I subscribe to a ton of different athletic development related
newsletters and websites. Some I have to pay for. Others are
free.

Nevertheless, I get far more emails than I have time to read.

However, there is a common theme I see within the majority
of these emails. It’s been around for a while, but has become
even more prevalent lately.

It’s a marketing strategy (for lack of a better term) that
I call the ‘My Way or the Highway’ philosophy.

Or perhaps it’s a personal belief system.

Either way it’s something I’ve written about in the past.

I’m talking about the ones where the coach’s email articles,
promotions and advertising talks up their own coaching prowess
and program/s at the expense of all others.

You’ve seen this before haven’t you?

I’m paraphrasing for emphasis here, but the basic premise is
this:

‘I’m the #1 coach in my field. That makes my program the best.
Don’t buy other programs from other coaches because they are
morons. They haven’t coached as long as I have. They haven’t
been where I’ve been or done what I’ve done. Therefore, they
have nothing to offer. You can waste your time and money on
those programs, but then you’re as stupid as they are.’

Now don’t get me wrong. I don’t have a problem with being
confident or even a bit cocky. I’ve been accused of worse.

Your athletes should have a bit of a swagger when they step
on the track, field or court and that starts with you. 

I just try not to do it at the expense of others.

Take our Complete Speed Training program for example. I think
it’s the best out there. It’s certainly worked well for the
athletes I’ve coached. And our customers can’t say enough
good things about it:

“Your information helpS my track & field athletes perform
magic. (best performer, girl 15 year old running 100m 11.92
(electronic) and 200m 24.88 (electronic). she took part in
100m hurdles event for age 17 with a time of 14.61 two
weeks ago. In April 2007 won the South African Junior
Champion Ships for girls 15 (90m hurdles). Without Complete
Speed Training I do not think it would have been possible.

Dirk van Rensburg, South Africa
Or to keep it real simple:

“Purchasing your Complete Speed Training program was the
best coaching move I’ve ever made.”

Martin Capron, San Leandro, California

==> http://www.CompleteSpeedTraining.com

Many coaches out there would take this opportunity to remind
you how great they are.

But Patrick and I take a different approach.

We believe Complete Speed Training should be the foundation
of your coaching system. That using the program puts you
and your athletes in the best position to succeed.

Coaches and athletes from 72 different countries agree.

But we’re not going to tell you that other programs are
crap by comparison. Are they the *complete* package? Almost
without exception the answer is no.

But they are great *supplements* to Complete Speed Training
once you are ready to add new layers to your system.

That’s why we are rapidly expanding AthletesAcceleration.com
with content and resources.

But not just our own.

Because we believe you’ll become a better coach (and develop
faster, healthier athletes) when you have access to a large
variety of opinions and experiences. We leverage our access
to great coaches and their information and bring it directly
to you.

It’s why we spent an entire summer reviewing training
resources, only promoting the ones that meet our standards
of excellence.

Because there are a lot of coaches trying to get your attention
with every email. And, of course, it’s your right to choose
whose information you’re going to listen to.

At Athletes’ Acceleration we’re giving you a variety of
information from a variety of successful coaches. It’s not
just about how many state champions Latif Thomas has coached
or how many scholarships Patrick Beith has helped athletes
earn.

Every day we’re directing you to articles, interviews and
resources you can use to develop more successful athletes.
And everything we recommend we approve.

We’re all different and have different goals and needs. As
the saying goes - Variety is the spice of life.

So as you research which resources to purchase and which
‘experts’ to listen to, here is my personal advice:

Listen to the ones who make it about helping you, not
about glorifying themselves.

Listen to the ones who recognize the world is full of
successful coaches. And provide you with opportunities to
learn from them instead of trying to paint you into a corner.

Listen to the ones who continually give away valuable
information for free, instead of only ramming advertistements
down your throat.

Listen to the ones whose experiences with athletes you can
relate to instead of just talking about all the Olympic
Champions they deal with or the other coaches they can’t
stand.

Here is some insight to why I wrote you this email:

After I released my controversial interview with Barry Ross
I got bombarded with more emails than I’ve ever received.

Click here if you missed it:

==> http://www.athletesacceleration.com/interviews.html

I was both honored and surprised to learn how many of you
count on Athletes’ Acceleration to be your primary source of
cutting edge speed and athletic development information.

I firmly believe it is because we keep our focus on what you -
the coach, parent, trainer and/or athlete - wants to know.

So when you’re looking for information on developing better
athletes, check out the articles, audio interviews, blog entries,
answers to specific training questions and resources that
are updated each and every week here at Athletes’
Acceleration.

==> http://www.AthletesAcceleration.com
To your success,

Latif Thomas
P.S. If you want to check out all the programs on developing
athletes that we created or recommend, and watch some great
free video clips…then click here:

http://www.athletesacceleration.com/products.html

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 11th, 2007 at 9:22 am and is filed under Speed Training . You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.