So in this post I'm going to continue to explore what makes a great coach. I'm in the middle of reading Boy Racer, a book by Mark Cavendish, in which he talks about how he has risen from an out of shape fat banker (read the book to find out the typo that one of the national papers had when they ran the story - you can guess!) to arguably the best sprinter on the cycling circuit.
I picked up a copy as a gift for my good friend Alwyn Cosgrove (mainly because I thought there were a lot of similarities between Mark and Alwyn...neither of them are shrinking violets!) and I decided to pick up a copy for myself. Mark Cavendish doesn't mix his words and I love his honesty. On page ninety nine he hit the nail on the head..."a lot of sports scientist live up to only about half of their job description: they know plenty about science and sod all about sport..." Now I've got a sport science background and I'm not offended! If you are offended then maybe you need to ask why!
I think what Mark says can also be applied to strength and conditioning coaches. There are a lot out there that in my opinion only live up to about half their job title! They know all the theory but can't actually coach! A growing number of S&C coaches are finding themselves in roles that resemble that of the average office worker - crunching numbers and compiling spreadsheets - rarely seeing the inside of a gym or getting out onto a pitch or court to actually deliver a training session!