A TNT Weekend with Dave Scott

 

TNT Tier 2 Coach Certification Day 1

I actually got a decent night's rest and got up at 6am for the start of a long day! The TNT crew gets started early and gets going. Lots of classroom time today. Dave Scott is the head coach for the TNT triathlon program and teaches this clinic. We get started with introductions and dive into the curriculum. We blaze through topics such as program structure, exercise physiology, marker sets, swim technique fundamentals, and bike fit. Excellent presentation (and very engaging) by Rand Libberton from Aria Velo in Santa Rosa.

You can tell that Dave enjoys teaching. He's got a natural charisma and delivery that keeps things interesting. He's well versed in exercise physiology and has a great grasp of how the body functions, both biomechanically and in regards to energy systems.

We finish the day with a group dinner at a store called Sports Basement. They provided some sandwiches and beverages and 20% off coupons. Everyone went went to town with the shopping!

Too bad one of these wouldn't fit in my suitcase!

Dave chatting with Justin and Josh

I was pretty hungry going into dinner, and didn't want to eat a lot of sandwiches, so I was a bit hungry when we got back to the hotel. Another coach, Regan, and I went to the hotel restaurant and got a couple appetizers to top off the evening. (Chicken Lettuce Wraps is what I had for those who are interested.) Then I chatted briefly with the TNT staff to ask about potential information for an article I am writing and then went to bed.

TNT Day 2

Another really long day!

Today we jumped into the practical right away with the swim. Since I wanted feedback on my swim stroke, I hopped in the pool with half the coaches. It was warmer in the water than on the deck, but if we stopped for very long we got a bit chilled. We were out there for over an hour going over drills, watching our fellow coach technique and learning ways to make corrections. We had more classroom instruction in mid-morning. After lunch we headed over to a local park for some running drills. We paired up and evaluated each other. The weather was cool and drizzly for this part so we didn't overheat!

Head up, Dave! And is that a "hot armpit??" :D

Drills on the ball field (to avoid the goose poop on the grass)

Back at the hotel there were two treadmills waiting in a room for us. I was asked to get on the hamster wheel for everyone to watch (along with a few others). I'll say it is a little intimidating to get on a treadmill with 20 coaches and Dave Scott watching your running and filling out a checklist. At least the flaws they pointed out were nothing that I didn't already know or at least made sense. Funny how tightness in different parts of the body really does affect technique. I knew this, but the weekend really highlighted how my tight hip flexors and chest/back affects both my running and swimming. A very practical and insightful day today.

coaches evaluating other coaches

another coach on the hamster wheel...

We did a question and answer session and then were done for the day at around 6:30. I had enough to take a quick shower before meeting Ron and his son, Nick, for dinner. They picked me up from the hotel and we hit up a sushi place, but the wait was going to be close to 2 hours. So we went next door to Silk Road, a mediterranean place. Great to chat and catch up with them!

I went to bed as soon as I could after getting back to the hotel, as we were starting tomorrow once again before 7am!

TNT Day 3

We're all pretty exhausted at this point, Dave included. But we got cracking right after breakfast. If anything, Dave definitely is one to start on time and to not waste time! After breakfast (a light one for me, as I was going to get in the water), we headed back to the pool. Good thing it was a rainy morning! Or not. About a third of the coaches got in the water for the first 40 minutes, where the rest of the coaches evaluated their technique from a checklist and worked on specific drills that Dave wanted us to use. Then the other group who wanted to swim got in the pool. I was in this group, a smaller group in the pool, so I had about 5 coaches watching me. Talk about being in a fishbowl! It was actually quite useful and insightful, and they did a good job of not overloading me with instructions.

After this wet session, we went back inside and discussed race nutrition. Then we had lunch (quite healthy I might add!) we had another brief session before heading to the studio for some strength training work. Let's just say we all have weak glutes, except for Dave. I think he enjoyed having us all collapse with fatigued muscles while he could do more reps. As painful as it was, it was a fantastic session to review exercises that we can use to help strengthen up our teams. After this we had some question/answer time and then got our completion certificates. Well earned, I might say!

We are about to enter a world of gluteal hurt.

Dave grins, we grimmace after that session!

DONE!

I changed into my traveling clothes and found out that Josh, who I had been sitting next to all weekend, had a flight out of SFO at about the same time as mine and was planning on taking BART to the airport so we rode the train there together. To tide us over, we both got $9 smoothies at the hotel smoothie bar before we left. They were good! It was nice to have a traveling partner in an unfamiliar place.

At the airport, I got on a plane to LA to visit my grandparents...