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Coaching Notes
by Larry Maile
A couple of things have come to mind recently, especially in my travels, and observing coaches and lifters in competition. I have had the occasion to see some very gifted coaches, and some less so. Coaching requires a discrete group of skills, and a specific mindset in order to the lifter to perform at his or her best.
Let me address the mindset issues first. As a coach, your job is, essentially, a behind-the-scenes one. You generally don't get to see the crowd, and other than for brief moments, they never see you. You must be focused on the work you have to do, and if a hands-on coach, your lifter. The work you do, and the comments you make are specifically dictated by the lifter. This means that you should know, beforehand what it is that helps your athlete, and what detracts from their performance. For example, some lifters like to be left alone, and/or prefer quiet. Some will require your assistance to get psyched up. But they will know. Ask them. If you have a quiet lifter, and you tend to be a loud coach, you run the risk of distracting them. If, on the other hand, they need you to be a motivator, then you must. Or you run the risk (for them) of sending them out flat. In either situation, their performance will not be optimal. By the same token, you must also use your judgment. If they are completely nervous, over stimulated, if you will, then more arousal will only counterproductive. Most athletes need to see you calm and confident. It is a very rare competitor who can ignore a nervous coach.
One of the mistakes I have witnessed, and been part of, is having too many people around a lifters. While it helps to have additional hands in the warmup room, when you get to the staging area, one hands-on person will generally do it. Others may track numbers, run attempts, etc., but should not necessarily be "in the lifter's face." Decide who is doing hands on, and let them do it. Any feedback should come through this coach, and NOT directly to the lifter. Of course, the concern is that the hands-on will not listen, or not pass information on. That is a matter best settled between the coaches, and not in front of the athlete, especially when they are preparing to lift. As a hands-on coach, though, it is your responsibility to "know what you know." That is, if you can't critique on the fly as some others, ask for advice. If you don't have an idea as to how to correct a form mistake, consult with your colleagues.
Timing is critical to a good lift. To be wrapped, or otherwise prepared too soon decreases the likelihood of a good lift. By the same token, rushing to the bar with seconds remaining on the clock is likely to distract the lifter from the aspects of the lift that they should be concentrating on. Some coaches can track the meet by sound, or with periodic checks of the order. Some need assistance. If you need someone to tell you how many attempts remain before your athlete, arrange for someone to do it in advance. Don't just grab someone to go find out. You may not get what you want in terms of accurate information, or focus. At some meets, you can listen for the order. At others, it is not given often, or isn't understandable. This is especially true if the language or the accent of the announcer makes them difficult for you to understand.
Probably the most important aspect of coaching is picking the right attempts. While there is not substitute for the athlete knowing what they are capable of, and you being familiar with their competition performance, sometimes you end up working with lifters you are unfamiliar with. One place where I differ from some other Head Coaches is that I believe that the very best coaches should be assigned to the least experienced coaches. The abilities of the better coach can help make up for the lifter being less meet savvy. But attempt selection is critical.
The first aspect to consider is opening attempts. Different lifters have different philosophies with regard to openers. In my experience, the most significant mistake a competitor can make is to open too high. Lifters often get caught up in worrying about how high they will finish. This tends to make them select openers that are not easy, or which they can't make under any circumstances. Remember, lifts done far from home under strange conditions are harder (often much) than gym lifts. A missed opener, because of too heavy an attempt selection is almost always followed by another miss, and another.
Lifters also are concerned about the size of jumps that they are going to make, and want to make small jumps, rather than larger ones. The same logic holds here, though. If the lifter is concerned with small jumps, that will often yield an opener that is too high, or will waste energy needed for succeeding attempts. Have them think about warmup jumps. It is not uncommon to jump a whole plate, or at least a half a plate (44-50 lbs.) in warmups. A 30 lb. jump from openers should not be difficult, and maybe even more. On a 600 lb. squat, it is only 5%. Most lifters can open at 90% of projected max, and jump 5% each attempt comfortably. Another test of openers, and projected attempts is training success. If a lifter wants to open with something that they completed a hard single with the last week, this may be ambitious. If they are opening with a weight that they have never done, you must consider this in light of recent training.
While it is difficult to overrule a lifter, you certainly can make suggestions. Keep in mind warmups as well. If they are struggling in the warmup room, they likely will in the meet. Recommend scaling back attempts so that they can make more of them. They will be more successful, and be more satisfied with an 8 for 9 day, even with less weight lifted, than a 3 for 9 (or a bomb). But, ultimately, they must decide to listen. And you can't coach the uncoachable, no matter how gifted you are. Your job is to provide the best coaching support possible. Know your lifters and give them the help that will maximize the possibility that they will do well. LJM
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