Coach Roundtable - What we learned this year with Addison Smith and Adam Ferdinandson #199
Episode overview:
CTS coaches Addison Smith and Adam Ferdinandson join the podcast for an insightful coach roundatble. We discuss subjectivity from coach participation in sport, the delicate balance of simultaneously supporting and challenging your athletes, and the importance of being there either in-person or virtually for your athletes before, during, and after events. We round out our discussion with takeaways from the UESCA conference and the developing professionalism of ultramarathon coaching.
Episode highlights:
(20:24) Addison’s takeaway: supporting your athlete while managing expectations and challenging them as athletes, being the cheerleader while also pushing challenge, fueling example
(28:50) The athlete owns their training: a material coaching philosophy, taking the ego out of coaching, examples, your athlete’s training is not your training, changing vocabulary to reflect coaching philosophy
(35:58) UTMB example: Addison on UTMB, feeling like you have a teammate, example of an athlete who lost all their gear on the way to UTMB, impromptu Billy Yang care package, athlete feedback
Our conversation:
(0:00) Introduction: the coach roundtable with Adam and Addison
(1:35) Adam’s takeaways: your athletes are not you, unexpected bias, example, athletes are more than their FTP (functional threshold pace), focusing on night running
(4:06) The evolution of ultra training science: the Ultra Listserv, personal observation and anecdote used to drive training theory, we are finally starting to figure out the science
(7:53) Subjectivity from participation: participation in sport leaves you with personal biases, the dangers of drawing subjective biases from the experiences of your athletes, recognizing individuality in athletes
(10:29) VO2max workout examples: athletes with road and track experience understand the workout, athletes without that background lack context, your communication with athletes must vary based on athlete background
(12:05) Educating athletes: workout structure, the talk test, getting workouts right, previous KoopCast episode with Michael Rosenblat, interval duration is more important than interval intensity, just get the intensity close
(16:23) Overprecision in training: cycling power meters, it is easy to get caught up in irrelevant nuances of data when you have precise training tools, real-time NGP, lactate monitoring example and parallel to cycling power meters, keep things simple
(19:48) Banter: Adam’s renowned list of questions
(20:24) Addison’s takeaway: supporting your athlete while managing expectations and challenging them as athletes, being the cheerleader while also pushing challenge, fueling example
(23:05) When to challenge athletes: working in the commercial space, being honest with how best to positively impact athletes, examples, challenging athletes comes over longer timeframes, Cocodona example
(25:25) Establishing trust: supporting and retaining athletes, letting athletes know you care about them and their training, challenging athletes right away risks trust
(26:46) Avoiding being a “yes” coach: coaching as an advisor and an educator, nudging athletes in the right direction, balancing athlete goals and expectations with progress
(28:50) The athlete owns their training: a material coaching philosophy, taking the ego out of coaching, examples, your athlete’s training is not your training, changing vocabulary to reflect coaching philosophy
(31:57) Koop’s first takeaway: be there for your athletes, experience from going out to races, giving a high five at UTMB example
(34:18) The biggest coaching error: the power of reaching out to athletes before and after races, common complaints from athletes, not being there physically or virtually erodes trust with athletes
(35:58) UTMB example: Addison on UTMB, feeling like you have a teammate, example of an athlete who lost all their gear on the way to UTMB, impromptu Billy Yang care package, athlete feedback
(41:28) Being there for athletes: athlete retention, the power of having someone in your corner, authentic feedback and communication, Koop’s commitment to being there as much as possible
(43:00) Koop’s second takeaway: the landscape of coaching is changing, 85 attendants at the UESCA conference, recognizing coaches who are and are not committed to professional development
(46:03) Professionalism in coaching: more full-time coaches, more coaching businesses, the power of professionalism in cycling and triathlon for athlete improvement, coaches who invest in their profession are going to be more successful
(48:11) Participation in coaching development: the UESCA conference, continuing education at CTS and parallels to coach conferences
(49:28) Elevating some coaches helps everyone: learning professional best practices, athletes who leave or relocate due to poor service, effect on the coaching industry and the athlete as a person
(51:58) Wrap-up: parting words from Adam and Addison
(52:57) Outro: giving thanks, feel free to reach out about coaching
Additional resources:
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