Mastering Coaching Skills in Endurance Sports

Identifying and explaining how you work with athletes is critical to growing your coaching business.

By Joe Friel

Your coaching philosophy and methodology are central to your coaching in many ways. These foundational aspects will likely be how athletes and many others in your field come to think of you—what makes you different and what makes you successful. You should be willing, and even eager, to communicate your philosophy and methodology to your athletic world in some way.

The most respected and effective coaches I have known over the last few decades made their mark by publicizing how and why they coach. So how do you make your platform for coaching known, without being a nuisance? I would suggest that you promote it to your potential audience in your sport—and do it over and over in subtle ways.

And that starts by defining your coaching philosophy and methodology.

Coaching Philosophy: The basic beliefs that guide your everyday behavior.

In order to define that philosophy, as yourself two questions. Write out your answers and keep coming back to them to tweak the answers until they feel just right.

• Who are you as a coach?

• Why do you do things the way you do?

Coaching Methodology: The system that informs your work with athletes.

When it comes to your methodology as a coach, it's a matter of what you do as a coach and how you do it.

In the following video, Joe Friel provides an overview of different coaching styles, methodologies, and philosophies, then looks at some well-known coaches in both traditional sports and endurance sports to better understand these concepts.

Finally, he opens up the discussion to a panel of coaches, including Neal Henderson, Grant Holicky, Mike Ricci, Rebecca Gross, Joe Gambles, and Trevor Connor as they identify and reflect on their own style, methodology, and philosophy.

With perspective from over 40 years of coaching experience, Joe Friel shares his detailed list of qualities that make a good coach.

Joe Friel introduces the eight skill sets and knowledge bases he believes are critical for becoming an effective coach.

If you’ve been around your sport for some time, especially as a coach, you probably have a pretty good idea of the skills and knowledge that are necessary, and you likely have a sense of what your strengths and weaknesses are in each of those areas. Obviously, we are not all good at the same things. I know of many coaches who check most all the boxes when it comes to certain coaching skills and knowledge, but they are quite lacking in others. That’s just the nature of life. No one knows everything; we all have room for improvement. That’s the first sign of a good coach—someone always seeking improvement.

In the following video, I introduce eight areas of competency that coaches need to cultivate: people skills, analytical skills, planning skills, teaching skills, sport-specific knowledge, sport science knowledge, technological knowledge, and business knowledge.

Over my coaching career I have occasionally come across coaches who are clearly lacking in some aspect of coaching and yet they assume that all is fine. But that’s rare, as most endurance coaches are quite skilled and knowledgeable.

Of course, it’s easy for us to recognize the shortcomings of others. When it comes to assessing your own coaching expertise, I would ask you to take a risk and be truly honest with yourself. I would like you to come away from this session with a sense of your weaknesses and a solid plan for becoming a better coach by improving your skills and knowledge.

What follows are the skills and knowledge areas that I consider critical to being an effective coach—a good, successful, and happy coach. This is strictly my opinion based on more than 40 years of coaching—there’s undoubtedly more that could be added to this list.

But eventually the additions become less important and even confusing as subtleties emerge and overlap becomes increasingly apparent. So in the following lessons you will learn more about 8 significant skills and knowledge areas that will make you an effective coach. They are:

• Business Knowledge

• Technological Knowledge

• Sports Science Knowledge

• Sport-Specific Knowledge

• Teaching Skills

• Planning Skills

• Analytical Skills

• People Skills

We could have a heated debate about whether specific competencies belong higher or lower on the figure. Let’s instead focus on what each means for your coaching. I encourage you to give each of these areas of expertise careful consideration—really think about where you are strong and where you are weak. It’s my hope that you will come away with a better understanding of the limits in your skills and expertise and know what to do to improve.

Joe Friel explains why people skills are the most important talent required to become an effective and successful coach, and how to improve them.

Joe Friel details the ways in which coaches can identify strengths and weaknesses in movement patterns, motivation, and training execution.

Joe Friel explores the development of annual training plans, short-term plans, and matters beyond sport-specific workouts.

Joe Friel explains the keys to becoming both a good coach and teacher, and taking ownership in an athlete's progress.

A good coach is a good teacher. But a good teacher is not always a good coach. As a coach, it comes down to having “skin in the game.” Good coaches don’t just teach the athlete how to improve performance, they take ownership of the athlete’s progress and results—it’s a team effort.

Before you can start teaching it’s essential that you know the athlete’s current levels of skill, expertise, and knowledge. This is largely your opinion based on your understanding of the athlete and your experience coaching athletes in the sport. That will determine the client’s starting point and suggest a rate of progression as you help them to grow as an athlete.

From there, you can begin to slowly and systematically introduce objectives and components of your plan in face-to-face workout sessions, in meetings (either in person or online), in written messages, or even in video presentations.

When working with athletes who are newer to the sport, it is easy to overwhelm the athlete with information. To avoid making this mistake, carefully introduce skills, information, event knowledge, and training methodologies with the athlete’s current performance, potential, and level of understanding in mind.

This is also when the coach begins to incrementally inspire the athlete to perform at a high level in alignment with the plan. Progression going forward is relative to the athlete’s response—physically, mentally, and emotionally.

Avoid forcing new athletes to adopt an artificial progression schedule in order to make gains quickly. This is an easy trap to fall into as there is likely an approaching event on the athlete’s schedule. When you rush the athlete’s preparation it is likely to result in a poor performance, a loss of confidence, and reduced motivation to proceed.

There is no doubt that you must be fully aware of the unique demands of the event for which you are preparing the athlete. Not only does the client expect it but you are putting yourself in legal jeopardy if it becomes apparent that you didn’t know the stresses for which you were hired to prepare the athlete and the athlete has a dangerous or even life-threatening experience.

In addition to designing a plan based on the known challenges of the event, the athlete will look to you for guidance in knowing what to expect and how to deal with the many difficulties that must be confronted. So let’s start with the obvious—as a coach you must know the physical and mental stresses of the event. This includes:

• the athlete’s expected time on the course

• anticipated intensities of their movement

• the risks of crashing

• extreme elevation changes

• need for food and fluids

• or other high-risk activities such as crossing open water, negotiating hilly terrain, and exposure to severe weather

Be aware of the risks and make sure the athlete is also aware. This is the minimum expectation. In addition, there are many far less perilous but necessary details you must be knowledgeable of when preparing the athlete for an event.

Coaches also need to be well-versed in event rules, common practices, race entry/qualification, expected performance level requirements, and scheduling. You must be an expert on the many nuances of the sport from clothing needs to equipment to outside assistance to details of the course. It’s imperative that you know the sport and the event inside and out.

Much of this will probably come from your experience as an athlete in the sport you coach. That’s common among coaches. But there may be times when you coach an athlete who has little or no knowledge of what they are attempting. On the other hand, I’ve coached athletes for events for which I had little or no experience. I coached both the male and female national champions in endurance horse racing (the riders, not the horses). What I knew about the sport I learned from the athletes. I was fortunate to have highly experienced clients.

Even when you know the sport well, you must keep up with the ongoing changes in rules, courses, methods, equipment, and much more. This is easy to do if you also compete in the sport. If you don’t participate in a sport you coach, then it’s important that you stay abreast of what’s happening by reading sport-related websites, magazines, social media; by staying in touch with the sport’s national governing body and the particular event for which you are preparing the athlete; and by talking with officials, athletes, and other coaches.

There is risk associated with being a coach just as there is with being an athlete. But it’s a different type of risk. Be prepared. Learn all you can. It’s imperative that you are knowledgeable of the sport and the event for which you are preparing the athlete. And make sure that the athlete is also aware of what he/she will be facing in the event.

Joe Friel describes the evolution of sports tech, explains how to keep up with new advancements, and offers tips on improving technological knowledge.

Technology is supposed to make our lives easier, for both coaches and athletes. There are plenty of coaches who are opposed to technology. You can even find these coaches hanging out on social media. They want athletes to compete based solely on RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion).

At the far end of the spectrum, there are coaches who are opposed to any data that can be uploaded to an app to be viewed and analyzed online. Whether this resistance to technology is born out of a desire to keep the sport “pure” or a desire to remain focused on human sensation, it makes for a difficult landscape for athletes.

Evolution of Sport Technology

When I was a young runner in high school and college (1950s and ‘60s), only the coach had a stopwatch. It was a rather big contraption that hung around his neck on a lanyard and was treated with great care. The only way an athlete knew how he/she was performing was if the coach announced the time from his watch. Then in the late 1960s the first wrist-worn stopwatch came on the market. For the first time in my life I had personal access to technology and knew in real time how I was performing.

Amazingly, there were people opposed to such devices. Only the coach should know that and relay it—and only if and when he thought it was appropriate. There was a fear that the athlete was being given too much control. Performance (as determined by elapsed time) was coach-only data, they seemed to believe.

In 1977 the heart rate monitor was invented in Finland. For decades endurance athletes had manually checked their heart rates during workouts to monitor intensity. A finger on the carotid artery in the neck told the athlete what their effort was. This was especially popular in swimming.

The Polar heart rate monitor made this much more precise since the athlete could check it on their wrist without stopping. Some were opposed to heart rate monitors as they took human sensation out of training and competing. Stopwatches were all we needed they said. Today it’s a widely accepted tool for athletes in all endurance sports.

Then in 1987 the bicycle-mounted power meter was invented in Germany. It took more than 15 years to become accepted among road cyclists and, later on, triathletes and mountain bikers. The data it provided was overwhelming when compared with time and heart rate. In the early years of power meters, it could take nearly as long to analyze a ride as to actually do it. And, of course, many were (and still are) opposed to using power meters for the same reasons as the sport technology that preceded it.

This historical perspective on sport technology could go on and on with, for example, devices that use GPS to measure speed and distance and power measurement for sports other than cycling. In the last few years the rate at which new measuring devices have come on the market is amazing, including technology for body temperature, glycogen, lactate, muscle oxygen saturation, and many more.

There are also wearable devices that measure and report through apps how many steps were taken, how many flights of stairs climbed, how long one slept and the "quality" of the sleep, and what the athlete’s estimated VO2max and functional threshold are. And the list goes on and on.

Today’s Tech

The devices and technology on the market today often meet with resistance from coaches who, again, feel that it is interference with the athlete’s internal perception of exertion. However, I really doubt that this is the whole reason for the opposition. Much of the resistance may also have to do with the challenge of trying to keep up. There is so much new technology in endurance sports now that it’s become hard to stay current.

So many coaches draw the line and resist new technology beyond that point. I can sympathize with them. It’s a real challenge to stay current on the new technology. I sometimes feel the need to resist too. But, eventually, I come to accept that I should really understand this new technology. There may be something here that would prove to be beneficial. And, besides, I know athletes are going to ask me about it, so I feel a strong need to keep up with change.

Coaches who love data are often eager to check out all the latest innovations. As a coach, it’s often important to buffer this enthusiasm somewhat because it can distract you (or your athletes) from the most important metrics and objectives. And there have been times when the latest and greatest technology proved not to deliver on its promise or value in the long run.

Joe Friel explores one of the major stumbling blocks for coaches: creating and maintaining a profitable business.

The business side of coaching can be a real stumbling block, and although this topic is the last one to be addressed, it does not mean that business skills are of little value compared with the other skills and knowledge bases. It’s certainly as relevant to your potential success as any other topic we’ve covered.

Personally, I learned the hard way about the importance of having solid business knowledge. I used to own a running store, which eventually became a triathlon store in the early 1980s. I came to this profession by way of a high school teaching and coaching career. I thought opening a running store would be a lot of fun. And as for making money? Well, that was a secondary concern for me back then. With no real working knowledge of retail, it seemed rather simple: I would buy merchandise at wholesale, sell it at retail, and put the difference in my pocket. Easy!

It didn’t turn out that way, however. I lost enough money in my first year of business that I could have paid for an MBA at the Harvard Business School. But I learned a lot over those seven years. The first lesson: Being profitable is very difficult. When I eventually started a coaching business I brought the lessons learned in retail to my new endeavor. It was a great experience in that regard.

About the same time that I was forging ahead with my coaching company, a book hit the market titled The E-Myth(opens in a new tab) by Michael E. Gerber. This book opened my eyes to the mistakes I had made as a retailer and how to avoid them in a coaching business. Things really fell into place for me for my second business venture. I’d highly recommend that you read Gerber’s book or check out his EMyth business coaching program. His basic premise is that most all small businesses are started by technicians, not entrepreneurs—hence, the myth about entrepreneurs.

A coach knows a lot about coaching athletes but really isn’t a business person, much less, an entrepreneur. Entrepreneurs are people who understand the “hows” and “whys” of running a business and making it profitable. Technicians know little or nothing about such things but are really good at providing a service to clients. For a technician-owned business to become successful, the owner must become knowledgeable about business. There’s no other way to make it work.

If you are not already committed to running a coaching business, weigh this decision before you commit to launching your own coaching business. Many years ago my brother called me to say he was thinking about quitting his job and starting a new company, having been in the heating and air conditioning business as a technician for decades. I asked why. He told me that he knew more about fixing heating and air conditioning equipment than the owner of the business. There was no doubt he was very good as a technician. He had been recognized as one of the best in his field in the Midwest region.

But a red flag went up for me when he said this. I asked what he knew about cashflow, making a profit, hiring and firing employees, managing the accounting, marketing, maintaining an inventory, and all of the other stuff that is necessary to successfully operate a business. He admitted that he knew nothing about such things. I explained that was what his current boss knew. He hired technicians to do the hands-on stuff while he kept the business booming. Not knowing the details of owning and running a business would lead him down the same path I had experienced with my retail store. He decided not to leave his job. I was very glad.

Resources on Building Your Business

I highly recommend E-Myth as a great resource for coaches looking to be more adept at running their business. (The E-Myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It, by Michael E. Gerber)

There are many other books on starting and running a small business. A quick search will provide scores of such titles. Be sure to look for ones that are written for small businesses started by a technician (assuming that is your background).

• From Start-Up to Grown-Up: Grow Your Leadership to Grow Your Business, by Alisa Cohn

• Profit First: Transform Your Business from a Cash-Eating Monster to a Money-Making Machine, by Mike Michalowicz

• The Young Entrepreneur’s Guide to Starting and Running a Business: Turn Your Ideas into Money! Steve Mariotti

• Mind Your Business: A Workbook to Grow Your Creative Passion Into a Full-time Gig, by Ilano Griffo

• The Small Business Bible: Everything You Need to Know to Succeed in Your Small Business, by Steven D. Strauss

• Starting a Business All-in-One for Dummies, by Bob Nelson & Eric Tyson

• Small Business for Dummies, 5th ed., by Eric Tyson & Jim Schell

  
  

Another great option is to check with your local college or chamber of commerce about classes, in-person or online, on starting and running a small business. In my own experience, this proved quite helpful.

Other options include talking with an accountant on how to be profitable. He or she can likely provide lots of reading materials or point you in the right direction. Also, talk with a lawyer about the same topic—this will provide a different point of view from your accountant’s. That’s good as you will need a broad background to get started down the right path.

You may also hire a manager with a business skills background to oversee this area of your business for you. You be the technician and let the other partner/employee run the day-to-day operations of the company. Along this line, you may look for recent college graduates with a business major who are also athletes in your sport. I know of such an arrangement for a coaching company in the United Kingdom. Besides sharing a portion of the business profits with the partner, the coach provides free coaching services as partial remuneration.

This, again, is another place where a mentor with a background in small business operations can prove valuable. Such coaches are hard to find so you may need to search outside of the world of sports. Someone with a successful small business, especially one that provides services to individuals regardless of the type of service, would be a great resource. Don’t be afraid to ask. It’s amazing who you can bring on board as a “free” consultant by framing your search as “for a mentor.”