Reflections on the RRCA Coaching Certification at Davidson

Good to be back in Atlanta after two days in North Carolina. I must say first off that I thoroughly enjoyed and learned quite a bit from the RRCA Coaching Certification course. Janet Hamilton and Mike Broderick did a fine job presenting the materials and allowing me to soak up plenty of information in the process. Took the four hour plus drive from Atlanta to Davidson and stayed at a Days Inn one exit south of the class. After not being able to sign up for the Atlanta course I signed up for the next close one which happened to be North Carolina. Fleet Feet and its owner Marc Harris were the sponsors and I got to meet him myself as he was in the course with me. Great group, there were about thirty of us, ranging from volunteer coaches, trainers to running store personnel, etc. Many people had different goals ranging from furthering education to career development. As for me I was looking to garner both as I move forward with my endeavor of becoming a trainer and eventual coach. The exercises that we did on day two really opened my eyes to the benefits of proper coaching and planning that go into a training plan rather than simply spitting some numbers into a template and utilizing that. A couple of points were hard for me but that is part of the learning process and I look forward to studying up more in my free time and grasping said points. Physiology over everything was the key to instituting a winning workout program for a client; that plus a good insurance plan to protect you from liability also. One point is that the course is designed for basic level coaching and that at the college or competing level it would be hard to implement some of the material. That in no way implies that the materials are not relevant even at those levels. I was also able to discover more resources that I look forward to utilizing in the future including certifications, sites and answers to questions I had. The only thing that I would recommend for updating in the future is the images in the handouts. The material itself was very well presented but the images simply did not look like anything from the past fifteen years. Besides that I must say that I enjoyed, learned and met people who perhaps one day I can network with as I make my way towards my goal. I have thirty days to complete the 100 question online exam and will then move forward to get my Personal Trainer certification.