Ready For Colour?

I'll not shame the person, but a few weeks ago that person said "Kirkland, you are such a fucking intellectual". I laughed. "Aye right" I thought.

I've done nothing but think all day. Work stuff. What are the perfect attributes of a cycling coach? How do I bottle these attributes and then use them to design a coaching qualification that has impact? Sheesh.... Most sports use linear processes....long term athlete development models, easy entry level qualifications getting more difficult and involved as they progress. That's how education works. It makes sense doesn't it?

Nah...no it doesn't, or so I'm starting to think. I'm lucky enough to work in an environment where I meet lots of different coaches. This week I bumped into Shane Sutton, as great a coach in cycling as Alex Ferguson is in football. What makes him great? I've heard it said that "where others see in black and white, Shane sees in colour".

But sit on a train, a bus or walk along the street these days and observe others. People have vision, light focuses on their retina; but does a signal of sufficient clarity reach their brains? I doubt it. They see but they do not. Connection between others, even on a superficial basis, seems to be rarer these days. Communication is with electronic devices, not each other.

To see colour, the richness of life, or to connect and get under the skin of others, firstly you need to see or feel. This is the black and white, without colour but with the depth of texture, tonality and shade. This richness is missed if the coach is simply thinking about what to say next or if their ego is too big. Maybe Shane is different because he sees in black and white and doesn't piss about with too much with banality, saying simply what he sees. Emotion and feeling are the tools used to get under the skin of riders, to connect and add colour richness. A bullshit filter is a prerequisite for a coach too though.

How does one bottle that? Certainly not using a linear educational process. I love Sir Ken Robinson's talk on TED and elsewhere on challenging current educational paradigms. Google him if you've not heard of him. Adults seem too conditioned to do what is expected of them and their creativity is lost as a result. Good coaching is about connection with others...simply 'telling' rarely connects. Connection requires creativity and not being scared to deviate from the manual or make mistakes. I'm seeing my problem with more clarity now but wondering if I'm capable of shifting the coaching paradigm. Only time will tell.

My day was fine, although I tried to be creative with my route planning and got lost. I missed open water swimming but still managed a 2.5 hour cycle loaded with lock and wetsuit in my rucksack. After a bit chill time, I headed into Glossop to do my shopping. Spring produce that hasn't been flown half way across the world is now available, so my fruit n veg basket was well loaded. £3.29 for a few spears of new season asparagus broke my heart....but the taste will be worth it. Alas, every silver lining has a cloud and my pee will smell horrible for days. The tart au citron from the deli is worth note too....amazing.

After my posh lunch I headed out on the bike again. I have a race tomorrow so didn't ride too hard. Still, it's never easy around here with the climb beyond Mellor being over 3km long. I didn't expect a headwind on the drag towards Chunal. My legs were hurting even before the initial steep kick of this short, sharp ascent. It's easy to overcook it on that initial 18% bit, resulting in the final section being hell. But I managed to stay relaxed and pushed hard to the summit. Gasping for oxygen, I hit the top faster than I've even done before, finding enough energy to punch the air in delight. Like Wiggo when he won the Tour. I sat up a bit after that, saving my legs for Sunday's race.