Smith Sports Blog

It's amazing how in a 12 hour span I can go from being in New Orleans chatting with fellow newbie triathlon coaches as well as veteran coaches who work at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, to flying back to Clearwater, to being back to the Monday routine at Lifestyles. I love my job, don't get me wrong, but I have to admit it was a little difficult to come back to after this weekend. I had been looking forward to attending the USA-T Coaching Clinic ever since I signed up months ago. I had no idea to what caliber the presenters would be! Bobby McGee who, it seems, has worked with anyone who is someone in the world of running...triathletes, marathoners, sprinters, you name someone, and chances are he has corrected their form and improved their speed! I felt like a kid at Christmas, loving everything I was getting, but still wanting more. He was amazing to listen to and I can't wait to put his ideas into practice. John Crawley and Bob Seebohar also came from the OTC. John presented on cycling techniques and Bob discussed nutrition as well as strength training. Ah strength training...my favorite and comfort zone! The funny part about this presentation was I expected him to discuss strength training in a functional manner. You know, focusing on core and balance with iso abs, 1 leg squats, stability ball exercises, and on and on. Well that's exactly what he did, but noone seemed to have any idea about this style of training. Most had a hard time doing the exercise. I was blown away! These are exercises I do with my clients in the first 4 weeks of training them. I had to give myself a little pat on the back that I actually knew what I was doing. :) Maybe I shouldn't say it like...for all my clients that are reading this, I promise I really do know what I'm doing... :) I just mean I'm ahead of the field in this area and I didn't realize to what extent. It was pretty exciting. Two of the other presenters were two of the guys that worked at Elmwood Fitness Center, which is where the clinic was held. Ben and Jeff also started up a triathlon club, Rising Sun through the fitness center. Not only did they do a great job presenting on swimming and triathlon specific training, but they were so incredibly helpful and allowed me to pick their brains about how to fully develop a triathlon team and what all I needed to do so. Thanks guys! All in all, it was an amazing weekend! The fitness center was more than I could have imagined...the longer I was there, the closer I was getting to telling the posse I was New Orleans bound. 2 outdoor pools (6-lane and 8-lane), 1 indoor pool, jacuzzi, huge lifting area with plenty of machines, large carpeted group fitness room, spin room with 52 bikes, racquetball courts, separate room for Hammer Strength machines, cardio equipment (that each had a flat, touch screen tv) upstairs in the center of a track, separate personal training studio, rock climbing ball, basketball courts, and a cafe/lounge area in the center with a Starbucks and wireless internet. I could go on and on, but I think you get my point...it was a personal trainer/coaches dream come true! Then today was back to reality. But to be quite honest, I love my reality because minus the fitness center, I can bring all that information I learned this weekend and pour it into what I've already been doing with my clients and my posse members, making them and me that much better, stronger, and competitive!