Discussing the days training with 400mh Jeshua Anderson
This post is about the importance of creating an environment conducive to high levels of motivation and success. One of the major take-aways for coaches, athletes, and therapists whom visit the World Athletics Center is the atmosphere that surrounds it. The WAC is a destination for like-minded people to join forces, get their hands dirty, and proceed to one common goal: success.
I believe it is important to clarify that success does not necessarily mean podium finishes and World Records. In his book, Beyond Winning, author Gary M. Walton defines success as, “a piece of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you did your best to become the best you are capable of becoming”. This definition seems to go hand-in-hand with the mentality at the WAC. Coincidentally enough, for a lot of the athletes this does in fact culminate in podium finishes and the occasional World Record!
So how does one create such a culture within their training environment? It just so happens that my mentor, Stu McMillan, answered this question in a Twitter post (@StuartMcMillan1) minutes before I sat down to write this article by saying:
1. Display empathy – show you care
2. Give autonomy – allow for choice
3. Create competence – do what the athletes are good at
Coaches should display both athletic empathy – an understanding of how the training feels – as well as traditional empathy outside of training. This will allow the opportunity for a deeper connection to be formed with the athlete.
Athletes must be educated about the training principles and underlying physiology. Once a certain level of understanding and expertise is achieved the athlete(s) should be included in decision-making processes. Coach Dan Pfaff does a great job of this by prescribing ranges into his programs. One of the great benefits of programming this way is that the athlete is now allowed a choice and as a result is much more invested in the training.
Coaches can help create competent athletes by spending time working on the strengths of those athletes. Programs will too often attack nothing but perceived weaknesses, which creates many negative feelings including a loss of confidence. An unconfident athlete is never a good thing, especially near competitions. This concept was one of the first things taught to me by Coach McMillan and has since been adopted into my own training philosophy.