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What would you guys look for in a coach?

theginger45

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October 12, 2013 - 7:26 pm

Hey TPE,

After the success of my first video series for the site (thank you to everyone who watched it and especially those who gave it high ratings!), I'm looking to get into doing a bit more individual, one-to-one coaching. I want to know what kind of characteristics you guys value most highly in a coach, since there are so many people out there these days offering coaching that I want to get some insight into how people go about choosing who to approach for coaching.

What kinds of characteristics are important? Would you prefer someone with stellar results over someone with very good teaching skills? What about the format of a lesson, do you prefer to review your own hands or those played by others?

Really, any input you guys can provide me would be great. It also goes without saying that if you're interested in one-to-one coaching, I'd be happy to discuss it. Feel free to PM me on here or tweet at me (@theginger45) if you'd like to talk it over.

Looking forward to hearing some thoughts from the TPE Nation!

Kalculater

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October 29, 2013 - 10:59 pm

theginger45 said:

What kinds of characteristics are important? Would you prefer someone with stellar results over someone with very good teaching skills? What about the format of a lesson, do you prefer to review your own hands or those played by others?

Surprised no-one has replied to this. I often dont check this part of the forum however am about to post a topic and saw this at the top. I have had a few coaches in the past, and a couple of backers so I will try outline what things were good and what I thought could be improved.

Essentially what I think makes a good coach is:

– Dedication; having a coach that is dedicated and enthusiastic about the game and the learning process really shines through to their students.

– Intelligence; a coach must be intelligent and knowledgeable about aspects of the game (this is a no-brainer).

– Structured lessons; structured lesson plans on what to work on, or if doing HH review having a professional template which is emailed as an attachment with tourney/hands/comments. If doing a live HH review having same template but with separate questions that arose and particular answers. If working on individual things, giving a worksheet of these particular things (being concerned of villains stack sizes, hand reading etc) that the student can review/be mindful of before playing their own away-from-coach sessions.

– Being easily contactable; this is a massive one! I had a coach I had purchased hours from, his timezone was very different from mine however he never came on skype, he never responded to emails even when trying to book hours a week in advance. If you are not easily contactable, your students lose faith in you as a coach and ultimately do not book hours. I have asked for refunds from coaches before just because of this.

– Results; results do not need be ultimately stellar. I think that some good results are necessary however they need to be quite consistent even if it isnt at the highest buyins.

– Communication skills; being able to explain clearly thought processes behind decisions and to communicate effectively with people from different backgrounds and nationalities.

– A questionative style; I think a coach should be questioning the student at all times, whats his hand range here? why did you bet this size? what are you trying to achieve? before a hand is played, what are you doing here? Examining the students though processes, pointing out leaks in it or other factors they are not considering. Also consider alternative lines of play. Ultimately students will learn through repetition and being forced to make decisions, being aware of their own leaks. One quote i love is 'a fish doesnt know its swimming in water until its made aware'.

Lesson format should really be up to both the coach and student depending on when they can both be available to each other. If doing HH reviews it is much preferrable that they are live. I have had coaches refuse to do live HH reviews and i think this is a big no-no. It doesnt allow students to ask questions or pick the thought process of the coach.

At the end of a coaching lesson i think it is important to have a conclusion and re-wrap of important points. One method I have used in my professional career is pointing out aspects the student/employee is doing well, followed by things they can improve. This lessens the blow to their confidence, reiterates points they are doing well and to keep up and makes them feel more valued imo.

I have had bad experiences of coaches in the past and most of these are adjustments I would need the coach to make before I would think about implementing a coach in the future.

I wish you well in the coaching arena.

theginger45

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November 8, 2013 - 7:47 pm

Thanks very much for your feedback! Sorry it took me so long to get back to you. I was away for a while playing UKIPT Isle of Man. Some really interesting points there which I will definitely bear in mind. Really appreciate the input.

Kalculater

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November 8, 2013 - 8:57 pm

One thing I did forget to mention is that it is a necessity to offer ghosting for any students if they are deep…

ttwist

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November 8, 2013 - 11:22 pm

Kalculater said:

One thing I did forget to mention is that it is a necessity to offer ghosting for any students if they are deep…

i dont recomend this what so ever! i do tons of coaching and if its not HH reviews or the student makes a vid for me to review theres only 1 more option which i prefer is have student sweat the coach and allow student to sit in on coaches session and absorb. Never should someone under any circumstances play for someone or ghosting either its just trouble

theginger45

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November 9, 2013 - 12:26 am

Kalculater said:

One thing I did forget to mention is that it is a necessity to offer ghosting for any students if they are deep…

Yeah, I would hope you were being sarcastic here. If you're not, then be aware that this is entirely against the rules and I will never, ever be doing this.

Phoebus

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November 9, 2013 - 2:51 pm

I think Kalculater really covered pretty much everything cool

One thing you could do that would help you build up a customer base would be to keep track of everyone that pays for a call with you and then one time a month do a free group call with everyone and go over someones HH. That would help you build up a base.

Just a suggestion.

theginger45

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November 9, 2013 - 3:45 pm

That's a cool idea Phoebus, thanks! I might do that.

Phoebus

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November 9, 2013 - 3:50 pm

No problem man, hopefully it helps you out.

Kalculater

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November 12, 2013 - 11:27 pm

theginger45 said:

Kalculater said:

One thing I did forget to mention is that it is a necessity to offer ghosting for any students if they are deep…

Yeah, I would hope you were being sarcastic here. If you're not, then be aware that this is entirely against the rules and I will never, ever be doing this.

I had not checked replies in this topic for a while. In saying that, it was completely a joke. Knowing how active theginger45 is on 2+2 and the current information/alleged instances of ghosting and multi accounting via VPNs etc. on 2+2 I thought it was a little humorous.

Just for clarity, I am totally against people ghosting. I think it is highly unethical and threatens the existence of profits for recreational players like myself. I think anyone proven to ghost their horses or students should be banned from the respective sites they play and 'named-n-shamed' by the community.

Sorry for the derailment.

Kalculater

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November 12, 2013 - 11:30 pm

Phoebus said:

I think Kalculater really covered pretty much everything

One thing you could do that would help you build up a customer base would be to keep track of everyone that pays for a call with you and then one time a month do a free group call with everyone and go over someones HH. That would help you build up a base.

Just a suggestion.

I think this is an awesome idea. Coaching should really be looked at like any other business in the way that you need to build a customer base, retain that customer base and expand further as coaching availability requires. I think this greatly enhances relations with your students.

Phoebus

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November 13, 2013 - 12:14 am

I think to another idea might be just buy Pamela ($30) and record all the calls for your own records…then down the road you can make a product from them…and also just give each student a recording of their call as a way to distinguish yourself.

theginger45

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November 13, 2013 - 12:23 am

Phoebus said:

I think to another idea might be just buy Pamela ($30) and record all the calls for your own records…then down the road you can make a product from them…and also just give each student a recording of their call as a way to distinguish yourself.

Thanks, that's another cool idea. I have Camtasia, so I'm sure that would also work.

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