Four words paired together that I never expected to navigate on my first job out of graduate school - “women’s rowing” and “start-up program.” Being a desert native, I had never understood sports on water, much less rowing. And being fresh out of grad school, I hadn’t yet come across teams that weren’t already established. Being a strength coach for the first year of a Division I rowing program seemed like a daunting task, but one I was ready to take on. Despite being as prepared as possible (can you be prepared for this?), there were many things I learned throughout that first year that I hope to share here today. So, what does it take to coach a start-up program, especially being a start-up professional yourself?
Step #1 - Culture
The idea of team culture can come across as a “duh” to those of us who work with team sport athletes. Yet what does culture mean when there is no team yet? This is where understanding what the sport coaches envision is imperative. I am not talking about just the formative years of the program - I mean in 4, 5, 6 years down the road. Where do they want to be? What kind of team do they want to have? What are the expectations they are setting now that will dictate the direction the team takes in the long run? Additionally, having a vague outline of sport progressions, periodizations, and practice structures can help mold your understanding of how the sport coaches are going to run things. Mirroring this general information helped me have a foundational understanding of how to approach programming, expectations, and goals for this “never-before-seen” squad.
What I wish I had done earlier on was gain a greater understanding of what the incoming class’s personalities were like before meeting them in our first lift. I had briefly seen them at the beginning of the year meeting, yet quickly learned that was a less-than-ideal time to try and suss out personalities when they are all bright-eyed, overwhelmed with information, and frozen in fear. While larger rosters may make this a little difficult, I would strongly recommend setting up meetings (virtual or in-person) with either individuals or groups of incoming athletes. Breaking the ice early on and removing some of the intimidation and hesitation they may feel (especially if it is a very young training age squad) will help tremendously in athlete buy-in, willingness to push themselves, and their trust in you. It will also help you have some semblance of an idea of how to approach individuals, as you won’t be flying blind on how each athlete may respond to feedback and what type of teaching they require. While it may be a little time-consuming on the front end, it will pay out in dividends.
Last tip: show up. Most of the team will be new, young, and inexperienced. Demonstrate early and often what your role is with the athletes and coaching staff. Go to practices, see them in their sport environment, let them see you and understand your investment in their success. Get to know the athletes beyond the sport - where are they from? Are they homesick? What are their hobbies? What’s their major? The list of questions is endless, as there is always more to learn about someone. The best way to build culture and get buy-in is to have a relationship with the athletes.
Step #2 - Slow and Steady Wins the Race
No one knows what they are doing. Don’t expect them to. Especially in a sport where the typical culture doesn’t involve weight lifting, assume the training age is zero. Start from the ground and build up from there, and remember that you are creating the foundation for what is to come in the next 3, 4, 5 years, NOT this season. You will likely have athletes of many different levels, so you may feel the urge to break teams into “experienced” and “inexperienced.” My advice: not a single one of these athletes has learned movements the way you want them done, so start everyone from the basics. Teach them how to jump, how to land, hinge, press, what it means to engage your lats when you row, etc. Teach them how to move.
If an athlete becomes frustrated with the “slow-feeling pace” of your sessions, I would remind them that we are building the foundation for what is to come. Usain Bolt did not become the fastest runner in the world by suddenly running fast overnight. So why should they expect themselves, and each other, to pick things up immediately? Be available for additional lifting sessions with those who feel they need or want more. Encourage them to trust the process with you just as much as they are trusting the process with the sport coach.
Step #3 - Be Selective and Be Flexible
I don’t know about you, but I am not a natural “go with the flow” type of person. When I have a plan, or even just an idea of a plan in my head, I’ve already determined that is what’s going to happen. Now, as strength coaches, we know this is unrealistic, as things change daily. So we know we have to be flexible… but what does flexibility look like when talking about a team we’ve never seen before?
Going into the first year with a very selective, small set of goals is going to be imperative. Just like athletes can’t become Usain Bolt overnight, you likely won’t be able to maximize strength, power, teach basic technique, and everything else desired for peak performance in the first year. As we have already discussed, expect to start from ground zero. With my rowers, my goals were to have them improve body awareness and establish mind-muscle connection (a.k.a. not look like Bambi any time they move), and to establish base strength. Simple, selective goals.
Or so I thought.
News flash: what you first have in mind is very likely not what’s going to end up happening the moment you actually meet the athletes. There are lots of unknowns in this - no one knows the athletes, no one knows how practices are going to look or how the athletes will respond to certain coaching/training styles, no one has a clue what “hang clean” means or what a “hinge” is. Best-case scenario, they move well and naturally in their sport. Yet as you may have seen before, just because someone is good at their sport does not mean they are a natural in the weight room. These are things you won’t know until that first session, which essentially makes your first few weeks with them an “informed trial and error.” Having those selective goals definitely serves as a helpful North Star, but a North Star is not a roadmap.
I approached my two goals thinking that doing X would result in Z, but I didn’t know Y - the athletes. Seeing them on day 1, and even throughout the first few months, made me realize that the thing my program was missing was flexibility and the opportunity to try new things. What may resonate with some likely won’t resonate with the majority, so be willing (and ready) to get creative.
Knowing my main goal was to improve proprioception and athletes’ understanding of their own body, I started off with very slow progressions, tons of cueing, had a number of regression alternatives, and stuck with the simple stuff. After the first few months, I was still wondering why it just wasn’t clicking for some of the athletes. Then I got creative. In my multiple conversations with the sport coaches, there seemed to be lots of talk about using yoga and pilates movements to increase body awareness. While the team was engaging in those activities with the sport coaches, I took it upon myself to integrate cues and teaching techniques I had learned in my own yoga experiences to instruct the athletes. The switch had been flipped, and the light bulbs came on.
Pushing off the Dock
Reading through this can make it feel overwhelming and contradictory. Plan, but know your plan will change. Have expectations, but be flexible with them. Talk to your athletes early and often so you have an idea of how to coach them, yet be willing and ready to adjust how you interact with them throughout the year. Collaborate with the sport coach on establishing goals, and be prepared to either progress or regress those goals as the athletes develop.
As intimidating as this sounds, I have never had more fun with a team in my life. Everything is new, exciting, fresh, and an opportunity. You get to create the environment you want from the ground up. Athletes have no preconceptions or “well, the other coach used to…”, and every single one of them is fresh out of the gates. That first year is very coaching-intensive, which makes it all the more rewarding for both you and the athletes. What started as benching just the bar the first day can end with a smooth 135, and what looked like the worst broad jump you’ve ever seen will turn into single-leg depth jumps. Individual and team confidence will go through the roof, and you will see homesick high schoolers turn into young adults.
Yes, there is a lot of work, and a lot of unknowns. Stick to these three building blocks, and you will be just fine:
- Collaborate with sport coaches to determine what their vision for team culture is, and integrate those principles in your sessions.
- There is no “who can be the most advanced in one year” award. Build the foundation, assuming the training age is minimal. What you teach now will impact all the training they do over the years in that program.
- Be selective in your expectations, goal setting, and planning. Know that there is a 99.9% chance all of those will change throughout the year.
The boat has pushed off the launch. Welcome to the most fun you’ve ever had.
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