge?
Is there anything not included that I will have to pay extra for?
Time and History Make sure that you are upfront with the coach on how much time you can dedicate to training per day and per week. Also advise the coach of any injuries or history of injury.
Let the coach know your work schedule so the coach can plan around your life and adjust as needed.
I hope this helps give you an idea of some things to come to the interview with when searching for that potential coach. If you have any questions about coaching or hiring a coach please reach out to us for more information at info@enduranceondemand.com
