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Part 2

High School Athletes and Personal Coaching

In part 1, I discussed the use of on-line personal coaching, both the positives and negatives.

The ideal situation for “in-person” personal coaching is to have daily or at least bi-weekly face to face coaching. Anything less than that is purely instructional. There may be nothing wrong with it, but to call it coaching misrepresents its’ true nature.

Personal coaching can be beneficial if done correctly. More about this later. Here are some reasons to find a personal coach.

#1. There is a need for a higher level of expertise
Most coaches have areas of strengths and relative weaknesses. Even if they know the rudiments they may not be supremely confident in certain events. Or they may be less than satisfied with their knowledge in handling the true beginner or the advanced athlete. In this case help may be desirable. If someone more knowledgeable is willing to work with an athlete it can be a good arrangement.

#2. There is a need for a higher level of attention
Especially on the high school level, coaches can get spread pretty thinly. If they are unable to devote the kind of intensive work some athletes require because they’re balancing the needs of fifty athletes, another set of eyes and hands can be welcome. Good long jump coaching involves intensive time spent on approaches and take-off position and if this is done outside the watchful eyes of a coach a bad habit can be ingrained. The same is true for all technique intensive events.

#3. It may be time for a new approach
There is also benefit to having a fresh set of eyes to look at the training routine or to critique technique. Sometimes a coach can feel they see the whole picture and wonder why the athlete isn’t making the progress they should. Someone else with a different level or type of expertise may notice the needs right away. Since not all coaches approach an event from the same direction, it might be a minor problem that is easily found by another.

#4. An athlete has specific individual needs
It’s almost impossible to list all the different parameters of this category. Maybe the athlete is so driven that the standard workouts don’t fatigue them. A general fitness coach or weight training specialist can help the highly motivated athlete put organization to the extra work done on their own time. A multi-event person who is also a javelin thrower might need to spend some time outside of the regular practice with someone who can go through specialized drills. Some athletes want to work hard but need a drill sergeant type individual to get the most out of them. If the team coaching style is laid back that athlete might desire setting up some individual time with a personal coach willing to provide the push. Whatever the need, be it motivation, repetition, push, technique coaching, psychological training or just attention, a personal coach may be the answer.

Types of coaching arrangements
Personal coaches can provide their services in a variety of ways. Commonly the coach meets the athlete outside of regular practice times, for example nights or weekends. This only presents an equipment or space problem for events such as high jump or pole vault. The intent of the MIAA “bona fide team member rule” is to make sure that athletes competing for a team are committed to the team and regularly attending practice. To adhere to the intent of the rule, an athlete can not skip their regular practices to meet with a personal coach.

Sometimes an arrangement is made that allows the coach to work with the athlete during practice. This is a much smoother arrangement if the personal coach is an official team volunteer. Many schools require that head coaches request permission from the administration before allowing volunteers. This provides a level of security since the school department will bear any of the ultimate responsibility. The appropriateness of a “paid personal coach” providing individual coaching during team practices is in question. It is a rare but not unheard of situation.

There is also personal coaching received outside of the season. Spring track seasons are short, except when dovetailed with cross-country and indoor track. So working on an event outside of the season can pay dividends as long as the athlete takes a break at some point. Year round training should be reserved for post high school track. But specialized training with an expert can be beneficial as long as the athlete knows how to bring the lessons learned to their season. Personal coaching gives much more individual attention than, say, going to a camp. The biggest benefit of camp is the fun of being away from home with a group of peers.

Lastly, a coach may come in to work with a group of athletes in one event. This is not technically personal coaching, more along the line of specialized coaching. This is common and can be a good thing for the large program with a small staff. But when considering the drawbacks of personal coaching, a few of the warnings still apply.

Drawbacks
Whether for pay or for free, personal coaching is not always a panacea. Especially if the coaching has been volunteered, you might feel foolish not to take advantage of the service. But even the best of situations can backfire if getting the personal coaching creates one of the following scenarios.

#1. Lack of continuity
Especially for the beginning athlete, the comfort of a single source of information is critical. Even if the head coach and personal coach are experts, their techniques can differ. It is hard for the high school athlete to sort through multiple ways of attacking a problem and determine which is best for them. Even the most accomplished athletes, those with national success, seek out one coach in which to place their faith.

#2 Unavailability of the personal coach at a critical time (or too many coaches)
Often the meet day coaching falls back onto the team coach. After an athlete has put faith in a personal coach, accepted their training regimen, learned their techniques and gotten ready to compete, they should have the coach available. For example, what happens if the high jumper starts cutting the turn too early? Will the athlete have as much faith in the suggestions of the team coach? Can the coach provide the technical advice and soothing reassurance in the absence of the personal coach? Don’t even get me started about the athlete who has picked up multiple “personal coaches”. How can it be a positive relationship for the high school athlete to have to decide which of them he/she’s supposed to go to first?

#3 Harm to coach/athlete relationship
Even during the well intentioned and thought out situations, a personal coach can drive a wedge between the athlete and team coach. In the worst case scenario it is done intentionally, and it’s ugly. Even if the team coach is OK with the situation, the natural inclination would be to spend even less time with the athlete. This lessens any potential gain.

#4 Harmful to team dynamics
Jealosy, resentment and alienation can occur. It might not be a flattering trait but teammates may not be happy if an athlete within the team goes elsewhere for help. There could be a sentimate that the athlete feels they are more special and therefor need a higher level of coaching. Whether those negative feelings are fair or not, any alienation will reduce the team experience. A failure of team harmony can derail a team with potential.

Avoiding the pitfalls
Those drawbacks don’t have to happen. Now that potential problems have been identified, there are ways to lessen or even eliminate them altogether. Follow the tips below and the personal coaching can work out.

#1 Communication
Eliminate surprises. If an athlete is looking for something more, he/she should talk openly and honestly with the coach. Together, they can discuss the way to make the personal coaching work. The process helps the athlete mature and impresses the coach with the athlete’s commitment to improvement. Whatever ego the coach has, and remember most coaches come from a competitive situation and a younger coach may feel threatened, communication can head off problems. If the athlete and coach have the same goals (the success of the athlete) they should be able to have a meaningful dialog and come out with a good plan. This can create even more closeness rather than alienation.

#2 Loyalty
The athlete must understand that it is a privilege to represent the school. They are part of a team and must consider how their actions affect the program. The parts of sport that make it worthy of a place within the school program are the lessons taught. The benefits of teamwork, comraderie, mutual support and lifelong friendships come to athletes who are loyal to the program and their teammates. If an athlete keeps this in mind and does not put selfish interest ahead of all else, teammates and coaches won’t doubt their loyalty and therefor their motivations for seeking outside assistance.

#3 Co-coaching model
The use of a personal coach will be most beneficial if there is direct communication between the coaches. They can discuss training approaches, event technique and overall goals. During these conversations they can develop a common terminology and competition strategy so the athlete can function smoothly even in the absence of one or the other. The co-coaching model can create a seamless experience for the athlete and both team and personal coach can learn and grow from the experience.

My personal philosophy

The success of the team is the primary goal because the team is the sum total of all the individuals you are trying to teach. When you help an individual get better you are almost always helping the team get better.
I’ve had experience with personal coaches and volunteer coaches. For the benefit of the athlete I’ve promoted the use of either if they can make a total commitment. I’ve discouraged part-time help. But over the years I’ve learned to soften my stance. Sometimes part time coaching of the type provided by personal coaches can be useful. I’ve also learned I can’t just delegate total responsibility for an athlete to a person outside the program. So I make it a point to keep up with anything an athlete is hearing from another coach. I question them on what they’ve learned and how they are going to apply it. I never leave strategy of final decisions to anyone else because on the last day of an athlete’s career I want us both to know we’ve gotten further because we had faith in each other.

Finally, that is a big reason why I’ve never been a personal coach for anyone from another high school team. I want my athletes to know that I’m doing everything I can to make them good enough to win and have never been able to understand how I could do that if I was helping other athletes from other teams be better. That is up to their coach. I’m happy to discuss any training or coaching strategy with any coach and have given freely of advice – when asked. And I like talking with athletes within the league. But in the final analysis any help I give to them will be funneled through their coach.