Congratulations candidate coach! The reason you’re probably reading this article is because you’re ready, or almost ready, to become an endurance coach; by far the most awesome job in the world. Yup, as you’ve already gathered, I am an endurance coach; to be precise, a running and triathlon coach. ✌😊
So without further ado, let’s answer a few basic questions to help you embark upon your coaching journey, shall we?
Why become an endurance coach?
Indeed, the first — and most important — answer here is because you love coaching; and, you’re passionate about helping athletes reach their goals. But, let’s put aside this romantic whim for a while, to examine if coaching is a just hobby or a profitable job. Hence, the next question is:
Is it worth it to become an endurance coach?
As we wrote in a previous article named “Endurance coaching for coaches“, in the last few years, endurance sports — especially running, cycling, and triathlon — became very popular; consequently, millions of people started training to be a part of the endurance sports community.
The indisputable necessity for structured, science-based guidance, made endurance coaches evolve into one of the most sought-after and fast-growing professions. Why? On one hand, to safely coach newcomers to the sport and, on the other, to help them enhance their performance.
So, from my experience, yes, you can become an endurance coach, turning your hobby into a profitable business; and, yes, pursuing a career in coaching is worthwhile.
How can I become an endurance coach?
Endurance events are among the most rapidly growing trends on the planet; thus, there are plenty of running and triathlon coach certifications available in the market. Indicatively, below are some organizations that can help you become an endurance coach; after the completion of the courses, and passing the exams, of course.
The American Sport and Fitness Association (ASFA) offers full online certification programs. You can learn all you need about running for endurance and sprints, gait analysis, nutritional strategies and many more.
The United Endurance Sport Coaching Academy (UESCA), an academy specializing in endurance, offers a host of certifications that you can get exclusively online; including running, cycling, and triathlon programs. Also, the Academy claims their certifications are science-based.
For Triathlon, USAT seems to offer one of the most popular triathlon certifications; however, Ironman University and Slowtwitch are valuable certification providers, as well.
Can I become a coach, even though it won’t be my main job?
The majority of endurance coaches in the US are part-time coaches, which means that most of them maintain a 9-5 job. Naturally, a full-time coach who focuses on their athletes, and spends time studying to expand their knowledge, has a better chance of building a steady business. Nonetheless, there are excellent part-time coaches out there, too. So, to answer the question, yes, you can become an endurance coach — even though it won’t be your main job.
Can Endogusto help me in my coaching career?
Endogusto can play a great part in your coaching business because it can make you a more efficient coach. Meanwhile, it offers you all the essential tools to train more athletes, in less time.
Needless to say, a coach has to consider a heap of components to optimize the performance of their athlete. Yet, sometimes, coaching an athlete does not mean improving them, for sure. There have been incidents where trainees get worse performance results for implementing an unstructured training plan, or a very poor monitoring process; that is, among other things.
On our part, we decided to build Endogusto with a clear vision: to make endurance coaching as easy as possible; to clarify, for both management and coaching tasks. To that end, we’d like to introduce you to some of the features you can use to help enhance your athletes’ performance. Read more about how Endogusto can become your favorite app, right here.
Dear candidate coach, as an afterword, I’d like to reassure you that the Science Training team and I will be waiting for you in the exciting world of coaching. And we’ll be more than happy to assist you in your very first steps as an endurance coach🙌! Are you ready?