There are a bunch of different ways to learn but in coaching/training we basically teach training concepts in 3 different styles…

Visual… we need to see and example of it being done.

Audial… we prefer to hear it explained and to hear cues.

Physical (kinesthetic).. we learn by doing.

We all probably prefer one style of learning but all 3 of these are needed to coach something… For example I might be a visual learner but in the training setting sometimes an verbal cue is needed when I have 500 lbs in my hands…

So when we teach something new to somebody we first explain what we are going to do and describe the task. Then we demonstrate how to do the task correctly, then what not to do, then we demonstrate the correct form again. After that we hand it over to the athlete and ask them to do the task and we will either say and do nothing because it’s pretty good or we will correct by verbalizing a cue, or we will correct by physically putting them in a better position, or we will stop them and re-demonstrate the correct form and also demonstrate what they did wrong.

And the cycle just repeats itself to infinity. (Probably why a lot of strength and performance coaches get burnt out.) So the better we can teach this stuff the easier and more enjoyable the job we have.

You can see how the ability to learn movements or exercises or new concepts in your sport is critical. Another reason why somebody can be born athletic but that doesn’t equate to success in sports.

From my experience, the athletes that have a ton of success are always picking up on the details because they learn from others around them. If I’m correcting somebody on the deadlift they are paying attention even though Im not directly talking to them. When I correct the first step on an athlete sprinting the guy or girl that is paying attention even though Im not directly talking to them is getting better. This has a compounding effect. Instead of getting coached up 3x a session they are getting exposed to hundreds of learning opportunities. If I’m working with 5 kids and have to make the exact same correction 5x I know that they aren’t paying attention. The best are picking up cues and coaching all the time not just when they screw something up. Some of our best athletes can see what other athletes are doing wrong and can give them feedback… the ability to take coaching, conceptualize it, and be able to re-teach it is so valuable to an athlete (“give a man a fish and he has dinner that night but teach him to fish and he has dinner for life”)

A huge benefit of starting training at a young age is that they are soaking up coaching for YEARS. Many times a kid that has been in the gym since they were 10 or 11 knows exactly how to do stuff before I even teach them! This is just from watching and seeing others do it. In a good culture they also pick up on habits and learn how to be a successful athlete just from being around the older athletes which IMO gives them a huge advantage in CONFIDENCE.

Bottom line is that being coachable is one of the KEY factors to athletic success. The good thing is that it doesn’t take good genetics to be coachable. NO coach can work with an un-coachable athlete. The first thing that college coaches ask a high school coach in the recruiting process is “Are they coachable?”