How to find the right coach
By Giana Roberge

World Champion at Master’s Time Trial Championships, two time Silver Medalist at the same event, US National Time Trial Champion, Winner of the Etape Du Tour, record setter at the Presque Isle Time Trial, First Place Midi Pyrenees Time Trial Championships and winner of the Lance Armstrong Time Trial…. The most frequent question that I am asked has been “how have you managed to meet your goals and continued to improve?”

The answer is truly the key to my success and may well be the key to yours: a coach. A good coach will be your best training tool. She/he is readily accessible via phone or email, approachable, trust-worthy and knows how to motivate and support you – all at the same time! S/He speaks to you with authority about what s/he specializes in (wattage and training) yet should respect you as an athlete and person. You will come to share in our successes, you as the athlete and your coach as the guide that helped get you there.

Sounds great – but how do you find the right coach – or a coach at all?

Do you need a coach?

Is a coach necessary? A coach is a guide, a teacher and sometimes a mentor. In all other sports a coach is invaluable; at every Olympic venue the coach’s present is noted by the commentators. A coach compliments the athlete’s desire to win; it is coaching, combined with the athlete’s drive, courage, consistency and dedication that makes winning, in any way the athlete defines it, probable.

Cycle racing is not just pedaling a bike fast. It is a technique intensive sport and needs to be coached as well as any other sport out there. Do not hire a coach to motivate you; cycling is a tough sport, and only the self-motivated will succeed. However, a coach – exposed and educated to the sport for many years – provides a non-biased perspective on your training that you cannot achieve solo. A coach will prepare you to maximize your potential when you are ready; a coach will also encourage patience when necessary.

Where to look?

Finding a coach is not an easy task. A good first step is to call your local pro shop and inquire into the availability of coaching. Here in Northern, CA Nor Cal Bike Sport knows of many coaches in the area and is a good first step to assembling a list of people to call. Nor Cal also offers instructional rides which can be a good net working opportunity to find out who the local riders depend on for coaching.

Some cycling publications have classifieds. You may be reading these to find local cycling events in any case. Look for riders wearing a local shop or team jersey and inquire about their coaches, and who they would suggest or who they have stayed away from – and why.

USA Cycling (usacycling.org) is another place to look for a coach. They have a list of clubs in the country and many of these clubs offer coaching.

Who to hire?

While you must be choosy about your coach it does not mean that your coach must be male if you are a man or a woman if you are a woman. Although you may be thinking about a male coach who has never having raced in women’s races (obviously) he should have studied them. He should know the women’s peloton well, and should have a theory about women’s racing that transcends gender.

A coach, more importantly, must be familiar with the type of racing you are planning to do. For instance, a man training to race in Europe should be training differently from a category three woman. Your coach’s training program should be specific to your type of racing.

In these days of email and cell phone, it is not absolutely necessary for your coach to live near you. I travel extensively most of the year and my coach coaches me “electronically” most of the year.

What your role is as athlete

Once you have some names of coaches, you should begin the interview process. A coach will only take you as seriously as you take him or her. When you call to introduce yourself, tell the coach what you are looking to accomplish in the sport, in the coming year as well as in your career. Ask to schedule a meeting either live or on the phone.

When you meet with your coach have a list of specific goals. Do you want to race or compete locally, regionally or nationally? Do you want to become a certain category or finish a century in your area in a certain time? In how long? Do you want to be competitive in a certain race or race for a certain team? These goals should be well thought out and only limited in scope by the amount of time you have to spend on your cycling.

You should be prepared to give a good estimate of the time per week you can spend training. This includes riding, stretching, eating, sleeping and possibly visualization. It may also include things like working out in the gym, pilates, and/or massage and chiropractic care. You need to be very realistic. It is not fair to ask a coach to commit a large amount of time to thinking about, planning and discussing your training when you are not able to sleep enough at night to recover. You should be ready to give an honest estimate of the amount of money you can spend on coaching fees, entry fees and equipment costs.

Being fully prepared will show your coach your level of commitment. Your coach can only take you as seriously as you present yourself.

The coach’s role

Once you have shared your goals with your perspective coach, listen to how s/he responds. The coach should have a basic theory or philosophy about how to coach and should be comfortable with this theory as the backbone of your training program.

My coach’s theory focuses on encouragement from him, self-confidence, rest and is wattage based. Every coach will have different ideas or theories. Don’t be surprised if it seems like you will be taking a step back before moving forward. Cycling is a very technique oriented and many coaches teach pedaling by having you ride in small gears and learn to spin before focusing on power. At first this might seem slower and it may be frustrating but trusting your coach is your key to going faster.
Listen for buzzwords like “spin,” “technique,” “tactics,” “strategy,” fun,” “recovery,” “stretching,” “power,” and “strength,” when your coach is describing your program. A good coach will set up a year-long program. It should have different phases, all of which should be explained to you in a way that makes sense and helps you incorporate this plan into your daily training. If it does not make sense you should feel comfortable asking the coach to explain it again. You will need to ask many questions throughout the year so you may as well begin to find out if both of you are comfortable with this now.

A good coach will customize the basic program used for all clients specifically for you. It should be blocked off on a calendar with the specific events you are focused on and what specific peaks you will need throughout the year.

Your Program’s Focus

You should have a basic idea of what the focus of your training will be at any point during the year. For instance, in February, I will focus on specific power intervals in preparation for the World Cups I will race in March. In July I will focus on my foot speed in the form of one minute intervals, because it will most likely be lacking after many months of climbing and time-trialing. Your program should also have down times scheduled into the weeks, months and transition phases of the year. Remember – a coach who does not schedule rest is not a reasonable coach.

Other concerns to consider

Before agreeing to a specific coach’s contract, find out if your coach is willing to work with the equipment that you have – and is that equipment adequate enough for your goals. Does your coach make you feel excited about riding and training? Are there group rides your coach leads for you to participate in (not necessary but it is a nice offer).

What are a coach’s expectations?

After you have selected a coach there are some things a coach will expect of from you. Your coach will expect a year of your time and will also expect you to train exclusively according to her/his program. You coach will spend a lot of time considering your training, racing and progress; but an accurate assessment can only be made if you follow the program. Trying something you read about or something your friend is trying is counter productive in assessing your progress. Trust your decision in selecting the proper coach and then trust the coach you have chosen.

You should be able to discuss alternative means of training you have heard about or read about with your coach without your coach feeling threatened. Your coach should be able to explain the question’s merits or lack thereof logically even if it is different from her/his theory or program.

Your coach will expect you to keep a journal. Be prepared to do so, it’s an invaluable training tool.

Lastly, expect to pay for services rendered; a good coach has worked very hard to be a complete coach and meet your needs. S/he deserves to be compensated as any other coach in any other sport would be. Be sure to thank your coach when you feel improvement, and depend on your coach when you need to.