Triathlon Coach

new2triathlon

Have been reading old posts in this forum, and have seen several advising triathletes to get a coach!!

How did people find their coach? What are the costs? And do you meet face to face or is it all done online. I personally think coach needs to be present at (some) sessions to advise on technique etc.

I am with a triathlon club, which is absolutely great, and have learnt so much from fellow club members However we have a run coach and swim coach but it's not really (a) joined- up thinking and (b) not focused on individuals goals.

So how did you find your coach and any recommendations?

tunney

I found my coach on a training weekend. I was on the look out for a coach and I liked his attitude and outlook. At the end of the weekend I asked him to coach me. I was very lucky - he is an excellent coach.

Costs? Varies - depends on the coach, what they offer, their level of experience and the rest. A good coach is worth it as they will deliver more bang per buck than anything else. But be careful a bad coach will do more damage than good.

You have to consider are you the type of person that can work with a coach. Are you willing to do what you're told, when you are told, how you are told? Are you willing to forgo training with groups and clubs and limiting yourself to similar minded athletes and solo training?

A coach, no matter how good, is not going to turn a donkey into a racehorse in a month or two. Its a long term committment and should be viewed as such.

What club are you in?

tri111

tunney wrote: »

I found my coach on a training weekend. I was on the look out for a coach and I liked his attitude and outlook. At the end of the weekend I asked him to coach me. I was very lucky - he is an excellent coach.

Costs? Varies - depends on the coach, what they offer, their level of experience and the rest. A good coach is worth it as they will deliver more bang per buck than anything else. But be careful a bad coach will do more damage than good.

You have to consider are you the type of person that can work with a coach. Are you willing to do what you're told, when you are told, how you are told? Are you willing to forgo training with groups and clubs and limiting yourself to similar minded athletes and solo training?

A coach, no matter how good, is not going to turn a donkey into a racehorse in a month or two. Its a long term committment and should be viewed as such.

Tunney,

I've often considered a coach for my triathlon training but the problem in this country is that there are no proper tri coaches, not that I know of anyway.

I presently do a lot of training by myself but it can be frustrating when I feel I'm not improving. I think a coach could give me more focus and a better structure to my training but I have the dilemma below.

I know you work with R. Brady who lives in England. He seems like a knowledgable coach as I was on a training camp in Italy with him a few years ago (you were there too incidentally). I've sometimes thought about getting him to coach me but the big problem I have with that is that he lives in another country. How can he coach you really effectively by simply sending emails with sessions and talking on the phone? Surely you need a coach to be present as much as possible to give advice on your technique (particularly for swimming)? I know you've said before on this forum that he sometimes travels over here and you get some face to face coaching then but is that really enough?

tunney

tri111 wrote: »

Tunney,

I've often considered a coach for my triathlon training but the problem in this country is that there are no proper tri coaches, not that I know of anyway.

I presently do a lot of training by myself but it can be frustrating when I feel I'm not improving. I think a coach could give me more focus and a better structure to my training but I have the dilemma below.

I know you work with R. Brady who lives in England. He seems like a knowledgable coach as I was on a training camp in Italy with him a few years ago (you were there too incidentally). I've sometimes thought about getting him to coach me but the big problem I have with that is that he lives in another country. How can he coach you really effectively by simply sending emails with sessions and talking on the phone? Surely you need a coach to be present as much as possible to give advice on your technique (particularly for swimming)? I know you've said before on this forum that he sometimes travels over here and you get some face to face coaching then but is that really enough?

The last two years Rich has been over once a month for a weekend. I find that that is enough for me. Technique is observed, specifics to work on indentified, work on them for 3 weeks, repeat.

Obviously he would be much more effective in a squad type set up. Every session done under him etc etc. However that's just not possible at the moment.

So you are left with a choice:
a) work with the coaches available that are in Dublin
b) train yourself
c) work with a top coach that you talk to every day and see once a month

I went with (c) - it works for me and I've come on a bit since I started working with Rich.

PM me your name

Zuppy

tri111 wrote: »

I've often considered a coach for my triathlon training but the problem in this country is that there are no proper tri coaches, not that I know of anyway.

I wonder why that is?

Sarcastic tone over, TI started a coaching program and it never progressed beyond a basic level. There are many online coaches and quite a few in Ireland who are slowly reinventing the wheel. It depends on what you want and what your willing to invest (time, effort etc)

I do echo Tunny's choices A-C, just decide what you want to achieve before you spend money.

tri111

ZuppyLurk wrote: »

I wonder why that is?

Sarcastic tone over, TI started a coaching program and it never progressed beyond a basic level. There are many online coaches and quite a few in Ireland who are slowly reinventing the wheel. It depends on what you want and what your willing to invest (time, effort etc)

I do echo Tunny's choices A-C, just decide what you want to achieve before you spend money.

So who are these coaches that are reinventing the wheel? I'd love to know as I don't see any advertisements anywhere for their services - for example, on the TI website there are no links for any coaching services that may be available for triathletes. Surely any coaches would want to advertise their services in order to get as much business as possible?
Apart from P. Kern, I don't know of anyone else who is a tri coach that lives in this country (although I'm not even sure if Kern lives here anymore).


BTW Tunney, I'll pm you later on.

pgibbo

Here is a coach that is based in Galway. I know he posts on here too. I'm not sure where coaches advertise. I just stumbled across this site before. It looks like Seb is pretty experienced, having been to Athens as a coach. I'm not sure how far up the food chain a level 3 registered Coach is? Do you tunney?

Zuppy

Sorry what I meant by reinventing the wheel is that grassroots coaching is around (in clubs and individuals) but they have no benefit of a proper coaching structure in which to learn faster without the trial and error method.

Which is why we are lacking club coaches and elite Irish coaches. Some of the level 1 batch of TI coaches, like myself, either fell away from the system or are not advanced enough along to set up professionally or wish to do so. I coach/ advise a few athletes but level 1 is not sufficent to set up a paying business.

Either I go to the UK and do their courses at expense or I stay informal here and have no official way of progressing. Since the level 1 course, I am not aware of another level 1 course running or that someone is bothering to write level 2. I have progressed by using other sports and training courses not specific to triathlon.

Even if we were to have an assimilation course for national grade athletes or people all ready coaching. I have since left triathlon and I hope some of my information is outdated. That in the off season there will be further coaching courses, that training camps are run (with Irish coaches backing up the international ones thus learning the ropes)


In regards Seb - He wrote the TI level one course in his previous post of coaching and development officer.

Ass

why do you need a coach, its just running, swimming and a bit of cycling?


ive been biking since i was about 7 or 8 and ive been running around the place from younger, so if anyone wants a coach i guess i could teach them how to ride a bike and run. but its pretty easy

Zuppy

Ass wrote: »

why do you need a coach, its just running, swimming and a bit of cycling?


ive been biking since i was about 7 or 8 and ive been running around the place from younger, so if anyone wants a coach i guess i could teach them how to ride a bike and run. but its pretty easy

Its really a mystic art form and if you wish to become a grand master you can either study for years and progress in petite steps....

Or send me $599 monthly for a year and obtain ultimate enlightenment.

new2triathlon

Thanks everyone for the replies. Its definetly given me more food for thought. I am someone who likes training in group setting- it pushes me to improve, and I like the social aspect. So realistically I would find it hard to abandon those and train on my own all of the time. However I miss most of running sessions (due to shift work), and do my own sessions, based on my own (very loose) schedule and club has only 1 swim session a week, so it is necessary to get more time in pool on own, and what to do is guess work for me!! [ I have asked swim coach, and he chatted to me briefly but its not the same as having a week by week program drawn up] Also for e.g my main goal for year is Dublin City Triathlon and I have no idea how to peak specifically for that.

Also slightly shocked by costs of coaching. I took part in juvenile athletics for years and never fully appreciated the monetary value I was getting from club coach (4 days a week, for some thing like £10 fee a year!)and also the provincial/national squad days/weekends etc (which even quite average athletes like myself had access to!

mloc123

new2triathlon wrote: »

Also slightly shocked by costs of coaching. I took part in juvenile athletics for years and never fully appreciated the monetary value I was getting from club coach (4 days a week, for some thing like £10 fee a year!)and also the provincial/national squad days/weekends etc (which even quite average athletes like myself had access to!

What is a ball park figure on coaching? PM me if you like.

Poncherello

sounds like there might be interest in a training weekend here in Ireland - any coaches on here like to organise one ??

locteau

Hi Guys,

I was reading the post, and thank you for talking about me :P

There is lots of reasons why you need a coach, and I think it is well explained on the web, there is very little international without one. (I don't know if I know any)

Regarding the price I agree it is very expensive, but you have to consider that I travel 4hours a day in which I am not paid for, so if I charge 60 euro for an hour I really get €60 for 5 hours which you have to remove tax etc.... same for swimming teacher, there is no way they can teach swimming for 8hours a day. As a professional the job is also demanding 7days a week Camps at each schools holidays, and you don't get paid for planing your sessions, analysing etc.... which takes more time than actually presenting the session I think you undertsand the principle. I also make the price higher than expected, so that I only get the poeple who are serious about it, to avoid been submerged by people who think I am a charity.

I trained a team in athletics in Athens and 2 triathletes in Beijing which one was training with Caroline at the time. I also support some ultra runners at international events and swimmers at national/international level which keep me very busy and have a contract with sponsors, countries etc.... which make things difficult. I only train 8 athletes full time a year and one or two local clubs. I don't think it is realistic to do more if you want to do quality.

I don't think my Level 3 coaching certificates in different sports or even my master in sports and medicine do have a impact on my coaching. I even don't think I am talented but work hard and got lucky. There is lots of great coaches in the country, even teh ones I trained where already above what I was teaching them and their patience of listening what they already knew show a great quality. but we had to start somewhere.

The level 1 is fully accredited and there is two tutors who can teach them in Ireland, I suppose TI do have plans for this. The level 2 was also completed by myself and was ready to be taught before I got very sick. It just need some new people to take this on, I gave over 6 years over this and change is good from time to time. from what I remember the UK certificate should have been assimilated by the NCTC (coaching Ireland) if a day course was held. But i don't know what is the situation is today.

Things just need to be finalised, and I do believe that before coaching athletes, the real ground base with a pool of coaches need to be build, then planning sessions not on a daily basic but on a minimum of a year plan woudl benefit any club and will motivate people to achieve targets.

There is lots of guys who are great triathlon coaches around, and they should be more involved. Coaching is not a one man show, and coach will never own an athlete, they are only guides and we should be in the background enjoying their success not our one, there is a need of sharing skills, experiences so that we make our athletes better alltogether and not one or two individuals.

At the end it is not about what you give them to do, it is all about their own personal input.