This is a simple yet deep statement.

Have you ever heard a quick sentence that actually made you stop for a second and really think? Well, I was talking to my martial arts instructor, Master Garcia, the other day and during the conversation he said ‘You are an echo’. 
Wow, that’s powerful.

Think about it, what you eat, how and what you do to workout, your work ethic, your commitment to your family and friends, the effort you put in daily truly reflects the person you are and what you get back in return.

This ‘echo’ really tells us if we are successful and if we are not, there is only one reason for that.

When you look at your physique, you know this to be true. It’s easy to tell who is dedicated and putting in the work right?

When you look at it from the business standpoint, the ‘You are an echo’ still stands true.

If you are a great coach, you get great results, and you spend your time learning to be an even better coach – that’s amazing and needs to be done but that’s only one half on being successful in the sports and fitness industry.

I’m sure you know of some coaches and trainers that get great results with their clients but are struggling because they either need more clients or need to get in front of more people to show their skills.

Same thing goes with running a sports camp. I’ve seen it firsthand. A top coach decides they want to put on a sports specific camp and they think that their name alone will get athletes in to fill the camp. Well, they think that until the day the camp happens and their numbers are real low.

If Bill Belichick, Doc Rivers, or Terry Francona (I know I am New England biased) wants to put on a sports camp, you would think that would be successful right?
 
Well, if nobody knows they are putting on the camp then it’s going to be tough getting people to go. These are top coaches and even they have to market to get people into their camps.

But what if you name is not as big as theirs?

Most coaches and trainers think that their name and their initials after their name are a lot bigger than they actually are. Really, for the most part, your name doesn’t mean anything to athletes coming to your camp. If you work in the NFL, ok it helps a little to a high school football player. But most of us are not NFL coaches so we have to work even harder.

What I’m trying to say, is that it takes more than being a great coach, to be a successful coach. If you own your own business or are trying to get more clients, you know this to be true.

Being able to run a camp and market your camp are both skills. The act of getting more clients is a learned skill. And you need to constantly work on these skills to improve them.

Honestly answer these questions:

How much time are you spending trying to be a better coach?

Now how much time do you spend trying to grow your business?

These answers should be close to a 50/50 relationship. If they aren’t, well at least you know the area you have to work on.

My first 5 years or so in the industry, I spending a 100% of my time trying to become the best coach possible. Reading, watching training DVD;s, going to seminars, getting every certification there was, I did an internship with the best coach in the area, I basically was studying and applying what I learned non-stop.  Now don’t get me wrong, I needed this to become a good coach.
 
The problem was, I thought I could be helping more people and should be making more money than I was at that time, especially with all of the hours I was working. It wasn’t until I put in the time to learn advertising, marketing, sales, and even the structure and technical side of the business, where I started to reach my potential.

It wasn’t fun at first to learn how to market, but once I got and started applying it, it changed my whole life. I can now work whatever hours I want, make more money than I thought was possible at the time, and I am able to help even more people than ever before.

Discovering the business and marketing side of the sports and fitness industry is truly what separates successful coaches from the rest. If you are serious about growing in this industry, you must put your time in.

Believe me; no one is going to do it for you. The work you put into actively becoming a better coach and businessperson shows.

Your business is an echo of you. What are you saying that’s worth repeating?
Please feel free to comment below. I would love to hear from you.

To your success,

Pat Beith

Click Here to Discover How to Run a Sports Camp >>

The key to consistent improvements from your
athletes boils down to how effectively you
write and run their workouts.

Do too much, too fast and they’ll overtrain
and compete poorly.

Do too little, they’ll be undertrained and
won’t have enough in the tank.

So how do you ensure your athletes run the
perfect amount and get the most out of each
and every workout, no matter how old they
are, how fast they are and regardless of
what sport they play:

To your success,

Latif Thomas

Want more information on today’s topic?

For video of the speed drills, exercises
and progressions that will teach your athletes
how to run fast consistently, click here.

For an A to Z walkthrough on how to progress
and write effective workouts for your track
sprinters (like today, without video of athletes
doing drills and running), click here.

Each Monday, for the next 6 weeks (and a total
of 12 weeks), I’ll be posting a preseason
training program for developmental 400m
runners.

I get so many questions about this event I’ve
decided to share what I’m doing. This way
you can copy it, pick it apart (respectfully),
or flat out steal it. Use it and see just
how much your athletes improve.

Of course, feel free post your comments and
questions below. I can’t guarantee I’ll
answer all of them, but I’ll do my best.

If you want more detailed information about
program design for 55-400m sprinters,
click here.

For Week 1 workouts, click here.
For Week 2 workouts, click here.
For Week 3 workouts, click here.
For Week 4 workouts, click here.
For Week 5 workouts, click here.

HS 400m Training
Pre-season - 12 weeks
Mesocycle 1, Microcycle 6
General Preparation Period

M: Off (jog and stretch as necessary)

T: 6 x 40m from crouch, 3pt or 4pt stance.
R=4’ 6 x Standing Triple Jump into pit

Lift Day 1: 2 x 10 – circuit format – rest
between sets exercises is 60-90”

Lunges
DB bench press
Lat pull
Split squat
Dips
One arm row
Leg extension

W: 3 x 5 x 100m @ 75% R= 1’ reps/3’ sets.
On grass.

Core. 800m barefoot warmdown on grass.
Static Stretch.

TH: 4 x 300m hills. *Jog* back recovery.
Mile warm down. Last 400m - barefoot. (all on grass)

Lift Day 2: 2 x 10 – circuit format– rest
between sets exercises is 60-90”

Back squat
DB incline
Chin ups
Bulgarian split squat (back leg up on bench single leg lunge)
Clap pushups
Seated Row
Hamstring curls

F: Warm up 3 x 600@ B = 1:57 – 2:04,
G = 2:14 – 2:20, R=4 - 4:30’ (start at 4′)
Mile warmdown.

Lift Day 1: 2 x 10 – circuit format –
rest between sets exercises is 60-90”

Lunges
DB bench press
Lat pull
Split squat
Dips
One arm row
Leg extension

 Weekly Audio:

If you want more information like this, but
with more insight as to why the workouts
are structured this way, click here.

- Latif Thomas

Each Monday, for the next 7 weeks (and a total
of 12 weeks), I’ll be posting a preseason
training program for developmental 400m
runners.

I get so many questions about this event I’ve
decided to share what I’m doing. This way
you can copy it, pick it apart (respectfully),
or flat out steal it. Use it and see just
how much your athletes improve.

Of course, feel free post your comments and
questions below. I can’t guarantee I’ll
answer all of them, but I’ll do my best.

If you want more detailed information about
program design for 55-400m sprinters,
click here.

For Week 1 workouts, click here.
For Week 2 workouts, click here.
For Week 3 workouts, click here.
For Week 4 workouts, click here.

HS 400m Training
Pre-season - 12 weeks
Mesocycle 1, Microcyle 5
General Preparation Period

M: 6 x 30m, 2 x 40m from crouch, 3pt or 4pt
stance.

R=3’ 8 x Standing Triple Jump into pit

Lift Day 1: 2 x 10 – circuit format – rest between sets exercises is 60-90”

Lunges
DB bench press
Lat pull
Split squat
Dips
One arm row
Leg extension

T: 4 x 4 minute runs on grass loop. R= 2’
Pace is moderate. Competitive athletes won’t allow this to be a slow paced jog.Hurdle Mobility. Core (stabilization). 800m barefoot warmdown jog. 10’ static stretch

TH: 8-10 x 200 @ 70%
B: 34-35, G: 39-40 R = 2’800m warmdown on grass, barefoot if possible. I’d like to get to 10 x 200 for this workout. This is the important workout of the week. Given the
choice to only record times and assess consistency for one workout, this would be the one I would
record times for and yell and scream during the workout to make sure athletes hit their times,
including being on pace at the 100m mark.