What is a Starting Strength Staff Coach?

[konkoba98]

I guess my real question is 'who isn't'?

I've seen forum member posts that they were SS coaches, or had been certified, or whatever... but they do not have the SS coach along with their name. Is there a difference? Is a SS STAFF Coach different then a SS Coach? Are there different levels of certification?

My sister, a pure novice, is apparently working with a SS coach at a XFit facility that has her squatting Mondays, pressing Wednesdays, and Deadlifting Fridays - ALONG WITH THE DAILY WODS. She was told she can lift more frequently when she 'gets better at the lifts'. She was a starting point guard throughout college. That doesn't sound like SS to me. I recommended the facility because it was on the SS directory with a SS coach there. Is there a difference in the SS Staff Coaches here and all the SS coaches listed in the directory?

[Steve Hill]

Are there different levels of certification?

No.

My sister, a pure novice, is apparently working with a SS coach at a XFit facility that has her squatting Mondays, pressing Wednesdays, and Deadlifting Fridays - ALONG WITH THE DAILY WODS. She was told she can lift more frequently when she 'gets better at the lifts'. She was a starting point guard throughout college. That doesn't sound like SS to me.

Doesn't sound like it to me, either. But then, you've given us very little information, have given us no idea about what she has discussed with the coach, nothing, and are apparently wanting us to make some type of commentary on this particular coach. Sorry, not going to do it, except to say, like any other certification, the SS Coach's certification is a snapshot in time. That individual, at that point in time, demonstrated the ability to teach the lifts on the platform, and demonstrated an array of knowledge in a written test. Beyond that, it's impossible for us, or anyone short of the person being coached, to control what any one individual does in their coaching practice.

Is there a difference in the SS Staff Coaches here and all the SS coaches listed in the directory?

Yes. We are the coaches that staff the platforms at Starting Strength Seminars. I don't know about the other guys, but Rip chose me for my awesome good looks, and witty repartee.

As you would know if you had read the sticky. The Staff part, not the repartee part.

[konkoba98]

"you've given us very little information, have given us no idea about what she has discussed with the coach, nothing, and are apparently wanting us to make some type of commentary on this particular coach. Sorry, not going to do it"

I didn't ask anything about my sister's situation. I didn't ask for a comment about any particular coach. My questions are usually followed by ?????'s

I've seen tons of great advice from forum members with the 'Starting Strength Coach' title under their names. Some of that advice was to me directly and has been very helpful. I pretty much take any advice given by forum members with that title as gold (with a couple exceptions). I don't know what gets them that little title on this forum since, apparently not all SS coaches teach SS. I did read the sticky and think my questions were pretty fair.

[Steve Hill]

I've seen tons of great advice from forum members with the 'Starting Strength Coach' title under their names. Some of that advice was to me directly and has been very helpful. I pretty much take any advice given by forum members with that title as gold (with a couple exceptions). I don't know what gets them that little title on this forum since, apparently not all SS coaches teach SS. I did read the sticky and think my questions were pretty fair.

I didn't say your questions were not fair. I did say that some of them were directly answered by the sticky. Because they are.

As its name implies, this forum will be moderated and run by the Starting Strength Seminar Staff Coaches. Each of us brings unique experiences and a different background to the table, but we all share some important commonalities. All of us have earned the Starting Strength Coach Certificate ourselves. We have been personally selected by Rip, through our coaching at the seminar and our exam answers, to intern as a coach at a seminar. We’ve subsequently completed that internship and gone on to coach at a minimum of several seminars as part of the staff.

[Kyle Schuant]

OP, it's a certification, the people remain individuals, they don't all become Rip's remote-controlled robots, only the lucky ones. Each has their own approach to training people, however what they share in common is a demonstrated understanding of how to perform and coach the five basic lifts according to the SS method. Whether they then choose to perform or coach them that way afterwards, or according to the two basic books' programming, is up to them and their judgment.

It's like going to a doctor, accountant, chef or whatever and asking how to do something. Not all of them will have the same answer. This does not mean that any particular answer is wrong, necessarily. There are many roads to the same destination, Starting Strength simply presents a very well-built and well-travelled road, and the coaches are your drivers on that road.

[konkoba98]

Strange how this thread suddenly closed and then became unclosed.

I wouldn't say all SS coaches are our drivers down a certain road given that, apparently, some SS coaches don't take you down that road. The 'YNDTP' gets hammered in so often here that I would expect all SS coaches to coach SS, or 'DTP'. At least the ones in the directory here. At least for a pure novice walking into a gym for the first time in years. At least don't have them doing cardio circuits 3 times more often than squatting and attach any type of Starting Strength to the title.

People can do whatever they want. I'm not trying to advocate for some kind of policing of SS coaches and what happens under their tutelage. I was hoping to hear of some kind of distinction that separates the people with titles "Starting Strength Coach" under their names on this forum, some kind of extra training or certification or contribution. My experience with some of those coaches, particularly Jordan and a couple others who are part of this Staff Q&A, is that they are helpful, polite (with one exception, I guess), and correct in their advice.

[Jordan Feigenbaum]

Starting Strength Seminar Coaches are selected to come intern in at least one additional Starting Strength Seminar and work as a platform coach to see if they can, in fact, coach the platform with a group of people correctly in order to be a more permanent fixture in future Starting Strength Seminars. Someone who passes the platform and written exam is considered a Starting Strength Coach, but is not a seminar staff member (Starting Strength Seminar Coach) until they participate in (as an intern) and are approved by Rip, Stef, etc.

I would expect the most Starting Strength Coaches, especially the recent ones, to have a really good understanding of not only how to coach the lifts, but also what is and isn't appropriate for training persons at different levels of advancement. This doesn't mean that some don't have different belief systems and might coach or program things a bit differently, however it is feasible that persons participating in a much older iteration of the seminar might do things much differently. We're working on a system now to keep people "in the know" as to how our coaching methods, programming ideas, etc. are constantly evolving.

The other thing that's unfortunately rampant in this industry is just plain old quality control. It's nearly impossible to ensure that everyone holding a certain distinction is worth their salt, although I know that all the folks on the seminar staff certainly are. Just my 0.02.

[Walter Palmer]

Strange how this thread suddenly closed and then became unclosed.

I wouldn't say all SS coaches are our drivers down a certain road given that, apparently, some SS coaches don't take you down that road. The 'YNDTP' gets hammered in so often here that I would expect all SS coaches to coach SS, or 'DTP'. At least the ones in the directory here. At least for a pure novice walking into a gym for the first time in years. At least don't have them doing cardio circuits 3 times more often than squatting and attach any type of Starting Strength to the title.

People can do whatever they want. I'm not trying to advocate for some kind of policing of SS coaches and what happens under their tutelage. I was hoping to hear of some kind of distinction that separates the people with titles "Starting Strength Coach" under their names on this forum, some kind of extra training or certification or contribution. My experience with some of those coaches, particularly Jordan and a couple others who are part of this Staff Q&A, is that they are helpful, polite (with one exception, I guess), and correct in their advice.

I'm not a SS Coach (but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night) but have one comment on the reason, as I see it, that "YNDTP" gets reiterated in the forum. It is clear from attending a couple of camps, the SS Seminar, and following this board fairly closely, that lots and lots of novice trainees who are working on their own, many times alone in their garage, don't follow any program for long before they start tinkering around, adding a bunch of assistance or strongman stuff, etc.

In addition, it is pretty clear that many of them don't taking the eating or recovery seriously, either. In those cases, I do think it is an appropriate response to suggest DTP until they get to a level where they either a) need to change off of LP; b) know enough about lifting and programming and how their body responds to make informed decisions about changes; or c) start working with a coach, SS or otherwise, who can assist them in their goals.

If you accept that premise, then I don't think it is out of the question that a "SS Coach" might program someone they are working with directly, who is working towards specific goals, in a slightly modified way.

[Michael Wolf]

I don't really understand the continuing confusion after Steve said:

...like any other certification, the SS Coach's certification is a snapshot in time. That individual, at that point in time, demonstrated the ability to teach the lifts on the platform, and demonstrated an array of knowledge in a written test. Beyond that, it's impossible for us, or anyone short of the person being coached, to control what any one individual does in their coaching practice.

and this, including the sticky I wrote:

Yes. We are the coaches that staff the platforms at Starting Strength Seminars. I don't know about the other guys, but Rip chose me for my awesome good looks, and witty repartee.

As you would know if you had read the sticky. The Staff part, not the repartee part.

Earning the SS Coach Certificate means you demonstrated knowledge and proficiency in the relevant material (performing and coaching the lifts according to the SS model, and demonstrating an understanding of the science and analysis explaining how and why we do things we way we do). It doesn't guarantee that any given coach will choose to use that knowledge or coach exclusively in this fashion for the rest of his life. It seems a lot of people are surprised by this, and assume that earning the certificate implies an ongoing relationship with this organization. It does not.

At least not now. As Jordan mentioned and has been mentioned on other threads, the idea of some type of continuing education or involvement in order to maintain the SS Coach certificate is being considered.

But even then, caveat emptor still applies. If someone who has earned the SS Coach certificate decides to go rogue and start teaching the high bar half squat under the guise of "Starting Strength" without us knowing about it, and you as a client go to this person and pay for his services without doing any of your own investigation into the matter of what you're supposed to be learning, that's on you. You go to a coach for expertise and guidance, but it's ultimately you who decides whether to trust the coach. If you choose to know nothing about the subject matter, you have to make that decision blindly.

[Brian Harlin]

You go to a coach for expertise and guidance, but it's ultimately you who decides whether to trust the coach. If you choose to know nothing about the subject matter, you have to make that decision blindly.

This is so true.

Before I found SS I literally went through every trainer at the Gym that I was a member of. I had read, and been told, "Squats are King", so I was determined to learn how to squat. The method presented to me was, "hip width stance, keep your back vertical, don't let your knees pass your toes, squat till the bottom of your thighs are parallel with the floor." Try as I might, I could not squat this way.
As I tried and experimented, I came to a hypothesis that this was an impossible method of squatting. How could you possibly lower yourself down with your center of gravity progressively getting farther behind you and not fall over? The first two trainers worked with me, and both suggested flexibility issues. So I stretched and stretched, but of course was never able to squat. I asked a third trainer, he told me to squat against a wall using a swiss ball to roll up and down. Of course I could squat using the advocated method this way, but thought, should you really need a wall and a ball to squat? I asked another trainer and she said, "Talk to x, he is the strength guy here." When I asked x if he would check my form he said, " I'm sure your form is fine. You are probably like me, your legs are stronger than your back. That's why you shouldn't squat. You should use the leg press machine."

It was exactly at that point I realized, nobody there new what the fuck they were talking about. I'm still pissed and embarrassed at myself for suspending logic for so long. None of them squatted. They were just regurgitating some bullshit that they were taught, and obviously never tried it.