The Art and Science of of Managing People by Coach Amer
Management is the act or process of planning and exercising conscious control over the amount of time spent on specific activities, especially to increase effectiveness, efficiency or productivity. Simple and direct to the point; however, when utilized in the world of strength and conditioning management is everything. I have come to learn over the past 3 years of experience in the field of strength and conditioning that if I don’t manage my time and plan ahead I will fall behind. In this chapter, Coach McKeefery covers vital points about the different groups of people that a health strength and conditioning coach must oversee; managing family with travel, security of the job, time put into work, time spent with family, leisure activities, and personal goals; moreover, managing athletes, goals, discipline, deadlines and so on. My experiences in the field of strength and conditioning have allowed me to benefit from the points Coach McKeefery discussed in Chapter 10 of CEO STRENGTH Coach.
Family is a primary reason we want to become paid professionals in the field we love: so that we can provide for and/or establish a family with the ones we love. Coach McKeefery discussed great points on how to make time for your family in a field with very unconventional hours:
- Make sure your partner understands and fully supports your schedule: my family visits me from overseas every once in awhile. I make sure that my twin brother’s and my schedules are clear. He works 8am to 5pm, and I work 11am to 8pm. I take care of family related matters in the AM, and he takes care of the things in PM.
- It is important to take steps towards financial freedom: while this is a difficult one, using Ramsey’s book Coach McKeefery identified 6 excellent points. Becoming debt free is the most vital one. Start by paying your small debts, those little victories count. My brother and I are debt free, as help from both our work and our family made sure we don’t have college student loans, car loans… etc.
- While I can’t say much about managing time for my significant other or kids, as I have none, I can see how kids that understand and are willing to adapt for a coach’s career is vital. If a coach is not happy at home, he/she will not perform 100% in the weight room/ strength and conditioning facility.
Managing athletes.At my time at Cardinal Gibbons High School, Coach Morland and I learned how to train 100+ kids a day and leave with our heads attached to our shoulders. Coach Ron McKeefery provides great insight about what to expect for managing your athletes:
Goals: working with Gibbons athletes, Gibbons Strength made sure we communicated clearly to all athletes what our targets are: in season power production, off season recovery and regroup, preseason strength and power development to name a few. Now, in my time at Lifetime Athletic, I have specific goal sheets for every single one of my clients and what they are trying to achieve in the next 90 days.
Discipline: I am lucky enough in life to have clear communication lines with my clients. If they miss a session and did not give a 24 hour notice, they will forfeit the cost of the session. Unless an emergency happens, I am open and available for communication an hour or two before each session. I give my clients some unpaid forfeits, but I make sure it is within reason. As a coach I make sure that my time is making money, and it does not depend on people showing up or not.
Facility, sport coaches, behaviors in the training facility. I am lucky enough to work at a prestigious commercial facility, so the manners of each and every client are established. Rarely I have had to limit anyone’s training because of how they dressed, danced, smelled, and acted; however, in a college/scholastic setting it could be different. At Gibbons Strength we made sure team captains, sport coaches, and everyone involved formed a professional team that understands policies and procedures is there to help.
In summary I would like to conclude that there is an art and science to managing people that is absolutely vital in this field. As I manage people, I apply more skill towards becoming effective in relationships. People must understand that strength and conditioning coaches are human beings too and are juggling a lot of things.. To do this successfully there must be clear lines of communication in how time is spent which leads to success in our clients and athletes as well as our family life.
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Amer Nahhas CSCS, NSCA-CPT, USAW-L1
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