Five questions to ask your next coach
And one to ask yourself
Due to a combination of winter weather, parenting logistics, and plain ol’ life happening at inopportune moments, I’ve had to get more creative with my training schedule for Boston than I’d like. While I would much rather do whatever my coach tells me, whenever he tells me to do it, sometimes you need a little space to make adjustments.
My coach – Avery Collins – trusts me to make those decisions. In turn, I trust his schedule was put together for multiple reasons involving numerous factors, some of which I may not fully understand at the moment. In that way, I do my best to honor the integrity of Avery’s plan whenever I wind up moving runs around.
None of this flexibility happens without a partnership built on trust. No matter the sport, trust is the single most important aspect of an athlete-coach relationship. Without Avery’s guidance, I never would have qualified for Boston, run a sub-6 minute mile in my 40s, or been able to venture into the very depths of my soul during ultras.
More than accomplishments or accolades, I know Avery has my best interests at heart and he knows I’m not going to do anything to jeopardize what we’ve built. While you can never duplicate someone else’s experiences, my hope for anyone thinking about hiring a coach is they are able to develop the same level of trust as I have with Avery.
How do you know when a coach is right for you? You can start by asking these five questions. (Just remember to ask a big one of yourself too.)