USA Triathlon Certified, Finally!
I’ve been working on becoming a USA Triathlon certified coach for a while now. Remember back in January when I was so amped up about stuff like “metabolic efficiency?” Well, I’m still as psyched as ever about having had the sweet opportunity to attend one of USAT’s coaching clinics. It was a fantastic and illuminating experience that continues to feed my appetites for both coaching and racing. Interestingly enough, the clinic also provided some solid models in teaching, that is, some top-notch Olympic coaches presented in Colorado Springs and I found them to be engaging and super-knowledgeable speakers (great models off of which to sponge both knowledge and teaching/coaching strategies).
So, since my time in Colorado, I’ve been busy integrating the gleaned knowledge into my practice as coach, athlete, and teacher. I took my time with the formalized exam that USAT provided to me, which encouraged much quality time with their coaching manual in order to answer a long series of multiple choice and short answer questions as well as develop several mock training plans for a variety of triathletes. These hoops, though time consuming, helped me sift through a mountain of notes, which, as it turns out, was necessary to mine some tasty nuggets of coaching wisdom, which I’ll employ both as a coach and (you guessed it) as a athlete! I have to run this stuff through my own experiential filter first, right? What kind of coach do you think I am? The learning kind! I’m still committed to that notion, “when you’re green you’re growing, when you’re ripe you’re rotten.” Ain’t it the truth?
View from my handlebars earlier today (on my way up Sonoma Mountain)
Teaching vs. Learning. Let’s be real, a coach isn’t much good if s/he can’t teach well. It’s more than essential that the athlete is able to truly internalize methods and strategies that the coach is attempting to communicate. There’s more than a little art involved here folks. Even USAT agrees that one of the top objectives as an effective triathlon coach is that of teacher. Granted, teachers get a lot of slack and little respect these days but still, if you think back, one or two special teachers, professors, and/or coaches probably had a hand in where you are today. I know that’s the case with me. My experience over five years at the University of Connecticut, training, racing, and learning certainly shaped what I am today, whatever that is. One thing’s for sure though, I love the balance that being a student and an athlete provides. It was clear to me back in about 2000 that I could do far worse in life if I ended up indefinitely remaining a student as well as an athlete. In fact, I vowed I would forever remain, in some capacity, committed to a role as both student and athlete. You know, that sound mind/sound body thing? It’s powerful stuff. Life sure does get busy though, right? Well, what do we do when we have too much stuff on our plate? That’s right, have another drink. Wait, no, … Integrate!
Eschscholzia Californica
I wear a few different hats these days, as a fiancee, a Grade 6 Math & Science teacher, a USAT coach, and a ultra-runner. Like triathlon itself, these roles are separate but interdependently integrated in powerful ways. Being effective at one of these makes me better at the others, or so I like to dupe myself into believing. Sometimes, naturally, I just don’t know.
Now that I’m a USAT certified coach, I’ll have some nifty resources at my disposal, namely, other coaches, online webinars on myriad tri topics, as well as forums and clinics, all of which I’ll use to attain my 15 biannual continuing education credit needed to keep my certification in good standing. So, it seems I’m going to be held accountable for my learning. USAT, my hat’s off to you. I wish more teachers were held accountable for their teaching, or better yet, their students’ learning. Whoa, I better keep my mouth shut. Next thing I know, USAT is checking my athletes’ results to see if my coaching’s been effective and using race results to determine whether or not to renew my certification. I’d like to think I’m up to the challenge because, fortunately for me, the athletes that I’ve had the privilege of working with always seem to come packaged with great ambition. In addition to remaining “green and growing,” it’s my athletes’ hunger for knowledge that keeps my coaching/teaching fire burning so brightly.
Let me know if you or someone you know is interested in coaching. We can meet up and have a chat. I have room for a few more athletes here in 2010. I’ll look forward to hearing from you. Point Positive. .+!
A warm climb up Cavedale on a perfect Sonoma County afternoon...