I'm interested in getting into coaching barefoot running, but I haven't done any coaching before. I'd love to know how any coaches out there got started, and hear any tips that you might have for a newbie
This is the rough path I took including relevant experiences:
My tips:
- Was a high school teacher with experience coaching football, and wrestling, had some background in kinesiology and sport psychology (Since 1999)
- Started barefoot running shortly after beginning running, started blogging about experiences (2005)
- Began participating in Runners World forum, a group of us started working on a "How to start barefoot running" project (Spring 2009)
- Around the same time, I held my first clinic and handed out a collection of blog posts as a "How-to" guide
- RW project and clinic guide morphed into the first edition of "The Barefoot Running Book" (Dec. 2009)
- Started individual coaching based on experiences and knowledge obtained from forum discussions and book writing process combined with prior teaching and coaching experiences (Jan. 2010)
- Helped found BRS (Winter/Spring 2010)
- Started working with Merrell as a barefoot ambassador, eventually became a consultant and their "barefoot coach" that helped develop educational materials (Nov. 2010)
- Quit teaching job, started traveling around the country holding clinics (May 2011)
- Began quest to learn everything I could about running form by engaging running store owners and employees, other coaches, people in the medical field, etc. (Aug. 2011)
- Resurrected individual/online coaching career; taking on "BRS Cert" project (present)
That's all I can think of off the top of my head.
- Recognize that coaches are teachers, spend less time studying running-related stuff and more time studying what great teachers do to reach their students.
- Learn everything you can for anyone and everyone. Great teachers are masters at stealing ideas from others.
- Don't fall in love with one single idea or method. Keep an open mind, think of everything as a tool. Your job is to match the appropriate tool to each client.
- Organize your coaching business in a way that will provide legal protection (LLC, Corporation... whatever)
- Word of mouth is the best form of advertising you can use, and it's free.
- Have a website dedicated to coaching, which includes your philosophy, policies, and fee structure.
- Understand why your clients want to hire a coach. there are many reasons; ask before they hire you.
- Not all coaches and clients will be a good personality fit. Don't be afraid to recommend another coach.
- Read all those books I recommended in the other forum. Not all have to do with coaching or running, but will prove to be useful. Add "Rework" by the 37 Signals guys, "Linchpin" and "Tribes" by Seth Godin, and "The 4 Hour Work Week" by Tim Ferriss to that list.
I need to come get some bowling pointers from you.I have coached teams and singles in bowling at a national level and have been successfull in having my teams and singles win at that level. I have seen a lot of coaches at these events and different ways they bring their knowledge out. What works for me is leading them to self guided discoveries. We all have to be certified to coach at a national level here in Canada. This helps at a junior level so that most bolwers start with a consistent guidance. After that, everyone is a individual. I know bowling and running are different but the core knowledge in how we teach is the same. So, I agree with the fact that everyone that wants to coach has to have a good basic knowledge and be a people type person. Like Jason said, it is all how you present this knowledge. The only thing I can add to all this, that in Canada we have to have our "Respect in Sports" to be coaching at any level in any sport. There is also a shortage of coaches in any sports out here. So usually when my kids are in sports, be it soccer, bowling, softball, and baseball I wound up coaching as there otherwise would be no coaches. The basic knowledge in these sports got me to be able to teach them the skills, but the communication of the "teaching" was paramount at to whether they actuall "listen" to what was taught. So certification needed, I myself do not think so, but with that being said, how is one to know that everyone is on the same page when it comes to starting out runners?
Remind me not to go bowling with you Jason, I am bad enough without getting more bad bowling advice.