Spinoff from the town hall: what is the EN Coaching model, now?

Dave Tallo

I thought the Town Hall a few weeks ago was a terrific team piece.  What I am now finding myself thinking about – and wanted to put in a separate thread – is something that ascertains the “coaching model” in Endurance Nation.    

I know this was touched on in a few ways in Pat’s comments, but I don’t want to read too much into what wasn’t said, and make any conclusions.   What I really do want to “name” the type of coaching that happens in the space, if for no other reason than to use it accordingly. 

 

For example, at one time in the history of EN, the coaching was “named” Resources for the Self-Coached Athlete.  

At another time, the coaching was “named” the Team Coaching Model.    

And there are other models, platforms, plans or approaches out there that “name“ themselves Age Group Coaching, Personalized Coaching, Individualized Coaching, Elite Coaching, Training Plans With Support, and so forth.  

So any thoughts about what would cleanly encapsulate the coaching in EN now?    Just thinking through the various services offered, I see a ton of resources, quasi-individualized general plans (with coach guidance / consultation available), and as-needed, medium-touch coach feedback and discussion from Pat via daily thread, office hours, etc.   I think the Town Hall hit these well. 

What I didn’t see – but the “naming” might help me with - was: Is this coaching for the MOP Age-Group Athlete?  For All levels and skills?  Is this beginner coaching?  Athlete development coaching?  Newbie through elite preparation?    Is it reasonable to expect the Coach to go over my power curve, individual workouts, daily mood log and biorhythms, etc?  Or, what is the length of the arm in the “arms-length coaching” that’s reasonable to expect?   Is this an all-you can eat buffet of coaching, or is it a prix fixe?  (btw I’m tapering and hungry.)

 

I know Pat has massive bandwidth, and goes way above and beyond what is reasonable for any one person in order to provide fantastic service to a large number of athletes – very successfully.  This might read like a personal interrogation … which isn’t my intention.  What I do what to get at is a recognition that it’s a big team, there’s one coach, the pieces of the business are shifting, and the coaching piece of the larger EN enterprise could just use some pinning down in my mind. 

scott dinhofer

@Dave Tallo
I have no answers, but i know our "model" as P will hopefully chime in and define here is working and growing. Other models are contracting. Witnessed by the drop in QT2 from our category in the triclub competition to the next rung down... 

I still approach our model as a "self coached" one with a tremendous support function from a full time coach in what was my "micro thread" and is now my "coach's thread." I also see this as a team coaching platform where the team resources are never ending. P even stated in the 4keys at LP how much he's learned over the years from team members. 

Lastly, as for level. I think EN excels, because the coaching applies to all levels. Newbies find a place where they can get all the help they need. I've found that where I am today (near the pointy end), I am getting assistance from both the team and P at levels I never before experienced. Topics covered in both forum threads, coaches, threads, emails & conversations with team members, and the rare scheduled call with P. 

The level of attention I receive today is not really any different than I did as a newbie, but the content & help I need is of a different nature... 

hopefully that helps to define what you are looking to define from the view of one consumer of the product. 

DAVID RICHMOND

I view it as this:
1+1+1>3   =>  You (your knowledge, athletic potential, etc..)+ support and knowledge of Patrick+support and knowledge of the TEAM is far more superior than the basic sum of all 3 and the combination of this leads us to massive PRs and/or great performances
as for to the level of athletes, the EN way has proved over and over that it spread from 1st timer to the very best of the field with AG win in a lot of IM and other tris.... You might not (and I may be wrong) get a personalized analysis of your power curve, sleep cycle, etc... from coach P, but if u post it in the forum, I'm pretty sure someone will chime in... and for me, that's what makes EN so great.

Doug Sutherland

 I think that this is an excellent question. I have struggled with how best to use the coaches, less so recently, but more so in the first couple of years.  That is more of a reflection of my own personal experience I think. I have been very cognizant of the fact that this is a "self coaching platform".  That has worked out very well with regards to accumulation of training knowledge.  I would say that the current platform works exceptionally well for preparation to actually race.  Particularly when you take into account the experience and value of the teammates.  But I'm still not sure how best to engage with the coach.  I think a better way of saying this is, I don't know what I don't know. How much information is too much information? How much detail is too much detail?  How much better/faster could I be if I asked different questions?  In the past I have often trolled the micro and macro forms and I've noticed that there are people all over the map, some engage the coach on an extremely granular level, and others on a very macroscopic level.  I've also noticed that there is a more expensive "elite "option, but I know very little about it or how that differs from being a teammate.  Also blurring the lines is the fact that the team continues to expand into non-triathlon endurance events. For those of us who are still primarily focused in getting better at the long course triathlon race, as per Dave's prior thread,  it is hard to imagine any coach being able to carry enough bandwidth for everything that we are all doing. 

 This topic is also important to me personally as my wife is opening up her own business that will include a significant online component, and figuring out exactly how to define the scope of services, how to draw lines between levels of services and how to price these things out or all nightly discussions.  I often think of the one-coach EN model as a similar situation, which is to say, a very challenging model to plan out.

Paul Hough

I still see EN as a smorgasbord of resources for coaching yourself.  We have Coach P, a very large set of fantastic and constantly improving plans, and of course the Team which in the Air Force we would call a "force multiplier."   I think we all know that and if I had to rephrase the question it is not to ask what the model is, but rather to ask what do you call it?  E.g., EN needs to coin a phrase that succinct encapsulates the way the coaching model works and what you get.  That's not an easy task, but hopefully there will be some great ideas forthcoming.

Al Truscott

Don't have an answer to the original question, but I do have a few thoughts on the evolving State of the Nation. When I talk about EN to non-competitive endurance athletes, I find myself using the term "Team", as in "my team." We're not a club, we're not a bunch of unconnected athletes who use the services of the same coach. We're invested in the success of others on our team, and actively work to help them achieve that, as well as seek help from others. The Coach provides several services: training plans for a wide variety of triathlon and other endurance activities; feedback on current and future performance; a collection of educational articles and other online resources; and best of all, an enabler of intra-team communication. I have no idea what this model is or should be called, so I don't give it a name.

With the end to our bicameral leadership, I don't worry that the model will change. I do worry about the loss of some unique perspectives and skills that Rich brought to the table. That's not at all a knock on Patrick, and it's also not a worry about an increased workload for him. Just a reflection that no one can be all things to all people.

Rich Stanbaugh

Al Truscott said:

When I talk about EN to non-competitive endurance athletes, I find myself using the term "Team", as in "my team." We're not a club, we're not a bunch of unconnected athletes who use the services of the same coach. We're invested in the success of others on our team, and actively work to help them achieve that, as well as seek help from others. 

Al - you've hit the nail on the head... again. 

jimmy augustine

We're invested in the success of others on our team, and actively work to help them achieve that.

So much easier to just cut and paste from Al.

Dino Sarti

It an interesting thought starter, Dave.  I have been out of the house for a few months focusing on other fitness challenges.  Example, my training plan at the top of the home page says "Week 75 of 20".  As I now ease back in, the place seems pretty different in terms of the platform and the way the site works, but the culture seems intact and stronger than ever bolstered by many new faces.

I generally describe EN as an on-line Team with a community approach that functions like Facebook without the trolls.