We have only had a couple of clients that refused to scale. Ultimately they suffered and didn’t last because they were beat up beyond anything they were used to from trying to “do it prescribed” They trained themselves and taught themselves that you get crushed and are sore for a week-classes became punishment. That is over for us. After taking Dutch’s seminar in S. Brooklyn we now write a scaled wod for the people who need it whether they think they need it or not. Usually the folks that last are the ones who are humble enough to understand their limits. I like the suggestion about the focused conversation-that is right on Dutch and seems like something a good coach would take the time to do

Dutch-
The last few posts have been great! When I read them, I tend to think of how it affects my classroom, as many of the things you say completely parallel my classes. Our school has consistent transition, so you have kids coming and going quite a bit. Some students are on track with what we are doing, but several are behind in the curriculum. It’s a very delicate balancing act to decide what to do for the newbies, as they could easily get overwhelmed and quit; easing them can cause the other students to slow down; and telling them to just try and keep up – I don’t even consider that an option!

One student I have that I’ve been working with quite a bit lately really sums of some of what you have talked about with easing newbies into the gym. He cannot read, and I wasn’t really sure where to start him at in algebra. Since we are knee deep in equations, the first day he saw letters and numbers in math problems kind of blew his mind (much the same way a newbie would see Fran for the first time!). I had to ease him into our class and build his confidence. I gave him work he would be successful at, while I kept the rest of the class on pace. As we were working through systems of equations, graphing, etc., he was listening and picking up patterns in what we were doing. He may not completely understand the theory behind the math, but he can detect a pattern quicker than most anyone, and he uses patterns to solve the math that he once thought impossible.

I think the important part of teaching (and coaching) is as you say, have an overall plan with integrating new folks, then tweak it here and there to motivate individuals to get them where they need to go. Above all though, I think the client (and in my case, my students) has to feel the coach cares about them as a person. I know I can get my students to try ANY math problem because they a)know it’s ok to fail and make mistakes and b)they know I care for them and want them to be successful. If you can create an environment like that, I think you can motivate people to do ANYTHING