Communication is the key to successful coaching. Data plays an essential role in a training program, but it can’t account for all the factors that can affect an athlete’s performance. That’s why communication is so important- it allows coaches and athletes to work together to create a custom plan for each individual.
At Move Up, communication is a top priority for every coach/athlete relationship. That is why we never limit our communication with our athletes. We strive to provide our athletes with the best support and guidance possible and are always available to answer any questions or concerns.
In this article, we review the methods used at Move Up to help optimize and streamline communication between coaches, athletes, and our club of 100+ members.
Slack – Private and Group Messaging
Slack is a messaging platform designed to improve organizational communication and collaboration. It offers a range of features that make it easier for athletes, coaches, and team members to communicate and stay organized.
Some benefits of using Slack for communication include:
Real-time messaging: Slack allows users to send private messages to one another in real-time, making it easy to have conversations and get answers to questions. For most athletes, this will be the primary method of communication with their coach.
Group conversations: Slack allows users to participate in group conversations, which can be useful for discussing projects and ideas with multiple team members. Slack organizes these group conversations into channels, which can be either private or public. Inside the Move Up workspace, there are multiple public channels for various types of riding (road, off-road, Zwift) and private channels that team members create while organizing events throughout the year.
File sharing: Slack allows users to share files, such as documents and images, with one another, making it easy to collaborate on projects and share information.
Integration with other tools: Slack integrates various tools and services, such as Google Drive and ClickUp, which can help improve team communication and collaboration.
Mobile app: Slack has a mobile app that allows users to stay connected and communicate with their team from anywhere.
Think of Slack as your direct communication hub with your coach and, if you wish, a larger community of motivated athletes working with Move Up coaches and teams. Never hesitate to message your coach if you have questions about your training plan or need an adjustment due to unexpected circumstances. In fact, we prefer more communication over less communication as it makes our job easier!
Slack can be used on your phone, tablet, or desktop.
Monthly Coaching Call
Every athlete is encouraged to schedule a monthly phone call with their coach. These phone calls can cover various subjects, and the main topic will often shift throughout the season. During the early season, we might spend much of the call discussing strength training, nutrition, and how to stay on track during the hectic holiday season. As we move closer to goal events, the conversation might shift to race tactics, event-day nutrition, and your mental approach to competition. Part of the conversation will always include reviewing your recent training and details about what to expect in the upcoming days and weeks.
Move Up coaches will typically, but not exclusively, use the Calendly App to schedule monthly calls. Every 4th Saturday, you should see a note in your TrainingPeaks calendar reminding you to schedule a call with your coach. Within that note will be a link that provides a list of available dates and times. We must stay on track with monthly calls, so if you ever need help finding a date/time that works for you, please reach out to your coach to find a time that works.
Here are some tips for getting the most out of your monthly phone call:
- Write down any questions you’d like to discuss. Becoming sidetracked during a conversation and forgetting to ask a question is common. Writing down all your questions before the scheduled call is a great way to ensure everything gets covered. If you feel a question might require some extra research on behalf of your coach, it can be a good idea to send your list of questions before the call.
- Write down a list of important dates, especially for the coming month. If you’re using a TrainingPeaks Premium account, you can also input those dates directly into your calendar, but reviewing those dates with your coach is still a great idea.
Calendly makes scheduling calls with your coach easy!
Summary
Working closely with a coach that understands your goals, what motivates you, and who is there to help when life doesn’t go exactly to plan will show in the results. An effective training plan will always need to account for the human element, and the main reason cookie-cutter training plans don’t work is that they lack communication.
