Many months ago I signed up for the USA Triathlon Youth & Junior certification clinic in Boston since it was the next step I wanted to take in my triathlon coaching career as well as having the bonus of re-certifying my level 1 credential.
I always go into continuing education clinics with skepticism because you never know if the speakers and/or information presented is going to be useful or not. Luckily this clinic was really good and had 5 excellent coaches doing the presentations. Rather than a total snooze-fest, especially after driving up to Boston at 2am on day 1, each speaker had tons of great information that could be implemented pretty quickly into every day training whether it is with adults or children.
After day 1 ended I somehow found the energy to head out for a nice solid 10 mile run along the Charles River probably from the aid of the perfect running weather. This really allowed me some time to absorb and ponder all of the information from day one as well as think about my general coaching philosophies. It dawned on me that I had become a bit complacent in my training programs under the weight of a crazy busy schedule working 4 jobs while in the process of purchasing a house. Yet this still seemed to be the perfect time to shake things up and force my mind to run in a million different directions with regards to how I coach each and every person. The reminder of how much knowledge is still out there smacked me square in the face at just the right moment and reminded me how much I enjoy learning new things whenever given the chance.
It has only been 6 days since the clinic but I have already passed the exam and officially become certified to coach youth and junior athletes (ages 7-19) for triathlon. However the 150 page coaches manual for the certification and the PowerPoint presentations from all of the coaches still have a wealth of information in them I can use to continue the learning process. I am looking forward to reading through them each once, and then probably several more times in the near future.
Keep reading, keep learning, keep experiencing new things and trying different strategies while refining what you already do well. Sounds like a plan.