Maximize Your Coach Relationship

I've worked with a coach in some capacity every year since I was 4 years old. Soccer coaches, summer league coaches, my first running coach, college coach, two different triathlon coaches, and now, my masters swim coach. All of them have had a positive impact in one way or another and I've learned a lot about HOW to get the most out of my relationship with a coach. Here's how you can maximize your coach relationship.

1. Follow the plan. It's important to remember that your coach puts a lot of time and energy into crafting each week of training. There is a reason the hard swim is on Monday and a reason it's that hard. It's not random. TrainingPeaks does a great job with its color-code system, which allows a coach to eyeball plan adherence quickly. If you login and see a bunch of red, yellow, and orange with a sprinkling of green for week after week, that's usually not the best sign! It doesn't mean the plan should never change or that adjustments shouldn't be made. It doesn't mean you shouldn't ask questions, but getting the most from your coach starts with the simple advice of: Do what your coach tells you.

   
   

2. Communicate. Communication takes on many forms. It's putting qualitative comments in TrainingPeaks so your coach can understand how you are feeling. We see the data upload. We want to know how it feels! Communication is also important to let your coach know about upcoming travel plans and work or family commitments. We can't plan around things we don't know about it. It's also helpful to talk about season plans and upcoming race plans so your coach knows how important certain events are to you. I like to say that there is a big difference between doing an event and training for an event. Let your coach know which ones you want to do and which ones you want to focus on and build all your training around.

   
   

3. Own your process. At the end of the day, the role of a coach is to assist and support each athlete in their goals. We can't do the work for you and we can't do the "extra" little things that help with performance. There are a lot of things a coach can't control that have a significant impact on training and race performance- nutrition (training and daily), strength, equipment selection, mobility, sleep, stress management, and extra commitments. The athlete has to want their goal more than the coach does. We have an incredible team of coaches we've gathered under the Paragon umbrella to assist each athlete in whatever capacity you need.