Several Things One Of My First Mentors Taught Me- You Might Be Surprised! I can still remember one of my first mentors in the sports performance industry like it was yesterday. it was November, 1991 and I introduced myself to him, he was my mentor while at I was at this tennis academy. I was a speed and strength coach for players of all levels and skill. Because of my background as a PE teacher I often was given responsibility of the large groups because I could handle organization. Often when I had a break from my privates, small groups, or large groups I would go watch my mentor train and take mental and physical notes. But it became painfully clear that my mentor was just a figure-head very quickly. So let me tell you what I learned from my mentor: 1. My mentor never shared his skill techniques or drills with me or why he used them. When I would appraoch him and ask him if he would share with me why he does what he does he would always say to me: Its all up here as he was pointing to his head. He was never willing to share with me his techniques, strategies, or core philosophy of what his training was about. I LEARNED TO NEVER BE A SELFISH MENTOR AND TO ALWAYS SHARE AS MUCH AS I CAN TO HELP THOSE I MENTOR. 2. My mentor, at the time, was training some of the top tennis players in the world. On occassion when he couldnt be there or had double booked training sessions he would ask me to cover for him. I would ask him what do you want me to work on and what should I be aware of with the player? His response was you will figure it out. Just give them a good workout. i LEARNED WHEN I HAVE HAD INTERNS I ALWAYS PREPARED THEM FOR ANY TASK THEY HAD AHEAD OF THEM. I SAW IT AS MY JOB TO HOLD THEIR HANDS VERY TIGHTLY EARLY ON AND GRADUALLY LOOSEN MY GRIP AS THEY GOT MORE COMFORTABLE. 3. There was a time when I thought things with my mentor were going to work out well. I felt like he was starting to want to help me more. He actually offered me a job opportunity with him and some other business people. I was going to be the head performance coach and director for a new company. When I moved to this new location and waited for the facility to open I quickly learned the financial people decided to back out. There i was left with no job and i had just moved to a new state. I remember calling my Mentor and asking for help/advice and yes, you guessed it, nothing! I LEARNED TO NOT CUT TIES WITH THOSE I INTERN OR MENTOR. WHEN AN INTERN MOVES ON TO A NEW JOB I ALWAYS WILL HELP THEM IF THEY NEED ME. THEY ARE APART OF MY FAMILY AND THEY CAN COUNT ON ME TO HELP THEM IF I AM ABLE. I wanted to share with you what my first real experience with a mentor in the fitness industry was like. My greatest mentors ever were my family members, especially my dad. He taught and taught regardless of what area of life it was I needed mentoring in. I have always remembered what my dad did for me and what my Mentor didnt. So my choice was an easy one when it came to the type of mentor I wanted to be. Always be a mentor from your heart! Train Smart!
Posted on: Fri, 14 Nov 2014 02:12:26 +0000
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