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Thread: Robert Lee: 3 reasons I Failed the Coaching Platform Evaluation

  1. #1
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    Default Robert Lee: 3 reasons I Failed the Coaching Platform Evaluation

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  2. #2
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    Yep, that resonates pretty well with my experience as well. Especially number 3. I have a lot of experience as an educator, and so I am very used to explaining. I had very little experience as a coach, and I tried to be an educator on platform. It was very enlightening to get on the platform with someone like Rip and see how much information you can impart with one well timed word, but it's a difficult thing to switch from one mode the other without a lot of practice (that I did not have) of the latter.

  3. #3
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    This article really resonated with me. Last year, I too, attended a seminar. Beforehand, I pored over the material in all related books and articles suggested by various coaches; I watched videos of form checks until my eyes bled; I had been working the program for over two years; and finally, I had coached a few people in the lifts. I had five crisp $20's fresh out of the ATM just ready to be handed over to Nick at the seminar. I oozed confidence...until I didn't.

    I don't remember the exact verbiage; but it was ultimately a paraphrase of the "we don't make coaches during this seminar...we identify them". The "few" people I had coached was exactly '3'. I watched as the line to pay for the platform evaluation dwindled, and as it did, so too did my confidence. As the last guy stepped up to pay; I had my Woody Harrelson Zombieland moment....It was time to "nut up, or shut up".

    Those five $20 bills came home with me that weekend. I realized that although I learned the Basic Barbell movement through intense study of the books; two years of practice; and a couple of visits with a nearby SSC (shoutout to Karl Schudt)....I was the smart 'new guy' that shows up at every job. The one that is really educated about the job but has virtually no practical experience "doing it". As such, I poured myself a hot steaming cup of "sit-the-fuck-down" and enjoyed a two day weekend without the pressure of having to pass the platform exam.

    And, after reading this article, I know I would've easily doubled Mr. Lee's list. Thank you for your time in writing this article Robert, and thank you, Rip, for posting it.

  4. #4
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    Quote Originally Posted by Bryan Bulmann View Post
    This article really resonated with me. Last year, I too, attended a seminar. Beforehand, I pored over the material in all related books and articles suggested by various coaches; I watched videos of form checks until my eyes bled; I had been working the program for over two years; and finally, I had coached a few people in the lifts. I had five crisp $20's fresh out of the ATM just ready to be handed over to Nick at the seminar. I oozed confidence...until I didn't.

    I don't remember the exact verbiage; but it was ultimately a paraphrase of the "we don't make coaches during this seminar...we identify them". The "few" people I had coached was exactly '3'. I watched as the line to pay for the platform evaluation dwindled, and as it did, so too did my confidence. As the last guy stepped up to pay; I had my Woody Harrelson Zombieland moment....It was time to "nut up, or shut up".

    Those five $20 bills came home with me that weekend. I realized that although I learned the Basic Barbell movement through intense study of the books; two years of practice; and a couple of visits with a nearby SSC (shoutout to Karl Schudt)....I was the smart 'new guy' that shows up at every job. The one that is really educated about the job but has virtually no practical experience "doing it". As such, I poured myself a hot steaming cup of "sit-the-fuck-down" and enjoyed a two day weekend without the pressure of having to pass the platform exam.

    And, after reading this article, I know I would've easily doubled Mr. Lee's list. Thank you for your time in writing this article Robert, and thank you, Rip, for posting it.
    Do you still get to do all the coaching if you don't sign up for the platform evaluation? I feel like if you don't get to coach or if you don't get to coach nearly as much, then you're way better off signing up for it even if you know you're gonna fail, especially for someone like you who doesn't have much experience.

  5. #5
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    When someone is being evaluated to be a SSC and fails only one part of the platform coaching, such as the Deadlift like Robert did, and comes back a few months later to retry, do they have to do everything over again? Or just the part they failed? Do they have to pay for a complete seminar pass? Or just the $100 evaluation fee?

  6. #6
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    Quote Originally Posted by KangaJoo View Post
    Do you still get to do all the coaching if you don't sign up for the platform evaluation? I feel like if you don't get to coach or if you don't get to coach nearly as much, then you're way better off signing up for it even if you know you're gonna fail, especially for someone like you who doesn't have much experience.
    Everybody at the seminar coaches on the platform, whether they opt in for the SSC evaluation or not. This is an integral part of our teaching method.

    Quote Originally Posted by Travis Greer View Post
    When someone is being evaluated to be a SSC and fails only one part of the platform coaching, such as the Deadlift like Robert did, and comes back a few months later to retry, do they have to do everything over again? Or just the part they failed? Do they have to pay for a complete seminar pass? Or just the $100 evaluation fee?
    If you fail the platform, you have to retake the platform. You think it's too much trouble to have to retest the other 4 lifts?

  7. #7
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    No, just wondering.

  8. #8
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    starting strength coach development program
    Quote Originally Posted by Travis Greer View Post
    When someone is being evaluated to be a SSC and fails only one part of the platform coaching, such as the Deadlift like Robert did, and comes back a few months later to retry, do they have to do everything over again? Or just the part they failed? Do they have to pay for a complete seminar pass? Or just the $100 evaluation fee?
    Another way to look at this, aside from Rip's answer, is that as an SSC, you should be able to pass any platform eval, at any time, with just about (I'm an engineer, so there's always an out...) any lifter. If she / he fails a platform they passed previously, as Staff I'm thinking "They must have had a lifter that made them look good last time."

    We have had people come back and actually end up evaluation worse than they did the first time. I assign this to hubris, for most cases.

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