50 for 50 Idea #18: Hire a Coach

posted on: May 3, 2018
author: Brian Lomax, Ed.D.

In January of 2012, I turned 44. In the past couple of years prior to that, I had not played many competitive tennis events. However, I was going to be 45 in another year and that meant entering a new age group. I would be young again! This was another opportunity to compete at a high level, and I wanted to be completely prepared for it. So I came up with a training plan, and a part of that plan was to hire a coach to help me. Actually, I hired 2 coaches to be on Team Brian.

One of the coaches was hired to help me with my on-court game. Even though I’m a decent player, I knew I could be better if I worked at it. The other coach was to help me get stronger and fitter, and that needed A LOT of work! And hiring these coaches to be on my team totally paid off. I got better at a strength of mine (tennis) and I improved an area that needed improvement (strength & conditioning), which led to me having three good years between 2013 and 2015.

So do you have a coach? If you’re a young athlete, it’s likely that you do have a coach who works with you during practice and competition on your general sport skills. However, maybe you need a coach to work with you more specifically on some aspect of your performance. For example, young hockey players would certainly benefit from working with a skating coach. One of my figure skating students works with a dance coach. Both of those coaches help fine-tune important elements in their athletes’ performances.

Idea #18 – Hire a Coach

If you want to make 2018 a great year, here are some areas in which you could consider hiring a coach: sport specific skills (skating, footwork, serving, etc.), strength and conditioning (athleticism, speed and agility, power, endurance, etc.), nutrition, and mental skills. Most people will choose an area in which they need improvement, but be open to the possibility of using a coach to help you develop your super-strength. That might benefit you more.

When hiring a coach, it’s important to ensure that this is a person you can work with well and that you respect. Some people have great résumés, but they may not be a fit for you when it comes to their coaching style. I’ve made this mistake in the past and learned from it. I need someone I click with and respect, or else I won’t commit to doing the work.

A good coach can be a great asset to your team because he or she can push you and hold you accountable. On our own, we are likely to take the path of least resistance during our training, but a good coach won’t let us do that, and we don’t want them to let us do that. We want the benefit of their expertise and guidance so that we can take our performances to new heights.