One Neat Trick for New Coaches: Simplify, Focus, and Gain Consistent Experience

New coaches, discover the ‘one neat trick’ to simplify your approach, focus your efforts, and gain consistent experience to grow into a better coach.

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We have all heard it before: “I have this one neat trick that solves everything!” It often feels like a gimmick, but sometimes, there is a simple solution that can address many common issues. If you are coaching barbell lifts, for instance, 90% of the problems can be resolved by focusing on keeping the weight over the mid-foot—or understanding why you can’t get it there in the first place. Identifying that one key issue can be the first step toward fixing a wide range of problems.

When it comes to coaching itself, there is one “trick” we keep coming back to again and again. If you are a new coach wondering how to navigate your coaching journey, here’s our advice: If you were your own client asking similar questions about training, what would you tell yourself? Think about that. What would your advice be if your client were facing the same problem?

Start Coaching Before You Feel Ready

A common question from new coaches is: “I’ve taken three certifications, done a course—now what?” It is easy to feel overwhelmed by the idea of needing more knowledge, more qualifications, more experience before you can start working with real clients. But imagine a new lifter asking: “What books should I read? What seminars do I need to attend before I can start training?” What would you tell them? Probably something like, “Just get under the bar!” You wouldn’t suggest they wait until they have read every book or attended every seminar. You would encourage them to start training now and learn more theory along the way as needed.

This same logic applies to coaching. Do not wait until you feel fully prepared—start coaching now. While you are still learning, begin applying that knowledge in real coaching situations. This hands-on experience is just as valuable as theoretical learning, if not more so.

Stop Comparing Yourself to Others

Another frequent situation we encounter is new coaches obsessing over their progress compared to others. But the truth is, comparison is rarely helpful. Every coach—just like every lifter—has different backgrounds, challenges, talents, goals, and contexts. It is crucial to focus on your own path and not get distracted by others’ successes (or failures).

When you are new to coaching, it is easy to get caught up in the idea that you must be doing something drastically different to make big progress. Instead, we recommend finding one approach that resonates with you, sticking to it, and seeing how much you can improve with consistent practice. Just like we tell clients to focus on their training one step at a time, you should be doing the same with your coaching.

Consistent Practice Is Key to Growth

Now that you are coaching, how do you get better? Again, the answer is simple—practice consistently. What do we tell our clients when they want to improve their lifts? To train regularly. The same principle applies to coaching. Coach as often as you can, whether that is working with real clients or reviewing form-check videos and deciding what feedback you would give them. The more experience you gain, the better you will become at delivering effective cues, refining your teaching progressions, and adapting to different client needs.

Focus Your Efforts with Session Intentions

Focus on one thing at a time. If you want to improve your coaching, do not try to overhaul everything simultaneously. Pick one aspect of your coaching to work on—maybe you want to be more concise in your cues or eliminate filler words like “um” from your speech. Work on that area for several sessions before moving on to something else. This focused approach will yield faster results than trying to tackle every possible improvement at the same time.

This is a strategy we teach in the Principles Course. This method, inspired by research on implementation intentions, encourages coaches to pick a specific area to focus on during each coaching session. This focus will help you avoid the overwhelm that comes with trying to master everything at once. Just like we wouldn’t bombard a client with a million corrections, don’t do that to yourself either.

Becoming a better coach takes time, consistency, and focus. If you want to accelerate your growth as a coach, stop overthinking and overanalyzing. Like we tell our clients: pick a system and stick with it. Focus on one thing at a time, gain experience, and make small improvements each session. It is through this consistent effort that you will see significant progress—not by hopping from one new idea to the next.

If you’re interested in diving deeper into these ideas, the Principles Course covers them in detail, helping new coaches like you streamline your learning and take the guesswork out of developing your coaching skills.

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