I get a whacky number of sport science grads who promise to revolutionise our practice but can’t teach a person to squat.
But even more silly is why do strength coaches so badly want to work with athletes?
If it’s coaching you really care about, you’ll be happy to try and make anyone stronger.
And my take is athletes get enough and more attention. And that’s what most coaches who aspire to work with athletes want. The attention and recognition.
There are a few who genuinely believe I don’t think this group of athletes is doing enough isometrics or eccentric training and be an evangelist for the use of a specific training modality.
But majority of programming for athletes is incredibly cookie cutter and templated stuff. I am yet to hear a revolutionary cue trickle down from a court or field to the neighbourhood gym.
And the even harsher truth, someone competing at the highest level of a sport is probably someone who had a whole bunch of traits that were well-suited for that sport. They’re going to be fine even with MEH or less than bespoke program.
But I get why everyone wants to be next Pierre Paganini (Federer’s fitness coach). You want that fame that comes with being associated with a successful athlete. Hell, even NYtimes did a piece on him.
There is no fame or glory in getting the neighbourhood aunty to her first pull up. There’s joy to it. But that’s the thing. Coaching for joy is not the same coaching for fame or glory.
Keeping a person coming back to gym when they have no olympics or national open is much harder. But there’s money in it. Can you find the joy in it though? Especially when there is no fame that comes with it
