Letting Them Beat You Occasionally: A Coach's Journey

Craig ‘Fox’ Holland resides in beautiful Nelson Bay, Coastal Beach Village in New South Wales, Australia. He represented Australia in both the Olympic Distance as well as Ironman distance in the World Championships in Kona, Hawaii in 2005. He is the holder of many age-group triathlon awards. Since 2004, Fox has coached dozens of executives on how to start their training for biathlons, triathlons and endurance races. He has helped his students and neophytes realise their personal dreams of completing their first triathlon, open water swim, marathon, and Ironman triathlon. He was an aircraft technician in his previous life, and now has two businesses as a International Management Consultant/Trainer, as well as a Home Reservations business. 

Craig Holland and Enrico Varella were in Nusa Dua, Bali for this interview. We were seated on deck-chairs by the swimming pool, watching the waves plough the shores mercilessly. His skin showed a crispy, sun-kissed tan, of having spent three weeks surfing 6-foot waves. As planning and coincidence had it, we met up with him and his family (wife, Sue; sons, 16-year-old Cameron and 11-year-old Mitch). We chatted about his 10 years of working on projects in Singapore, his  admiration for Bruce Lee (whom he finds most inspiring as an athlete), and his yearning to compete again in triathlons (although he indicated that he might race Ironman Western Australia this year). 

Seizing the day, this interview was initiated with mobile technology since we were nomadic executives.

Enrico (EV): What are your professional views of coaching?  

Craig Holland (CH): I believe coaching should be personalised to the individual needs, with goals set higher than the coachee's expectations. 

Quite often, we set goals that under-estimate our true potential. I'm don't mean un-realistic/un-achievable goals, but challenging enough to make the coachee exceed their limitations, physically and mentally.  You want to put/see that sparkle in their eyes where the coachee actually thinks…

Yes, maybe I could do it...

Wouldn't it be great if I did?

I think it is possible with more dedication and refinement.

If they can do it, so can I.

Why not?

I'll show them.      

EV: What are your personal views of coaching?
CH: Coaching should be a two-way relationship of trust between the coach and the coachee. The coach has to be willing to loose to the coachee at times to achieve a win in the long term. The biggest compliment to the coach is when the coachee becomes more skilled at the practice than the coach. This reminds me of your favourite Zen saying: "When the Student is ready, the Master will appear." Correct?

EV: That is correct, Grasshopper! What is your experience with coaching executives, internationally?
CH: I have been involved with coaching executives internationally for the past eight years in Australia, Asia, The Middle East and Africa. Whilst there is a large diversity of cultures between the Countries, we humans "yearn to learn" and are willing to listen and change behaviors if they can see the benefits. It is important to identify the improved skills and how they will change the coachee' s work/life harmony. 
 
EV: When does it work best?

CH: When the coachee has not had the chance to learn bad habits. When the coachee has the time/infrastructure and support systems in place to allow them to practice, refine the skills with continuous guidance/feedback and reassurance. It also helps if the Coachee has constant exposure to experts/masters in the field to model excellence. Seek out what the best do and learn from them.  

EV: When does coaching get challenging?  
CH: When the coachee does not see improvement in their performance immediately and they become de motivated. Loose focus. When the coachee wants to change but does not have the support of their supervisors.

EV: How do you measure the impact of coaching?  
CH: It is important to initially identify the coachee' s skills/abilities and then set sub-goals/milestone/challenges for them to achieve along the way.

EV: How do coaching triathletes tie in with your coaching of adult-learners and executives?
CH: You need to believe in yourself, and have the right mindset. When coaching executives try to get them to believe they do have the capabilities/talents to achieve. I often use stories of athletes I have known/coached that could only dream of taking on a triathlon or Ironman. But with perseverance, dedication and guidance they have climbed their mountains.   

EV: Which are two of your best coaching stories?

CH: I have many great success stories involving both business and sports.

One recent success story involved working with Nokia.  I have been responsible for training Nokia Manager's in the Middle East, South African and Asia. It is a Leadership program with an emphasis on Psychological Profiling, Coaching and Change Management with three post-course virtual Coaching Sessions. One particular Manager was very stressed out about their failing relationship between his Boss and work colleagues. They stated that they had no work/life harmony and that their relationship with their partner and young child was also suffering and that they never had time to exercise or play sport. The Doctor had also commented about their raising blood pressure.      

After working with the Manager we discussed issues about their individual personality preferences, their staff's/Boss’s personality and management style and what work/life harmony would they like to have? Over the next three months the Manager implemented many changes, such as instigating regular focus groups between themselves and work colleagues, prioritized their work commitments, did not Micro-Manage staff anymore (which gave them more time for other duties). They had also joined a local gym with their partner and were dedicating time to watch their children play sport one night a week and on the weekend. Their Boss had noted the changes and the Manager had recently been offered a promotion.  

Another Coaching Milestone occurred whilst I was working with a fellow trainer called Enrico Varella in Singapore.  One of my hobbies is competing in Triathlons, Olympic and Ironman distances.  Enrico was a very dedicated bodybuilder and athlete, however he could not imagine swimming, riding and running in a one event, let alone competing in an Ironman race. After much coercing and convincing him that any one can do it as long as you are willing to put the work in, he started to train for a short distance race. Over the next six months I would send words of encouragement and training programs but he seemed to have hit a plateau. So, the next trip I was in Singapore we linked up for a run after one of our workshops.  

The goal was to complete a 10km run. We aimed to run along the East Coast of Singapore for 5km then turn around at the halfway point and run back. After about 2km, I noticed he was taking it very, very easy and lagging behind. I asked,  "What are you waiting for, a taxi?" You have the ability and fitness to make the 10km easy. He informed me that he had only run 10km, two other times but very slow. 

So I set him a challenge: he was to turn at the 5km mark and run back to the start point, I would run 5.5km and chase him to the finish. Enrico would run 10km, and I would run 11km all up.  Last one back had to buy dinner.   We got to the 5 km mark and he turned for home, I bid him farewell and headed for the 5.5km mark.  As I ran off I noticed his pace had increased considerably. So I gave it all and ran as hard as I could. With 1km to go I had closed the gap to within 100 metres and started to yell out, "I'm coming."  Enrico lifted the pace like a man possessed. I reduced the gap to 20 metres and backed off to allow him to cross the line first very exhausted. He had run a PB, the fastest 10km ever for him.

Since then he has gone on to complete 7 Ironman races and is highly recognised throughout Singapore for his rapid progression and dedication towards training. Sometimes we have to set ourselves challenging goals to stretch and achieve our real potential. Sometimes we need to take a loss to have a win also. Well done Enrico, it was a pleasure buying the dinner. You are an IRONMAN!

EV: Thanks a million, mate [shakes his head in disbelief]. What was it like to qualify, and complete Kona?

CH: Fantastic, the whole journey was very fulfilling. It was a sense of achievement and closure. After all the years of hard training and sacrifices made by my loved ones and myself, it was nice to achieve the goals I had set.

EV: Do you think triathletes need coaching?  
CH: Yes, definitely. There is so much to learn about the sport. I have a different coach for Swimming, Riding and Running. Other aspects that need attention include nutrition, equipment selection, mental aspects, (mind control), race tactics, tapering before a race, post training and race recovery, physiology, maintaining work/life harmony and most important of all, your loved ones.    

EV: How can triathletes get on a coaching program?

CH: There are many different means available for triathletes these days, ranging from triathlon magazines, the Internet, online coaching, tri clinics to personal coaches. I think it is important to seek out a coach who you respect and is able to tailor the coaching program to suit your individual needs. You need to be considerate of your work, family, mental and physical situations, and adaptable enough to adjust the program accordingly.

EV: Thanks, mate for the interview.

CH: You’re welcome. So, how is your training for Austria coming on…?

EV: Let’s see…

Ironman World Championships 2005, Kona, Hawaii – 10 hours 38 min

2002 Forster Australian Ironman – 10 hours 32 minutes

2005 Forster Australian Ironman - 10 hours 2 minutes

Australian Defence Olympic Triathlon Championships - 2 hours 2 min 35 seconds

1^st place: Fuji-Xerox Singapore Open Water Swim 2006 (1.5km)

1^st place: Fuji-Xerox Singapore Open Water Swim 2007 (1km)

2^nd place: OSIM International Triathlon (Singapore) 2007, 45-49 years

And many more!

Craig Holland provides Leadership Training and Motivational Coaching to develop your peak performance mentally and physically. He can be contacted at foxholland@aapt.net.au

© 2009 Enrico Varella & lead2tri.blogspot.com

Reproduction of material from any Lead2Tri.blogspot.com page without written permission is strictly prohibited.