Becoming a Barefoot Running Coach

OMGosh, Lee! That's incredible. No long term effects, I hope.
 
No, no scarring or anything, thanks for your concern. I will say, however, that despite my boredom with being back in Minnesota, that it's sure nice raising kids without having to worry so much about bugs, snakes, and diseases. My wife and I talk about how nice it would be just to visit the beach there every Sunday, hang out with our friends and her family, and then come back home here for another week of comfortable and convenient living.

Apologies to Dawsy for this extended hijack . . .
 
I'm not anti-coach, just anti-certification. If I were to give a recommendation for a would-be coach, I'd recommend in this order:

  • Read John Wooden's "Wooden: A Lifetime of Observations..."
  • Read "Tread Lightly" by Pete Larson and Bill Katovsky
  • Read Ken Bob's barefoot book
  • Find my book online, download for free
  • Start reading every new post here: https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!forum/huaraches
  • Read the first ChiRunning book
  • Read the first Pose book
  • Read "The Art of Non-Conformity" by Chris Guillebeau
  • Take a Good Form running clinic
  • Watch the Evolution Running DVD
  • Read Elliot Aronson's "Social Animal"
  • Observe your two favorite teachers, one from middle school and one from high school, ask how they manage to reach all their students. Mimic that.
Keep in mind- this is my opinion of how one could become a pretty well-rounded barefoot coach. I don't like the idea of having any sort of barriers to entering the teaching realm. Your experience is more than enough to get started. ;)

Hi Jason! I'm new to the site and only a year into my BR running (not always consistent either), but now excited and ready to make the transition to BF running more full time! I have only read a couple books so far and just found this site, so thank you for these wonderful resources!
 
I was invited to be one of the first 10 Vivobarefoot certified coaches trained by Lee Saxby. Glad I went. It's made me a better runner, coach etc but I was invited. I would not pay 3 grand to get the certification. The information is out there if one is clever enough to put it together. Lee Saxby's training is fantastic information and it makes more geeky detailed biomechanical sense than what I have seen out there yet (still reading Tread Lightly) but its still 3 grand.
 
I was invited to be one of the first 10 Vivobarefoot certified coaches trained by Lee Saxby. Glad I went. It's made me a better runner, coach etc but I was invited. I would not pay 3 grand to get the certification. The information is out there if one is clever enough to put it together. Lee Saxby's training is fantastic information and it makes more geeky detailed biomechanical sense than what I have seen out there yet (still reading Tread Lightly) but its still 3 grand.

3 grand?!? I've seen ads for the course but never dreamed it would cost so much. Wow.
Was it mainly face to face or did you get written resources as well? If the latter do you know if they are publicly available or where I could get my hands on them?
I'd love to do that course but distance and cost are both a little much at the moment...
 
I was invited to be one of the first 10 Vivobarefoot certified coaches trained by Lee Saxby. Glad I went. It's made me a better runner, coach etc but I was invited. I would not pay 3 grand to get the certification. The information is out there if one is clever enough to put it together. Lee Saxby's training is fantastic information and it makes more geeky detailed biomechanical sense than what I have seen out there yet (still reading Tread Lightly) but its still 3 grand.

I think a lot of people assumed I was poo-pooing Saxby's stuff because of the whole anti-cert rant, but it was about certs in general. I agree that the training is top-shelf. Saxby's stuff is WAY more applicable to the masses than Pose. I really wish Vivo would release all of the stuff from the cert process... it would really help add to the body of knowledge for potential coaches.
 
That's what I have been saying all along, Jason, but you said it wasn't your cup of tea. I think if Saxby and other credible resources, such as yourself, would release a curriculum for trainers to follow, without the high price, it would be beneficial to our community and help grow our sport (barefoot and minimalist running). I still think this is something you can take the lead on. What say you?
 
If we did something like that, I'd want input from specific people- Pete Larson, Mark Cucuzzella, Jay Dicharry, Danny Dryer, Craig Richards, Danny Abshire, Lieberman, Saxby, Angie, Tina DuBois, Bill Katovsky, Ken Bob, Blaise DuBois, Ted, Ken Mierke, Curt Munson, Steve Magness... and these are just the folks that deal with form. The problem- only a few seem to be interested in acknowledging that other methods can be effective.

The fundamental problem with certification has to do with the nature of acquiring it. The standard model calls for some studying followed by some sort of test. Those developing the test are making a judgement call on what is correct, and we're nowhere near a point where we can answer that question. All of the current certs are based on one person's or a group's interpretation of the best method to teach running form. As a stand-alone method, they're far from adequate.

It really comes down to the issue of validity. There isn't even agreement on something as fundamental as the question of "Is there such thing as good form?"

The best possible scenario today would be for a coach to study as many methods as possible then have the capability to synthesize the information to meet the needs of their clients. None of the current certs do that, and earning multiple certs is crazy expensive. Reading (and doing) all the stuff on that list I made will give someone good exposure to a lot of different ideas, which is a good place to start. i don't know that it's a basis for a cert, though.
 
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Sure, this considers a great deal more thought, and of course planning when the time comes, and a list of reading is a beginning but by no means an end. We have to start...somewhere. It's going to happen. We are either going to be a part of that process or others will be. As an educator, I think that leader should be you.

And, of course, the resources of the BRS would be available.
 
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I have an alternate proposal. We create a barefoot coach sub-forum. This will allow coaches to discuss all issues related to coaching. Based on contributions and discussions, members can earn the use of the title "BRS barefoot coach." That exact mechanism can be discussed; I really don't have a good method to make that determination at this point.

The theory behind the idea is simple- the current "how to run correctly" landscape is so varied, discussion among peers is perhaps the single best way to train to become a well-rounded coach. all of us are "experts" in some regard, essentially we would learn from each other.

The idea completely turns the "certification" idea on it's head, but it's the best "open source" approximation I can think of.

I'd volunteer to mod the sub-forum.
 
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I have an alternate proposal. We create a barefoot coach sub-forum. This will allow coaches to discuss all issues related to coaching. Based on contributions and discussions, members can earn the use of the title "BRS barefoot coach." That exact mechanism can be discussed; I really don't have a good method to make that determination at this point.

The theory behind the idea is simple- the current "how to run correctly" landscape is so varied, discussion among peers is perhaps the single best way to train to become a well-rounded coach. all of us are "experts" in some regard, essentially we would learn from each other.

The idea completely turns the "certification" idea on it's head, but it's the best "open source" approximation I can think of.

I'd volunteer to mod the sub-forum.

I really like this idea but I think the tricky bit would be determining just when someone could be deemed 'coach'. What we could use the forum for instead is to come up with as close to a standardised set of drills, guidelines and tips as we can.
Once a reasonable knowledge base has been created, it becomes easier to judge if someone has what it takes to be a coach.

I'm not saying that everyone would be expected to teach the same way, rather that there are some basic tools that all coaches should have at their disposal before they begin to take on students. This includes understanding POSE, Chi, etc, the common terms, and generally accepted practices such as high cadence, lifting the foot, etc.

The sub forum could then also be used for coaches to ask each other questions, etc.

This brings us back into the realm of classic certification, but I think that a structured set of material and benchmarks is what people are looking/asking for when they want to be an 'official' coach.
 
Those other methods tend to be a little on the litigious side, so we really don't want to make knowledge of their methodology a requirement. They don't share my openness. :)

The problem with the common drills and practices is validity. While we think things like a high cadence and lifting the foot are universal concepts, there's no supporting empirical data. Some will point to biomechanics literature, but for every concept supported by research, there's another study refuting it.

I know a lot of people just want a cut-and-dry cert to be called a "BRS certified coach", but that would be no better than what's already available. I think we (the collective that is the BRS) has the experience to ascend the limitations of a simple certification program.

This was the idea I came up with awhile ago. I think this could work here: http://barefootrunninguniversity.co...foot-running-coach-certification-alternative/

Thoughts?

TJ?
 
I really like this idea but I think the tricky bit would be determining just when someone could be deemed 'coach'. What we could use the forum for instead is to come up with as close to a standardised set of drills, guidelines and tips as we can.
Once a reasonable knowledge base has been created, it becomes easier to judge if someone has what it takes to be a coach.

I'm not saying that everyone would be expected to teach the same way, rather that there are some basic tools that all coaches should have at their disposal before they begin to take on students. This includes understanding POSE, Chi, etc, the common terms, and generally accepted practices such as high cadence, lifting the foot, etc.

The sub forum could then also be used for coaches to ask each other questions, etc.

This brings us back into the realm of classic certification, but I think that a structured set of material and benchmarks is what people are looking/asking for when they want to be an 'official' coach.

I don't know Dawsy, does everyone really agree with lifting the foot as something that should be coached? And some elite trainers pooh-pooh what Pose, Chi, and certain barefoot gurus say about proper running form, or at least their explanations, if not coaching cues, of how it's achieved. I think it's going to be as complicated as Jason described.

Just out of curiosity, how many people actually seek out coaches, certified or uncertified? It seems like most of the people I've met here in BRS just jumped into it and consulted the web and books before during or after the jumping. I've given a few people the basic run down on what's involved, but haven't coached anyone per se (although this week I'm supposed to help my nephew start running, albeit shod).

Anyway, as a passive spectator, I think the experiment is worth a try, and look forward to seeing how it develops. Like TJ says, there's a certain onus on BRS to define some of the issues involved before they're defined for us.