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I’ve had a few ‘complaints’ recently: people disappointed that my ‘sabbatical’ has resulted in no blogging! This is the first post I have made since the beginning of October – where HAS the time gone?
That is the intention of this post – to update you on what ‘Coach Carter’ has been doing. As Dan reported a few weeks back on his blog, I have NOT disappeared off the face of the Earth. I have been taking some time to transition from full time cycling coach and business manager to part time coach and student in psychotherapy. To be honest, these two things have not been the only use of my time – and indeed, I have not taken this time to step back in order to become a student again. The main reason I decided to take a break is because my body was telling me I HAD to, before it gave up the ghost on me. It was a case of me making a decision to take things easier, or my body doing it for me. And, anyone who knows me will know I am too much of a control freak to have things taken out of my hands!!
I continue to work with five athletes; dropping my workload by half. Prior to that I was working with ten. The workload was not a problem, and indeed I think 10 athletes is about right for a coach to work with ‘1-2-1’. The reason I was exhausting myself was having started the business coaching 25 people – I had drained my battery far too low. I needed to dip down below a sustainable rate to completely recharge. There is still a LONG way to go, but I feel I am getting there. What helps is that in having fewer number of clients, I am able to engage more in the process of working with them. I hadn’t got to the point of exhaustion whereby my coaching relationships were suffering (my work ethic and need to not let people down meant there was never a danger of that), but I did notice how each morning of file analysis felt like a box ticking exercise. I wasn’t excited, I wasn’t passionate. It had become ‘just a job’. At the time, I didn’t know if it was the role itself or me. The past few months of a new rhythm combined with an exciting batch of projects presented by my 5 ‘case studies’ have helped me turn a corner. I have noticed that I am feeling very content in my daily work – filling up the cafetiere and downloading training files for scrutiny is a daily pleasure again.
Another pleasure has been watching how Dan has taken over the reins. He and Oli have taken on some of my athletes (whom I must thank, as they have been incredibly patient and accepting of my needs in the transition over to a new coach). Dan is now also responsible for business operations – and that has been a HUGE relief. Again, I must thank Dan – I don’t think he expected to be coaching 10 athletes on a ‘1-2-1’ basis (it wasn’t in our plan when he joined me as a MSc student nearly 3 years ago now). Without his support I would not have been able to take this break. I must also express how proud I am of him. I have seen him grow as a coach – I really threw him in at the deep end, and he is not only coping but I believe he is excelling. I have no qualms about his coaching expertise – and I particularly like how he is able to form his own philosophy and approach to coaching athletes. I’m excited to watch his progress and that of his athletes: people will soon be approaching PBscience based on Dan’s reputation, I am sure of that.
I hope this is the first of a renewed contribution to the PBscience blog. I’m not going to sign up to posting every week, but as things settle down even more I am sure it is another aspect of PBscience life that I will find pleasure in again. May I take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year and the very best for their 2012 cycling season.
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