Why real-world coaching beats the internet

Going back to my roots

I had the pleasure of training at Crystal Palace Weightlifting Club last Friday, under the watchful eyes of Keith Morgan OBE. I previously trained there from 2002-2004 when I was also competing in Karate.

Keith talks, I listen.

In a world where every twenty-something male with a tattoo and an Instagram account is an ‘expert’ on everything in the gym, it was refreshing to spend a couple of hours being coached by Keith.

I have an MSc in Sports Coaching, am a level-3 weightlifting coach, and have run my own weightlifting club for 10 years, and yet I was willing to learn from someone with a gazillion years of experience.

Funny that.

I am currently 0-2042 in the arguments with the gym-bros who know better than me because they listened to a podcast. It’s impossible to compete with the internet, especially if the online guru has a foreign accent and uses complicated terminology.

Keith reduces the sport of weightlifting to simple terms, not because he doesn’t understand the sport, but because he knows how to coach. Weightlifting is simple: lift a barbell above your head, but it can get complicated in our heads- if we let it.

Me snatching 70kg (I’m 55-years-old, weigh 79kg before you chip in).

In an age where people can ‘qualify’ as coaches without ever encountering a human being, it’s a surprise to many that people get stuck at a certain level, or break down in the cauldron of competition.

I’ve seen coaches in tears at the British Nationals because they didn’t understand the rules. They’d qualified virtually, and the lifter had also qualified virtually. There’s a big difference between having one hundred attempts to get your lift right and having to go out at 11:28 on a certain Saturday with a crowd and officials and nothing between you and them.

I have found that junior lifters and women weightlifters are more willing to listen, learn and improve than adult male lifters. They are also more willing to have a go at competitions.

I’m pleased to say that my daughter, Daisy, is learning to become a coach (she’s already a Technical Official). I took her to Crystal Palace to train with Keith and learn from him.

Learning from the best.

I sincerely believe that if you want to coach, you have to be able to be coached. A receptiveness to new ideas and criticism gives you empathy and understanding that cannot be learnt from a podcast.

Give it a go and, as Bruce Lee said, ‘Empty your cup,’ before you enter the gym. If your cup is full of internet nonsense, how can you possibly learn?