Competition Coaching

Having just come back from the NFL Scouting Combine helped remind me how much I have been helped by my experiences coaching athletes in competition. I have been fortunate enough to have coached athletes internationally in weightlifting and in the high school setting in track as well. These experiences have given me both an appreciation for what an athletes goes through, and a mind set of preparing and protecting my athletes.
If you are going to be a performance coach, it can be a tremendous value to have the experience of coaching in competition. I believe track & field, and weightlifting, provide the perfect opportunity to do this. They are very different than coaching a team sport. In team sports its usually about group dynamics and an ongoing season. In these individual sports its about peaking and preparing the athlete for battle psychologically.

As I was at the combine, I can't help but notice how many performance coaches have spent weeks or months preparing their athletes physically, only to pay no attention to their preparation days before the event. As a weightlifting coach early in my career, I was brought up on some basic fundamentals; manage the stress of the athlete, be prepared for contingencies, keep them peaked physically while travelling.

Minimizing stress for your athlete is huge. As much as possible, it should be someone's responsibility to take care of schedules, travel, accommodations, eating arrangements, directions to venues/training sites, etc... Basically, the athlete should not have to focus on figuring stuff out. Make it easy for them. Their mental and emotional energy should be preparing for competition.


Another aspect of minimizing stress (and probably the bigger impact) is how the people around the athlete conduct themselves. As the coach, athletes can feed off your tone. You need to project calm and confidence for your athlete. EVEN WHEN YOU DON'T FEEL IT. Fake it in front of them. Few things can erode an athlete's confidence faster than doubt, anxiety and negativity in their coach.

I was an Eagle Scout so BE PREPARED is something I have had hammered in. As the coach, are you ready for problems, because something will not go as planned. Did you have your athlete put critical gear in their carry-on for when their luggage is lost? Do you build in extra travel time to arrive early so when the shuttle breaks down you don't miss the start? DO you have a back-up plan when you can't get into that room you were going to use for a dynamic warm-up the night before? The list is endless, and coaching/managing on national and international trips you will learn these things matter quickly.

Check out all of the venues and sites beforehand. Know the layout and what will happen where and when. How will things be run? What do you want to make sure your athlete knows ahead? Don't let them be surprised or thrown off their game.

The physical side is probably the most obvious for many performance coaches, but still often overlooked. I can't tell you how many athletes spent many weeks and lots of money preparing for the Combine, only to show up and have not done anything physical for 4-5 days before the biggest "track meet" of their careers. They don't sleep, eat poorly and do nothing physical, then hope they run and jump well on day 4. Worse of all, their performance coaches aren't taking steps to avoid this.

We often have the athlete whose family shows up and wants to keep him up late or the agent ho wants to go have a nice heavy steak dinner at 10:00PM when the athlete is getting up at 5:30 tomorrow to run. Its my job as a coach to try to manage these problems before hand and intercede when I can. I need to be the advocate looking out for my athletes.

Getting guys to do an early warm-pool workout after a day of travel, dynamic warm-ups, mental rehearsal, practicing starts, stretching, therapy, and soft tissue work are all pieces of the puzzle I try to manage. Make sure you have nutrition for them. At the NFL Combine, guys are stuck in interviews or medical exams for extended hours. Make sure they have healthy snacks.


Without having coached individual sport athletes in competition I would not have the same perspective. As a coach trying to develop, you should try to find those opportunities. Join a club and help coach track, weightlifting, or powerlifting. If you are not the competition coach, become a support for those clubs and coaches and travel to a competition. Learn by doing and see what you can add to your coaching toolbox.