Commitment:

Some thoughts on the business of being a coach, and the business of being an athlete.

As many of you know, I got my coaching start in the world of swim coaching. I was fortunate to land my first full time job with one of the top age-group programs in Australia. One of the things that made it one of the top programs in Australia was a very systematic and structured “feeder system’ where, progressively, over time, athletes with the talent and commitment to go further were identified and moved to higher and higher levels of training squads.

The commitment part was every bit as important as the talent part.

This commitment was explicit. That is, there were requirements to move into the next level of squad – most notably attendance requirements. Once the swimmer reached the competitive squads, in the absence of sickness or injury, not showing up just wasn’t an option. Swimmers would be simply removed from the squad – demoted – if they missed workouts. This might sound harsh, but it’s the reality of competitive sport. If you want to get better, you have to do the work. In the world of competitive kids, that’s understood.

As I moved into triathlon coaching, and especially as I moved into remote coaching of primarily adults with busy lives, this truth was less understood. In fact, the whole coaching dynamic seemed to change…