046: Bringing Out the Best in Athletes and People: Coaching and Personality Styles

What good is a running coach?  When Kevin started running, his high school coach was a coaching legend with decades of success.  When Angie began running to be a faster runner, she relied on Kevin.

The coach creates the runner both physically and mentally.  They are like the artist carving the statue out of the rock. The mindset of a strong coach should be as Michealangelo stated: “Every block of stone has a statue inside it and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it.”  The coach needs to see the runner and find the best way the bring out the highest potential.

In this episode, we discuss several coaching styles and bring up the benefits and challenges of each.  While there are dozens of ways to categorize coaches from mileage to which coaching legend you follow, we came up with four to cover in this show

The "numbers" coach relies on a calculator to take an athlete from point a to point b.  They have a very solid starting point and regularly check the latest scientific research to decide the best ways to get the exact physical adaptations.  They may struggle with getting locked into thinking that one plan will work for every athlete.

The "cheerleader" or "mom" coach brings the smile and support no matter what.  High Five! They are fully invested in the athlete and that is incredibly supportive through difficult times.  While this coach is awesome, one of the challenges is clarifying the relationship between coach and friend and being able to push the athlete beyond what might feel good.

The "drill sergeant" or "tough love" has no issues with the accidental friend relationship.  They are authoritarian. They will push the athlete to try to get them to their greatest potential day in and day out. They often have very successful athletes, because the athlete has no choice.  The challenge comes when the athlete must rely on themselves and the coach is not around. Athletes with a drill sergeant may be more likely to either push into injury to appease the coach or give up in moments when the coach is not around.  

The "woowoo" coach places mental training as the highest priority.  They set out to empower the athlete to face any obstacle by developing mental tactics.  The challenge comes from getting the athlete to buy-in. This is not usually a quick fix coaching role and the approach may be a little frightening for an athlete.  

Ultimately the question becomes, what type of coach is best?  It is the coach who can tap into every style when the athlete needs them.  The coach who recognizes when cheering is better than pushing will succeed. The coach who knows when to train the body and when to train the mind has the advantage.  

The best coach is the coach who values the success of the athlete above all else and uses whatever strategies necessary to help them achieve it.

Hope you enjoy it!! Let us know if you have any questions that you would like answered on our show!   

Thanks for Listening!!

Do you love the show and want to help us to continue to produce great content for you?  Please consider becoming a patron to support us and show your love and appreciation!  Pledge as little as $1 per month, $1 per episode, or any other amount you want!  

Check out our all new premium membership program, where we create a new running and strengthening plan for you every month!  It takes out all of the guesswork, giving you a 30 min and 45 min option for your running days, with time-based and effort-based workouts so that you can become a stronger runner, no matter where you are right now on your running journey!  It also includes runner-specific strengthening, drills, mobility work, and HIIT workouts to keep you running strong and injury-free.  

Come join us for the Key West Half Marathon on January 20, 2019!  It is our first Real Life Runners destination race, and we would love to meet you in person!  We currently have a discount code for our listeners, so if you are ready to register, use the code REALLIFE when checking out on Active.com for 15% off of your registration!  Also, be sure to add yourselves to part of our team, Real Life Runners!  Come and join us!

If you have a topic you would like us to talk about, please send us an email at [email protected]   

Come find us on Facebook and Instagram and say hi!  

Click here to request to be added to our private Facebook tribe!

Leave an honest review on iTunes. Your ratings and reviews really help and we read each one!

Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, iHeartRadio, or Google Play

Interested in Custom training plans and Personalized Coaching? Check that out here!

Check out our other episodes here

Have you seen our members-only area with a HUGE video library of strengthening, stretching, foam rolling, and mobility exercises, and more!!  Check that out here!

Right click here to download this episode directly to your computer

Don't forget: The information in this website is not intended to treat or diagnose any medical condition or to provide medical advice. It is intended for general education in the areas of health and wellness. All information contained in this site is intended to be educational in nature. Nothing should be considered medical advice for your specific situation.

*Note:  Some links above are affiliate links and by purchasing through our link, we earn a small commission from your purchase.  Your purchase price is the same whether you use the link or not.