"What kind of coach would I want to be?"

At lunch the other day, my friend Bob and I were talking when suddenly we came around to the topic of our futures.

"So Mr. Jeff," said Bob nonchalantly, "what do you want to do with yourself in the next few years?" At this he characteristically leaned slightly forward over his plate of half-finished Mexican food, eye-brows raised.

"Well you know Bob," I began, popping a fork full of rice and re-fried beans into my mouth, "I've a mind to be a running coach," <chew, chew> "but those I know in the field" <chew,chew> "tell me it's a tough road, and not one most folks can live on unless it's a college gig."

At this, Bob's eyes lit up slightly. "In that case, you must start your own coaching business!"

"Coaching business!?" I replied, surprised.

"Yes," said Bob, "if you like the thought of coaching, you should jump in and give it a try."

We talked more about it that afternoon, but you get the idea. Ever since I've been mulling it over in my head, wondering how something like that might be done. How does one run (no pun intended) a coaching business? More specifically perhaps, how does one coach people outside a school-setting?

These are not easy questions, but I feel they're ones I could answer in time. And I suspect the first question I would need to answer to get there would be this: what kind of coach would I want to be?

While I believe everyone's emotions are highly individual--and therefore have different needs so far as coaching is concerned--the foundation on which I think I'd establish my coaching philosophy would be grounded in a nurturing partnership between coach and athlete. Perhaps more than anything else, a grounded, healthy, and positive relationship seems to me a good place to begin any kind of physical training.

I've noticed that some athletes get that from their team-mates, others from their parents, and still others from friends or other relatives. Some even benefit from the support of all three. Yet many seem to lack even one such source, and it is for this group in particular who I believe would benefit most from a coaching philosophy centered on partnership and unconditional good-will. Everyone has different coaching needs, and figuring out what they are for each person seems like a good place to start.

In addition, I think everyone has different physical-training needs as well. As such, I would hope to be able to provide at least some measure of individualized training and/or instruction for each athlete in my care. Among others, factors such as "training age" (the number of years an athlete has been training in a particular sport), real age, level of ability, and motivation would influence my approach, which could be fine-tuned over time in response to how it works. People are different, and providing training that works with, rather than against, their body seems like a good approach.

Finally, as I coach I would hope to be capable of maintaining an open mind. It seems easy to get locked in a set of rigid ideas about how things should be done, but such an understanding really can leave us blind to problems which invariably arise. I think a coach, and athletes too, need to be able to question everything he or she believes with respect to their daily practice, so that when an injury strikes, or an unexpected result occurs, we can go back and figure out where our practice went wrong. In any activity in which learning is always present, a healthy humility may help us maintain an open mind.

So I don't know if I will pursue this coaching business or not, but I think these three broad ideas serve as a good place to start. As always, I'm open to feed-back if anyone has something they would like to share on this topic.

Happy Saturday, friends :)