

Once a coach has fully determined his own methodology, the process can continue towards applying training techniques to his athletes. Just as corporations in similar lines of business may have very different internal cultures gauging success, coaches also have their own process and style which each has determined will bring the best success for their clients. These high level directives reflect the individual coaching style and the elements that the coach feels are most important for guiding the development of their athletes. A successful coach, like a corporate leader, is guided by a mission and value set. Incorporating an effective set of metrics for the athletes begins first not with the athlete, but with development of the coach. Coaches also benefit by having consistent measurement criteria across all athletes in order to evaluate their own coaching effectiveness. But without using this information frequently to analyze and make changes, this logging is quite useless except as nostalgia-there is no value added to the current project or racing season.Īdding effective metrics brings an increased degree of maturity to the coaching process by incorporating a feedback loop to make realistic changes to the athletes' training plans as they adapt during the season and to provide information for planning future seasons. Many athletes even have a log going back to their first days in sport. Project managers and athletes are also adept at recording data relating to their performance. The project team then begins working to meet these goals, often with feedback and adjustments made on an ad hoc basis. Deliverables, along with time, resource, and financial targets are set at the beginning, and a plan is made.

In fact, many traditional projects are also organized in just that manner. The athlete then executes the plan as best as possible, making adjustments as necessary.Ī simple example of the coaching process involves the coach giving a set of workouts to the athlete based on an original assessment and then monitoring whether or not the end goals are met. The job of these athletes' coaches is to prepare them for successful racing by applying motivation along with sound training principles and techniques suitable to each athlete's specific goals and background.īy adopting a project management approach to coaching, both the athlete and the coach determine specific goals, identify key races/milestones and resource restrictions, such as hours available to train, and then prepare a plan.

Ironman triathletes train almost year round to prepare to push themselves to their mental and physical limits over this distance on race day. Swim 3.8 kilometers, cycle 180 kilometers, and then run another 42 kilometers-nonstop, start to finish.
