Anyone who has ever worked for me at either of my gyms or at Gym Momentum Camp know that I have 5 very simple rules for coaches in the gym.

Follow these rules we are ALL happy and a better staff.

I was reading Anne Josephson’s Blog this morning and she backs up rule #2 with science!

HERE ARE MY RULES FOR COACHES IN ANY GYM.

1. BE ON TIME.  Not only am I counting on you being there. The gymnasts count on you being there. You need to check your stations for safety and have a plan for what you are going do. You cannot do that if you are running into the gym at the last second or late. “being on time means 15 minutes early.”
2. NO SITTING DOWN IN THE GYM. Anne states it more eloquently than me. Simply- You cannot motivate from your ass. You need to be a good example. If you want the kids sitting down- then you can sit down.
3. NO CELL PHONES IN THE GYM. There are too many distractions as it is. A coach constantly checking their phone for text messages is a huge distraction. Leave it on a shelf in the gym. Need to video something? Go over and get it. Otherwise- enjoy the time you are disconnected.
4. DON’T COME TO ME WITH A PROBLEM WITH OUT A POTENTIAL SOLUTION. Think before you come to me with a problem. Otherwise it’s just whining. I like to think I am a good listener. If you just need to vent, I get it. Say, “Tony- I just need to vent”. You are not looking for a solution. No problem. Want a solution? Give it some thought, give me your ideas. They may (or may not) work. But it is at least a starting point.
5. EVERYONE LEAVES WITH A SMILE. We are entertainers, we need to do our best that every customer, Parents, class kids, siblings, co-workers need to leave with a smile. THIS INCLUDES YOU!  We have all had rough days. Sometimes you just need to fake it.

NO LYING ON THE MATS: How Horizontal Coaching Hurts Your Gym’s Morale.

Anne Josephson.

Ask any gym owners or managers pet peeve or gym parents’ concern about their child’s coach and in the top five you are likely to hear “sitting/lying on a mat during practice.”
I know it makes my list consistently.
We have a name for it: horizontal coaching. And horizontal coaching is like fingernails on a blackboard to me.
Coaching is exhausting, to be fair. But, did you know that sitting down through practice or lying prone while your athletes’ toil away is having a negative effect on their effort?
Think about this: Ever notice how when someone yawns, you do too?
It’s because of what the phenomenon of what scientists call emotional contagion, the transfer of moods among people.
Multiple studies have confirmed this: people tend to display and experience the emotions of those around them.
If a coach lying on a mat while asking their athletes to complete a difficult conditioning assignment, that coach is inadvertently making it more difficult for the athletes to respond with high effort and enthusiasm.
In fact, research from the authors of the aptly titled book Emotional Contagion point to studies that show negative emotions adversely impact the group even more than positive ones help.
To be blunt, not only does lazy coach brings the energy down at practice but does so at a greater rate than enthusiastic coach brings it up.
Studies confirm that we do not live on emotional islands. Quite to the contrary our mood ripple out to those with whom we work, influencing not only other coaches’ and athletes’ emotions but the dynamic of the entire gym as well as individual thoughts, feelings and actions.
Lazy coaching influences a lazy gym atmosphere, which influences lazy beliefs, attitudes and efforts from our co-workers and athletes.
(Note: Of course there are exceptions to the rule. If a coach is disabled or injured and cannot physically stand, athletes and co-workers can adjust their attitudes and the coach can make up for the inability to be physically engaged in other ways. But those coaches are few and far between and they do not pertain to the able bodied folk who might have had a couple few too many the night before or who simply want to relax and check messages while their athletes condition…)
Get up, be enthusiastic and engage—as a coach you are a leader and it is up to you to set the tone for your athletes and to positively influence the culture in your gym.