For anyone who has been involved in the Weightlifting community for longer than two or three years has been able to witness the growing numbers of competitors and coaches over time. With great supply comes great demand and the rising number of competitors is also increasing the need for competent weightlifting coaches and facilities to house them.
But, what exactly are you getting into when you start working with a coach? How do you know what kind of coach they are or what their style is like? How do you know if they’re even a coach at all?
Here are a couple of coaching personalities that you may encounter in your weightlifting career:
The CRUSH IT Coach
Yes, caps lock is necessary. Imagine yourself about to take a lift at 80% and you hear from across the gym, “LET’S GOOO, PULL THAT $&#@ YEAHHHHHH!!!” CRUSH IT Coach is always trying to get you hyped up for your next lift no matter what. Movement and technique may or may not fall to the wayside with Coach CRUSH IT, but as long as you move some weight and try to damage the equipment when you’re done with a lift, Coach CRUSH IT will probably tag you in an Instagram video. #TagMe
The Single-Cue Coach
To Single-Cue Coach, there is only one thing that will make any lift better. It could be anything…GET THE BAR BACK! “When?” GET IT BACK! “Ok, I’ll get it back”. Then next lift was so far back that you missed it on the other platform behind you. “What happened coach?” “You didn’t get the bar back!”
The Over-Coach
The Over-Coach will take coaching cues to the next level. Instead of giving Cliff’s Notes when cueing an athlete, Over-Coach will slip into an oral defense of their doctoral dissertation complete with bibliography and scientific notation. Information overload for many, #tbt to Engineering School for others. Kids, grab your Trapper Keepers because class is in session after every lift.
The Old-School Coach
There is no mistaking the Old-School Coach…mainly because they preface every sentence with how long they’ve been coaching. Old-School Coach will always be a great resource for those who are new to the sport to gain coaching experience. One day, they will all get together and start a website called www.WeightliftingAncestry.com so we can all trace our Weightlifting beginnings to a single-celled protozoa from Bulgaria. Until then, it sounds like a business idea is left wide open…
The Big Deal Coach
BDC is always a step above the rest. There’s a good chance they’ll only be seen talking to their posse…if they’re even seen talking at all. Your best hope for communication is receiving a cold glance if you walk too close to their territory in the warm-up room or training hall. BDC has seen and done it all, but before you get bent out of shape over getting mean-mugged, just remember they didn’t choose this life of fame and fortune; it chose them.
The Athlete Slash Coach
Coaching is tough and so is being an athlete, but add the “slash” and it balances everything out! In between posting videos of themselves for #SelfPromotion, they’ll probably look around to make sure the athletes they’re supposed to be coaching didn’t catch their last set on video from a different angle. The best way to coach is by example, so sit back and watch as The Slash shows you how to get after it.
The Made-Overnight Coach
The MO’s M.O. might be just starting, but they have war stories from back in the day before their time. Nevermind the fact that they might not have a club of their own or certifications of any kind, if they said they took an athlete to nationals or mentored a successful coach, they freaking did it! No references needed!