Are You Really Ready to be a Prep Coach?

With the fitness industry blowing up in popularity over the last few years,  the title of
"prep coach” has been claimed and scoffed at by many.  I’ll even admit that when I first started taking on athletes, it took 2 years for me to become comfortable calling MYSELF a prep coach, because I felt like I needed to earn the right to use that title.  I have now been coaching for 5 short years, and each year I learn more than I could imagine with the experience of challenges. I strive to use great integrity and judgement, and to develop a solid relationship with each of my clients, so that our outcome feels successful regardless of what we can’t control. I love each of my competitors and I absolutely love the transformations these athletes make, and I feel so fortunate to be able to do my job.
Maybe you have done your research. You’ve completed your courses in education and you’ve become certified.  Maybe you’ve had a few rounds of competing, and maybe even prepped yourself. Or, maybe you've competed once under a hired prep coach, you have no understanding of physiology & chemistry,  and all of a sudden you want to take on a team of your own becuase you hear it is easy money.

I have a bachelor’s degree in exercise science and courses in sports nutrition.  I have 15 years of experience as a competitor myself, 5 years of coaching experience, 4 years of running my own business, and a CPR certification. Most of what I have learned about coaching is through trial and error of repetitive application and experience from hard lessons. Credentials and numbers are helpful, but there are a few things that you may want to consider before taking on the role of deeming yourself a prep coach. 

Of course, these are just a few points I find important that some people would disagree with, but I think they are worth considering for yourself.