The coach who knows how to tap into his teams potential can and will beat the coach who does not know how to maximize what they have. Talent will take you so far. If you are not the most talented, don’t worry. Most people do not take the great advice I offer now.
The Good Coach (or the intelligent athlete) would cover all bases and control everything within their power. Don’t rely on intuition but on experts and research. An evidence-based approach should be taken toward sports. Apply these lessons, if you are not a coach, to different advisers you could have as an athlete.
The good coach should be like a business owner with several key advisers. The President has a Cabinet of trusted counselors. So too should be the good coach. This day and age, with all the research available, there is no reason for a coach to assume they know everything. The coach’s advisers should be just as, if not smarter than him in their specific fields. In other words, they are highly specialized. The coach should therefore respect their expertise and take all of this into account. This will maximize the potential of a team. I think of a college wrestling team like American who made sure the team was eating enough calories and resting appropriately as part of a physically demanding wrestling training schedule.
The good coach would have the following people as trusted advisers: (1) An Exercise Physiologist or expert in the field (2) Sport Psychologist or expert in the field (3) Nutritionist/Dietician or expert in the field (4) Strength/Conditioning Coach or an expert in the field (5) Athletic Trainer or Doctor or an expert in the field.
Exercise Physiologist and Sport Psychologists would be more overall advisers seeing to it that goals of all the advisers are moving together and not in conflict ie. balancing nutrition while cutting weight; getting stronger but resting before competitions. Tapering, scheduling, practices, intensities, team and individual goals, athlete’s personal problems are not all solved and handled intuitively. There should be sound philosophy behind all decisions the coach makes. In this, the coach can and should plan with the experts.
The Athletic Trainer would have an important role in physical wellness and injury prevention giving the strength coach ideas for weaknesses among athletes.
Strength coaches and nutritionists would be the most specialized in that one specific area however they would need to be working specifically for the sports physical needs. A general exercise and eating plan should not be applied.
The coach should welcome input from all of his advisers.
Whatever you are striving for, take an evidence-based approach. There is research and experts out there. Do not try to do it all on your own. When you do your homework, you save an incredible amount of time and energy. You can then trust your approach and focus on your Fanatical attitude.
Gene Zannetti
Owner of Z-Fanatical Fitness
Z-Personal Trainer, One-on-One Consultant & Motivational Speaker
(908) 337-6143
genezannetti@gmail.com
www.zfanatical.com
Z Fanatical Fitness recognizes that fitness is never just physical. Success begins with your Mindset. If you master your mind, you will master your body. Z Fanatical provides this blog with a weekly MINDSET MONDAY to aid you on your journey.
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