Hi Jimmy - yes! The biomechanics are the foundations but the sky's the limit when it comes to teaching them.....
Everybody and every athlete is different in their own ways. When I coach athletes per say on a team, I still deal with them as individuals 75% of the time. Everyone also learns in their individual way.
Fascinating stuff. I wonder if my personality affects my gait. Hmmmm. Something to think about when I start to run again. Then again, after all I've been through, I wonder if my recent experiences will affect my gait, not for physical reasons but for psychological ones.
I was thinking about this thread yesterday and the gait/personality thing. I watched this woman running ahead of me, her arms not moving much and her upper body pretty stiff, but chugging along faster than I could. Now, I have no idea what her distance was but I kept wondering if that was a sustainable gait and then thought that maybe personality, injury history, training style, etc dictated that movement style and if she could keep it up it must be working.
Phrenology? Dang here you go with the hard words again Lee. Be back in a little bit after googling it.
You guys have fantastic experience. Here is what I feel is one problem. I was at my sons track meet and a lady started to say negative things about the coaches saying they didn't do plyometrics, etc. She then went on to say she was a coach. Based on lot's of reading and on what I've learned here I found that I did not agree with lot's of what she had to say, especially the part about the team's coaches. So here is my point. If there is no standard and anyone can say they are a coach, than how does one know when they hire a coach that it's not going to turn out to be someone like her? Jim
I agree references can be a big deal. I get the majority of my clients from referrals. Everyone has to start somewhere so you'll have to get people to take a chance on you at first based either on your sales skills or your resume (including education). Not all coaches are equal the same as doctors, accountants, financial investors, etc.
References can be useful, although they are based on the judgment of others. Your own judgment is better at determining what is right for you. Sounds like you were easily able to identify her as someone who was not going to be be a good fit. Giving the lady the benefit of the doubt, perhaps she could be helpful to someone out there. Clearly, she wasn't going to be helpful to you, that's the most important thing. That being said. Sometimes one lacks the expertise to judge, and then seeking out the opinions of others can be helpful, such as other parents or your team's coaches.
Regarding certification, I'm with Jason that it's not as useful for coaching on an individual level. As someone who works in a highly regulated industry, I understand that certification and licensing can establish that people have met the minimum requirements or competencies for a particular field. These fields are usually ones that involve public services or individual safety, such as health care, engineering/electrical codes, airlines, teaching, fire/rescue. Within these fields, two conditions appear to be important. The public often lacks the expertise to assess the competency of the professional, and an incompetent professional might cause great harm to people or property. In addition to certification and licensing, these fields are often highly regulated by law. Certification cannot determine quality or excellence or appropriate fit of a professional to an individual. For example, many surgeons are certified, but vary highly in skill, training, and surgical success rate. In ambiguous cases, referrals are good. Asking relevant questions is important. Also, look carefully at the background, past experiences, and accomplishments of the professional. The qualities of a good professional should be apparent upon interacting with them. For example, it's not recommended for people to put their MBA degree on business cards, as it's thought that "the business skills attained via an M.B.A. should be evident in one's work or conversations". The same would appear to apply in finding a good coach.
