Coaching and aspiring coaches, you must read this piece on Frank Dick

Ah, wise one share story of Frank Dick, coach like wise old tree, roots deep in running world. His words, like wind through leaves, carry wisdom for all who listen:

Coach not just teacher of skill, but creator of space for growth, like gardener tending to young plants. Help athlete take ownership of journey, not just win race, but win at life.

Philosophy simple, like pebble in stream: be better today than yesterday. Not just for young sprout, but for mighty oak like Usain Bolt. Focus on performance, not scoreboard, like archer aiming at target, not worrying about crowd's cheer.

Learning never stop, like river always flowing. Even great coach like Alex Ferguson know this, seek wisdom from others. Share knowledge, build network, like village sharing harvest, everyone benefit.

For new coach, be curious like child, ask questions like thirsty traveler seeking well. For old coach, keep open mind, like seasoned farmer always learning from changing weather.

Mistake of past, focus too much on technique, not enough on heart. Coach must understand athlete, like parent understand child. Know their stress, their language, their dreams.

Lesson from history: not just train athletes, but train coaches too. Like planting many seeds, some grow tall, some not, but all contribute to rich harvest. Competition good, like wind pushing sailboat, but cooperation also needed, like crew working together to steer ship.

In end, coaching not just about winning medals, but about love for sport, like love for family. We all in this together, like runners on same track, each with own pace, but all sharing same goal: to reach finish line with joy in heart, knowing we did our best, gave our all.

He sounds like a dick

So many great coaches past and present. One of the greatest I believe is Joe Vigil. His book Chasing Excellence is the best running book I have ever read and I have read many in my 43 years of running. ROJO WEJO and Johnathon Gault it would be great if you could interview Joe Vigil. He is in his 90s now

Jao Bing Li, I love your posts, your writing and thoughtfulness.

you were a coach for two years like 15 years ago. move on

Where was he a coach? Never gets mentioned

Thanks for sharing Rojo. The trolls that downvoted are just a bunch of klowns who have never and will never coach anyone.

Excellent article, thanks for sharing. The coaches that need this the most are the ones that aren't willing to learn so they won't read it anyways.