The Truth About Real Coaching: It's Not What You Expect
If you've never been coached before, stepping into a real gym or martial arts school can be a shock. Not because the workouts are hard, though they probably are, but because real coaching doesn’t look like what you’ve seen on TV or social media. When starting out, you might get an A for effort (most people never try). You might even get praised just for showing up early on. Beyond that, you’ll start to learn what it actually feels like to be coached. None of us improve without correction. Guidance and feedback become the norm instead of mindless yelling and belittlement disguised as motivation.
For many people, this can be a shock to the system.
I'm reminded of something I read, though I’m not sure where or who it's attributed to:
Most people want to be left alone. Serious athletes want to be coached. Elite athletes want the truth.
Replace the word "athletes" with "people," and that same concept applies to all of us.
That second part is important because it's likely why most people initially join a gym such as those that are part of the Gym Force network. When you walk into a CrossFit gym or step onto the mats at a Jiu-Jitsu school, you’re probably bad at almost everything. That’s not an insult. It’s just reality for nearly everyone who has ever attempted a worthwhile and physically demanding pursuit. Because of this, great coaches don’t try to appease people just to keep them around. Their job isn’t necessarily to make you "feel good" in the moment, though they may try. Their job is to make you better—if you let them.
Most people have no idea how much they truly need quality coaching. Not just to get the results they want, but to develop skills that will serve them for the rest of their lives. The best coaches and instructors understand this. They know their role is to guide you in a way that maintains their integrity while also making the experience engaging enough that you stick with it. And this is no easy task. Most people want to do things they’re good at. Nobody wants to be embarrassed. There’s nothing wrong with that. We’re all human. A coach’s ability to improve performance is a science. Doing it without hurting everyone’s feelings is an art.
So how does a great coach make training fun for someone who is struggling without resorting to sugarcoating or fake encouragement?
Practice, practice, practice.
This isn't the sort of skill that comes with a credential. It's also difficult to pinpoint unless you know what you're looking for.
You Don’t Need a Cheerleader
If somebody is only looking to be hyped up before or during their workout, there are plenty of places like Orangetheory that specialize in relentless positivity. If that’s what you’re looking for, go for it.
But if you want to get better at Jiu-Jitsu, weightlifting, or yoga, you don't need a cheerleader.
You need a coach.
And this isn't meant to be complicated either. Consider it from a different angle.
Think about what you’d want in your kid’s soccer coach.
Any kid has the ability to kick a ball and run around on a field of grass.
The coach is necessary to teach them soccer.
The only thing we care about is that our child is learning and having fun.
Why should we be any different?
The problem is that too many people have the wrong image of what a great fitness coach or martial arts instructor looks like. Not only that, the industry is also full of chiseled influencers whose credibility comes from the visibility of their abs, not their ability to make people better. People need to change their perception of what a great coach represents in their own mind. The best coaches aren’t necessarily the ones with the biggest following or the loudest voice. Some may not even have the outward appearance that society expects.
The only thing that matters is that they help others improve.
Sure, it makes sense that one would expect a great coach to follow their own advice in living a healthy lifestyle, but that’s not always the case.
Which made me think of Jim Leyland.
Jim Leyland was a Hall of Fame baseball manager. He never played in the major leagues. He didn’t have a certification in baseball management. He didn’t have a degree in kinesiology. What he did have was the ability to get everything he could out of his players to make them better at baseball.
A great martial arts instructor or CrossFit coach isn’t defined by their competition record or their social media presence. They’re defined by their ability to make people better at something worthwhile.
And we all need to be coached on some level. Even coaches need coaching.
Sometimes, when it comes to fitness, coaching can present itself in unexpected ways. And if you're not prepared, it's easy to get discouraged. Being on the receiving end of real coaching can be a bit of a bummer if it comes as a surprise.
But if you're ready to learn and willing to try, success is now possible, and the coaching is why.
