Coaching in competition and coaching in training are two very different things. In the training hall a coach needs to be focused on an athletes technique, and making fine adjustments to maximize an athletes potential. The focus is on programming, periodization and progression. In competition a coaches role and responsibilities are on preparing the athlete for the platform.
First and foremost a coaches job is to keep the athlete calm and prepared before the competition. If an athlete is getting nervous and pacing around it is the coaches job to bring them back down. Staying focused and being mentally prepared before a competition is very important.
During the warm up procedure the coaches responsibility is on getting the athlete prepared to make their first attempt on the stage. This means the coach needs to be acutely aware of the time before the competition starts, and how long it will take an athlete to warm up and reach their last lifts before reaching the platform. It is during this warming up that the coach will decide what would be the best starting weight for the athlete. Your coach knows you as a lifter better than you do. He knows when you are looking good, and when you are not. It is the coaches responsibly to make the adjustments to starting weight according to how he see's your warm up going. In general the coach will always pick the starting weight. Then after talking with the athlete they will decide together what the second attempt will be. The third attempt is up to the lifter. Unless a gold medal is at stake. If a coach believes that an athlete has the ability to attempt a weight that will give the athlete the gold medal it is the only time that the coach may veto the athlete. Other than that the last lift will always be decided by the athlete.
During competition is is the responsibility of your coach to count the number of attempts before your first. That way he will know how many warm up attempts you should take before your first lift. It is also at this time that the coach needs to be focused on any changes in weight or starting attempts by other athletes that might increase or reduce the amount of time an athlete has before their first attempt.
Coaches also need to understand what the best form of motivation is for an athlete. Every athlete is different, and every athlete needs different styles of motivation and encouragement. I am a very intrinsic, calm athlete. I am often found having a nap an hour before I am competing. That's is my thing. I need to be calm and focused in order to lift my best. I recall on one occasion a coach whom I wasn't familiar with started slapping me in the face before I walked on stage. He thought he was doing what was needed to psych me up for the lift. Unfortunately all he did was piss me of. Which he very quickly came to realize. Some athletes need to be shouted at, some need to be quietly spoken to and motivated. It is the coaches job to know which athletes respond best to each different type of motivation and encouragement, and treat them accordingly.
Once an athlete has taken their first attempt it is the coaches role to decide, along with the athlete what their next attempt will be. Coaches can increase the amount of rest an athlete has by increasing the weight three times, the allowed number of increases. This will give the athlete more time to recover,or possibly even give another athlete a turn to lift. The weightlifting leader board backstage is a chaotic place. All the coaches are staring at it looking for potential changes, assessing their own strategies, and increasing their own lifters weights to get them in the best possible position to win, or get a medal.
That is essentially the role of a coach at competition. To take the thinking away from the athlete and let them focus on what they are there to do, lift. An athlete should not be looking at the leader board, that is the coaches job. All the athlete should be focused on is lifting. A coach cannot change an athletes technique on the day of competition. this will only serve to confuse the athlete and hinder their performance. The best advice I was given in competition was " Don't think, Just Lift" A coaches is there to motivate, calm, and if necessary push an athlete to reach a Personal record in order to win. There are good training hall coaches, and there are good competition hall coaches. I have met very few who are good at both.
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