Knowledge vs Wisdom

I have just spent a week at the Super Sports Centre at Runaway Bay on the Gold Coast, doing the opening leg of the level three triathlon coaches course.

To be honest, I only applied for selection, (only ten coaches of elite athletes from around Australia were selected) to spend time with the best coaches and share ideas. To me being “level three” is a bit hollow. My goal is to be the best triathlon coach I can possible be. When I have one of my athletes standing on the podium, whether it’s at the Hawaii Ironman or the local enticer series, it doesn’t matter too much, what level I am.   

It was an excellent experience facilitated by Bill Daveron and Craig Redmond of TA. The format was, apart from four presenters, (all experts in their fields) group discussion and problem solving. A workshop type atmosphere.  

In the past, when I have been to coaching seminars or at the level two course, I have been with much the same group of coaches.

At previous gatherings, I have felt like a bit of “an outsider”. Many of the other coaches have sports science backgrounds. My own background is based on the study of sports science from a background of experience. I have raced over thirty Ironmans coming from the back of the field to gradually work my way up to placing as an age grouper several times in Hawaii.

Some of the other coaches have never raced a triathlon but have enough degrees and diplomas to wallpaper my office.

The reason I have felt like an outsider is I have always believed coaching is seventy percent intuition, reading body language, people skills and thirty percent sports science.

The rest of the group have come at the task from a ninety percent sports science and ten percent people skills perspective.

I just couldn’t see it that way. We’re dealing with people, who have doubts, fears, ambitions, passion and a good old bit of mongerel in them. Now it doesn’t matter how much physical talent an athlete has, he/she is still a person and needs to be approached from the human angle. It’s not like programing a robot.

But like in the movies, this story has a happy ending.

Now that these coaches have reached the level of “elite coaches”, they now unaninously agree that coaching is seventy percent people skills and thirty percent sports science.

I’m so happy for them. How could they have reached their coaching potential with the “old view”?