Words by Coach Carson McQuarrie
Coach Carson is a dedicated athlete and coach who specializes in ultra-distance cycling and plant-based nutrition. For more information on Carson’s coaching services, or to schedule a coaching consultation with him click HERE.
Article originally featured on TrainingPeaks
Whether an athlete purchases a training plan or pays for monthly personal coaching to guide them to their goal a connection between the athlete and a good coach is the service founded on the certainty that the athlete will achieve their goal. As humans, everyone intuitively knows life doesn’t always go to a plan such as during the COVID-19, requiring us to adjust. Similar to other commitments people make in life, there are lessons and practices that help the athlete-coach relationship weather inevitable uncertainties, allowing both parties to benefit from their vested interests.
Figure out What You Can and Can’t Control
Whether you’re in the very beginning stages of a training plan that’s meant to prepare you for a future goal or you’re halfway through that training plan and an obstacle arises, athletes are often faced with uncertainty that has the possibility to derail a single workout or more. It’s in these brief moments that athletes may feel overwhelmed, unsure of what to focus on. The lesson psychology teaches us is humans tend to live more congruently when they stop focusing on what they can’t control and instead focus and act on what they can control.
The practice of this looks like:
- Observing without taking personally the obstacle that’s arisen the uncertainty.
- Accepting how this makes you feel without becoming reactive.
- Assure yourself that how you feel is ok and you can move through it when you choose to.
- Learn what you can control and choosing to focus on that.
- Choose to act on what keeps you on the trajectory of success towards your goal.
In the athlete-coach relationship, there are two sides to the coin in how the athlete and coach separately deal with uncertainty. Athletes may be focusing on whether a specific obstacle has jeopardized their long-term training and finding space to complete a workout on any given day while for the coach the focus may be on figuring out how they may best support the athlete through their obstacles and assuring the athlete that a solution is possible to find that’ll result in the same or similar measure of success.
Maintain Communication
It is through transparent supportive communication that relationships last through obstacles and uncertainties. In the athlete-coach relationship, communication serves the purpose of allowing the athlete to communicate what they’re struggling with, verbalizing their need. This allows the coach to meet an athlete’s need by communicating understanding, empathy, and offering pragmatic solutions to achieve existing or a new definition of success. The lesson here is communication can only exist when it involves both people.
The practice of what this may look like in times of obstacles and uncertainties is:
- An athlete has been presented with a new obstacle to navigate.
- Communication occurs between the athlete and the coach over what’s occurred/occurring.
- Coach communicates understanding, empathy, and actionable guidance.
Show Up for the Relationship and Goal
Similar to most things in life, you get out what you put in. The same applies to the athletes and coaches working together. Coaches have a vested interest in making money and feeling rewarded when their athletes succeed at goals. Athletes have a vested interest in seeing their goals come to fruition, however, when obstacles arise athletes may devalue their goal, have difficulty continuing, and as a result, may not achieve their goal. The importance can’t be understated how both parties showing up for themselves and each other greatly increases the partnership working and goals being achieved.
The practice of what this can look like for the athlete and coach in different scenarios may be:
- Choose to focus on what your long-term goal is daily.
- Choose to focus on why your goal is important to you daily.
- Choose to prioritize communication with your coach or athlete when obstacles arise.
- Choose to act on what you and your coach agree to control on a daily basis.
The old adage, experience builds resilience, couldn’t be more true in times of uncertainty or crisis such as the current epidemic. So, athletes and coaches would benefit from such experiences by knowing they both can rely on each other. Relying on each other in difficult times happens to put things into perspective and make it easier to rely on each other when times are smooth sailing. Let’s remember these and apply them to our coaching and all personal relationships.
