David Abruzzo, president of the Metrocity Striders Track Club and race coach for the New York City Marathon applicants, deals with the different worries of three groups of runners. Beginners need a guide to training, nutrition, and race logistics. The returnees expect reassurance on the efficiency of the training and performance improvements. Experienced runners, despite being good, act as if they are not interested or skeptics towards the advice of coaching. The region struggles with balancing the needs of the individuals, from handling basic questions to budding advanced competitors and the different levels of receptiveness.
Group 1: Leadership Needs and David’s Preparedness
Group 1 includes beginner marathon runners who want to be equipped with essential tips on marathon preparation. These people are amateurs and, therefore, ask David what the chances of their finish are. Their worries correlate with training strategies, nutrition, hydration, injury prevention, mental preparation and pre-race fears. The SUI model suggests that such runners are now in the Uncertainty Stage. They need leadership that provides the required direction, encouragement, and elaborate answers to their questions so they will be comfortable with the transition. Yet, with his extensive marathon experience, David might need help to satisfy this group. He sees them as superficial and ridiculous, which may reveal that he does not fully understand their views (Abruzzo, nd). David wishes to look at them as informed adults, but a glimpse of the questions shows a difference in leadership styles. With this, there’s a gap between the self-serving leadership that Group 1 looks for and David’s willingness to do it. This disparity emphasizes the necessity of empathy, patience, and flexibility, especially in leading people in the early stages of their marathon journey. David could adapt his approach and focus more on the requirements of group 1 to create an atmosphere that is suitable for the growth and development of the runners and that is supportive and inclusive.
Group 2: Fit with David’s Coaching Style
Group 2 is a group of veteran runners who have run the New York City Marathon before and are now focused on improving their training strategies based on their previous experiences. The primary purpose of these studies is to understand how the different training variables affect their race outcomes. This group resonates strongly with David’s coaching style, which connects motivation and detailed instructions. David is apt at rallying these seasoned athletes by delivering encouraging pep talks, which they respond well to by adopting his motivational strategies. Their synergy defines the relationship between Group 2 and David, characterized by mutual understanding and effective communication. With the help of his soft-spoken and inspirational approach, David perfectly matches the needs of Group 2, which, as a result, creates favorable coach-athlete communication.
Group 3: Challenges and Ineffectiveness
Group 3 is a group of veterans that demonstrate signs of discontentment and lack of enthusiasm, even though they have a lot of race experience and many victories under their belts (Esteve-Lanao et al.,2021). They are always after validation for the set training regimen and often question David’s coaching advice. The third group in the SUI model is at a Stage of Inertia, marked by little interest and motivation toward running a business. David could be more effective with this particular group due to the misunderstanding between his coaching approach and the athletes’ desires. Though David’s genuine intentions to teach the runners invaluable running principles remain, their neglectful attitude illustrates the failure in communication or lack of trust between the coach and athletes. David’s expressed anxiety over the apparent lack of appreciation exposes the lack of understanding about their perspective and how they appropriately deal with their deep-rooted concerns. Consequently, David faces immense challenges in motivating and engaging Group 3, which compromises the positive results of his coaching and impedes the quest to achieve sustainable progress in this set.
Evaluation of David’s Coaching: Strengths, Weaknesses, and Suggestions for Improvement
David’s leadership technique has many strengths that create a positive atmosphere for his runners. His motivational support and encouragement are visible in his work with Group 2, creating a good atmosphere for growth and regain. The fact that the coach has taken part in marathons for a long time provides him with in-depth knowledge and greater understanding, which benefits all participants. However, David’s coaching style has merits and demerits that need to be revised to address the diverse group’s needs. He might require his assistance in the process of grasping the obstacles that the low-experienced runners in Group 1 experience exactly, which, if needed, will lead to lousy communication (Myrkos et al., 2020). The Leader will encounter a set of problems, and one of them is planning different strategies for the old-timers who periodically become demotivated, as in Group 3, just like the Leader who feels the same. This calls for much more of the précised approach to drive the passion and devotion to energize them once again.
To offset his weaknesses and thus improve his coaching effectiveness, David has to try using a more personalized and inclusive approach that will consider and align with each group’s needs and motives. Support Group 1 through simple training procedures with beginners in mind and by providing extra support and guidance to build confidence and skills. On the other hand, in the case of Group 2, such elements as a more comprehensive description of teaching methods and private feedback meetings may be helpful in increasing their understanding and improving their performance. Besides, having open communication with Group 3 is necessary to pin down the issues that make them numb and get them involved in the program again. Besides such strategies, building trust and relationships with all population groups is equally important as it is for better athlete performance and satisfaction. Through empathy, communication, and personalized support, David can make a big difference in the result, which will help all participants get their best outcomes.
In conclusion, one of the challenges that David Abruzzo encounters is to use a solution that will help him cater to the diverse needs of three Metrocity Striders Track Club runners. His training techniques work best for motivated runners looking for performance improvement. However, he also lacks in treating apprentices and deserters among the veteran tribe members. Suppose he is to enhance his potential as a coach. In that case, David should be able to identify and react to the collective problems of the groups while promoting trust relationships and adjusting his approach as appropriate. David does this by improving how performance and satisfaction are enhanced between the runners and their Leader.
References
Abruzzo D. Marathon Runners at Different Levels.pdf
Myrkos, A., Smilios, I., Kokkinou, E. M., Rousopoulos, E., & Douda, H. (2020). Physiological and race pace characteristics of medium and low-level Athens marathon runners. Sports, 8(9), 116. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports8090116
Esteve-Lanao, J., Del Rosso, S., Larumbe-Zabala, E., Cardona, C., Alcocer-Gamboa, A., & Boullosa, D. A. (2021). They are predicting recreational runners’ marathon performance time during their training preparation. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 35(11), 3218-3224.https://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/wk/jsc/2021/00000035/00000011/art00037
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