advice on finding a coach

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by lanierb [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Hey guys-- I'm thinking about trying out a coach. Anyone know how to go about finding one?

I want someone who knows their stuff wrt power training, and I want to get better at road racing. I'm happy to do it over the internet so location doesn't matter much. Also, in case you're wondering I'm old (42) and mediocre, but pretty motivated and I want to see what I can do with some more structured training. Any advice would help. (I actually thought about this last year but didn't know how to go about finding someone so never did go through with it.)

Well there are a few places you can find a list of coaches with a knowledge of power, such as the wattage forum. But since you asked, perhaps making contact with us at RST might be worth considering. We have 10 power savvy coaches on our team and we coach riders all around the globe from enthusiastic amateurs to world class elite.

http://www.rstsport.com/

Can always drop me a line if you want to make contact:
alex AT rstsport.com

or go via the web page and talk with our Commercial Director, Dave Smith

It's usually a good idea to have a bit of a chance to interact with a potential coach beforehand, make sure you both gel and can agree on the process and expectations

Lanierb, It's a trap! Word has it they've been known to use weights! Run away... Very fast - as in a L9 effort fast. http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/dave-smith-joins-rst-solutions In all serious though, Alex is a top bloke and even advocates the odd beer and good food... You could do much worse but you'd be hard pressed to find someone much better. I asked him to coach me a while back and he said that he was all booked up - I think that was a polite way of saying "I don't want your dodgy lungs giving in on my watch" after another night on the beers and endless rants about PowerCranks. 😉

Here is a link to all USAC coaches who are certified in power based training:

usacycling.orgsearch.phpOpen ↗

There are ~50 of us.

Anyone you find via RST is going to be fantastic.

Thanks for the responses. I can't believe there aren't more USAC coaches certified in power training! I'll try contacting RST. Calling up a USAC coach out of the blue seems like a [censored] shot.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by swampy1970 [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Lanierb,

It's a trap!

Word has it they've been known to use weights! Run away... Very fast - as in a L9 effort fast.

http://www.bikebiz.com/news/read/dave-smith-joins-rst-solutions

In all serious though, Alex is a top bloke and even advocates the odd beer and good food... You could do much worse but you'd be hard pressed to find someone much better. I asked him to coach me a while back and he said that he was all booked up - I think that was a polite way of saying "I don't want your dodgy lungs giving in on my watch" after another night on the beers and endless rants about PowerCranks. [IMG]/img/vbsmilies/smilies//wink.gif[/IMG]

It's true, I have over the past couple of years had to turn down many a possible client simply because I don't take too many on at any one time (it is not possible to coach properly otherwise) and spots only come up occasionally, so for any individual it can be a bit of a timing thing. Which is why we sought to add some excellent people to our business. We now have capacity for those interested.

All our coaches go through our own accreditation testing, a part of which is not dissimilar to the USA power accreditation in that we test thoroughly for understanding and application of power based training principles. They are also all accredited with their relevant national governing body. But there's more to coaching than knowing about how to use power and being accredited, and we address all those other elements too.

But as with any working relationship - both parties still have to gel, be able to work together constructively - hence why it's a good idea to chat with any prospective coach first. Have some questions for them.

Quoted post said:

Originally Posted by lanierb [IMG]/img/forum/go_quote.gif[/IMG]

Thanks for the responses. I can't believe there aren't more USAC coaches certified in power training! I'll try contacting RST. Calling up a USAC coach out of the blue seems like a [censored] shot.

My guess is that many of them don't think that it's worth the extra couple hundred dollars to pursue the certification and that cost could run much higher if the coach needs to fly somewhere to take the seminar. While I don't think that the test was overkill, completing it was far more involved than the Level 2 clinic. My test, including a couple detailed training plans and workouts ran to almost 40 pages.

That said, you'll do fine by RST, at least if Alex is coaching you. I don't have any knowledge of their other coaches. Like another contributor to this thread, I tried to get Alex to take me on as a client in late 09/early 10, but he didn't have a spot open. I bought two iterations of the RST 13 week plan, which were very good values, but I didn't feel like that method was responsive enough to my desires and progress to continue.

I do a lot of perusing of internet forums and coaching sites. Alex is one of a pretty small number of folks who really "gets it" when it comes to training with power.