MovementLink Coaching Strategies and Tips
Coach Development Training with Kyle
Class Planning
I have come across tons of different coaches and there is something that is immediately evident when participating in a class, did the coach plan the class? From my experience, the coaches who are just good tend to pride themselves on the ability to coach a class with minimal planning. The distance between good and great is incredible and purposeful, meaningful planning is the way to bridge that gap.
Classes should NEVER run late, ever. People’s time is valuable, they have things to do, and by simply planning and running your class properly, there is should be no reason a class runs late. When you plan a class, not only should you not run late, but you’ll likely start the class on time as every minute is valuable to your plan to maximize the customer’s experience.
Coaches who don’t plan their classes are usually missing a WOW-factor. The un-planned class typically has generic warm-ups without being specific to that day and are typically lacking a perspective of coaching that can really push clients forward and tend to look more like telling people what to do from the board vs having a deeper purpose for the class, something fundamental to human movement that applies across the whole class. We call this our Teach and Practice and overtime our Teach and Practice principles snowball through our membership into a community with amazing technique and awareness. Imagine a client who takes 200 good classes in a year vs a client who takes 200 great classes in a year. Their progress will differ significantly and your clients deserve the best you can give. With a subtle shift in purpose, coaches can push beginners and elite alike, to the next level, but this purpose takes planning. Be great!
Community Building Strategies
Most clients are in my class simply to make their lives better. A gym culture that is welcoming and makes people feel like they belong has an incredible impact on the clients’ experience, but also their consistency and commitment to the culture and community. There are tons of ways to foster relationships and culture and above are the ways I' have found to be most effective. When done right, you establish real worthwhile relationships with your clients AND they establish that with their peers as well.
Class Strategies
Everyone should make progress every day, beginner and elite, and for that to happen, they can’t be bored! Coaching classes is not a seminar where clients stand around listening to you preach. It should be interactive with minimal time spend standing still and listening. As you teach, they should practice…and it’s not just what you teach, it’s actually getting through to the clients to effect meaningful change and growth. You need to go beyond simply telling people how to move correctly, keep them engaged, and actually teach and coach them into moving correctly.