The Coach’s Roadmap
Technically speaking, you’ve done the right things
Let me guess…
You didn’t choose coaching, coaching chose you.
You started out as a curious athlete who loved every element of training and racing.
You read every Runner’s World magazine you got in the mail, you stalked the Ironman World Championships live feed in mid-October, and generally absorbed as much as you could about your sport.
The more you learned, the more you wanted to share that knowledge with others, to help them be the best athletes they could be.
You didn’t start coaching to make millions of dollars, you started because you love it.
What percent of training and racing is mental versus physical?
While there isn’t one *magical* answer to this question, the majority of both athletes and coaches will say that at least 60% is mental. If traditional coaching certifications include on average less than 1 hour of sport psychology education, how are you expected to effectively prepare your athletes for the mental demands of racing?
Let The Coach’s Roadmap be your guide
The Coach’s Roadmap is the only program of its kind, created specifically for endurance coaches by a sport psychology consultant with a pretty extensive background in endurance sports, if she does say so herself. I created this course is to fill the holes in traditional coaching education by giving coaches the knowledge and tools to bridge the gap from practical experience to race demands. This course will serve as your roadmap to navigating the athlete mindset and will become one of your most trusted and utilized resources.
THERE’S NO RIGHT WAY TO PREPARE YOUR MIND
There’s no right way to build confidence, set a goal, manage nerves, or really anything else in life if we’re being honest. After all, you wouldn’t give every athlete you coach the same exact same training plan, right? In this course, I won’t tell you do something only one way, and I’m sure as heck not going to tell you to do something that’s how I coach. Every video module, every resource, and every worksheet is evidence-based.
UPON COMPLETION OF THIS COURSE
You can expect to
Understand basic sport psychology concepts as applied to endurance sports
Recognize what common mindset struggles look like, such as low motivation or pre-race nerves
Have confidence in how you’re mentally preparing your athletes to race
Write training plans rooted in mental performance
Know when to refer your athletes to a sport psychology consultant or sport psychologist
YOUR ROLE AS A COACH
Welcome to the course
How to get the most out of this course
Developing a growth mindset as a coach
Boundaries, limitations & when to make a referral
Mental skills assessment
Coach audit
CONFIDENCE
What is confidence & how do we get more of it?
How thoughts impact performance
Effective self-talk > positive self-talk
How low confidence shows up in training & racing
Strategies to build confidence
PERFORMANCE PRESSURE
Why the fight or flight response matters
Understanding the difference between stress, nerves and anxiety
How energy management issues show up in training & racing
Strategies to manage stress, nerves & navigate pressure
FOCUS
What does it mean to be focused?
The relationship between mental fatigue and performance
How attentional errors show up in training & racing
Attention control strategies
MOTIVATION & GOAL SETTING
Understanding the types of motivation & when each might be helpful
Going beyond SMART goals
How low motivation shows up in training & racing
Strategies to create motivation
COMMUNICATION
Giving effective feedback
Building better communication with your athletes
Introduction to motivational interviewing
YOU MIGHT KNOW SOME OF THIS
And that’s okay! A lot of coaches are at least a little familiar with basic sport psychology concepts. What this course does is provide a roadmap to take those concepts and then effectively apply them, aka give you both high quality information and confidence in what you do with that information.
This is what’s waiting for you
Dive a little deeper
How it works
After you enroll, you’ll get immediate access to the Your Role As A Coach module. Then, before venturing into the more educational modules, you’ll get a proper introduction to mental performance training. Finally, you’ll complete my proprietary Coach Audit and establish your own goals for coaching.
Modules will be released one week at a time, so you have time to truly explore all the content. Each module contains a combination of video training on theories, models, and concepts, strategies to use with your athletes, and a unique application assignment to take the education and practice applying it.
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At this time there are hard open and close dates for enrolling. It opens 3-4 times per year. You don’t have to go through the course immediately after you purchase it though. Some coaches will enroll and then work through it as they have time. You do what’s best for you.
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Payment plans are not available for the course at this time.
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Yes! Legally, anyone can call themselves a life coach which means there are a lot of people out there with very few or no credentials calling themselves life coaches and marketing their services to you. This course was created by a sport psychology consultant (me!) with a Master’s degree in sport psychology including courses and training in psychopathology, exercise physiology, counseling, and over 500 hours of mentored experience by a Certified Mental Performance Consultant. Everything in the course is evidence-based as opposed to anecdotal.
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Absolutely! The Coach’s Roadmap is self-paced, meaning you can start at any time after enrolling, and complete the course as fast as 6 weeks, or take more time. Most coaches end up spending an hour or two a week on the course, but that won’t necessarily be the same for everyone.
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Nope! While the content and examples are certainly more geared towards those sports, the education, research and resources are applicable to all sports. In the past, coaches from swimming, rowing, tennis, and cyclocross have taken the course, in addition to dietitians and physical therapists. If you are unsure if the course would be a good fit for you, reach out to mulcahyperformance@gmail.com.
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You’ll get access as long as the course exists. I have plans of removing the course but if something changes you’ll be given ample time to save any material you want.