I had a coach for a little while...

He definitely help me improve, but i felt he wasn't tough enough on me...one of my friends/mentors also does some coaching, and the first thing she told me was to lose weight. not that i was overweight, but the fact is, if i wanted to really compete, i needed to lose some pounds...my previous coach always felt that it was too mean to bring up weight with his female athletes, but sometimes that needs to be said.

the biggest issue i have with coaches, at least arond here, is there credentials. there is a big difference between some guy who raced well and a good coach. a good coach has taken some kind of education in coaching. just because someone was a good athlete in their day, means they were able to train themselves, and they tend to use that same "formula" with other people and that doesn't necessarily work. my coach was very educated and knowledgeable, just not tough enough with me.

also, i need a mtb coach, and road coaches don't necessarily understand the needs of mtb racing.

hope that helps!

H