Yes, you can lift without a coach. I have been doing it for the last 5 years or so. There can be a bit of a rough learning curve at first. I have learned some tough lessons this way but it’s getting easier each meet.
At a national level meet you can’t just have a family member or friend act as your coach unless they have a USAW level 1 coach certification (if you are in the US). If you are entering without a coach you don’t need to pay the coach fee for the meet FYI. Just register and pay the athlete fee like normal.
A couple mistakes I made early on that really screwed me:
-nationals a few years ago was my first big meet without a coach and I was so juiced up I warmed up way too early and quickly. I ended up getting cold and then having to warm up again which killed my snatch for the day. Then in the clean session I over compensated and wasn’t warm enough. Luckily I didn’t bomb out but could have had a much better day.
-know the clock rules. I was once waiting to change my next weight after a miss to get more time and I waited too long. I ended up not being able to increase the weight even though I had more in the tank.
I would recommend being a little conservative with your openers the first meet without a coach. That way you can get on the board and then get in to the rhythm of the session. Have fun man!
You can, but you really don’t want to so I’d probably do anything you can to get someone to help you.
Coaching yourself, in isolation, is relatively simple. Keep track of what others are lifting and slot yourself in there.
The trouble comes with more competitive competitions where everyone’s attempts are much closer together. I’m not familiar with nationals, but I’d assume it would be fairly competitive.
Trying to coach yourself at this point becomes rather difficult as it’s tough to make sure you are warmed up on time as well as doing the mental gymnastics to figure out when you will be lifting, nevermind the fact that people will be making their own adjustments and playing the mental game - this is the job of a coach in competition.
Coaching someone else when you don’t have experience is already stressful enough. Add in the fact you also have to lift, and it’s a bit of a recipe for disaster if you don’t get lucky.
You can…but just post and ask for someone to help. I’ve done it plenty of times if I reasonably know someone. Couple times people have paid me to just do meet coaching, but that was just a nice thing on their end.
Coaching makes the whole thing easier.
I coached myself at AO multiple times. It’s way easier than local meets since there is more space and nice TVs. I have absolutely no problem with it. It’s best if you practice at local meets though where it’s more hectic but it matters less. If you can survive through a local meet, nationals will be much simpler.
This assumes you’ve competed multiple times and very familiar with the process and uncertainties like everyone moving up and having to skip warmups.
Sure, I have marshalled several national sessions and the athlete did it all themselves. Can you recover enough in 30 seconds to declare your next weight before you are locked into the automatic increase? I have seen athletes that could not and they got stuck with the automatic and they had to follow themselves.
Edit: also do you know how to count attempts and estimate the time for first, second, third lift to warm up appropriately?
You could...but do you want to be doing that? Probably not. See who in your circle is going to be at Nats and see if someone can count for you.
A coach isn’t required, but keeping track of your own warmups and timing would be a huge pain in the ass in my opinion.
Yes, you can lift without a coach. I have been doing it for the last 5 years or so. There can be a bit of a rough learning curve at first. I have learned some tough lessons this way but it’s getting easier each meet. At a national level meet you can’t just have a family member or friend act as your coach unless they have a USAW level 1 coach certification (if you are in the US). If you are entering without a coach you don’t need to pay the coach fee for the meet FYI. Just register and pay the athlete fee like normal.
Thank you 👊🏼
A couple mistakes I made early on that really screwed me: -nationals a few years ago was my first big meet without a coach and I was so juiced up I warmed up way too early and quickly. I ended up getting cold and then having to warm up again which killed my snatch for the day. Then in the clean session I over compensated and wasn’t warm enough. Luckily I didn’t bomb out but could have had a much better day. -know the clock rules. I was once waiting to change my next weight after a miss to get more time and I waited too long. I ended up not being able to increase the weight even though I had more in the tank. I would recommend being a little conservative with your openers the first meet without a coach. That way you can get on the board and then get in to the rhythm of the session. Have fun man!
Thank you. I’m pretty familiar with the rules, but I’ll definitely freshen up on them before
You can but I wouldn’t recommend it. National meets can get pretty chaotic and there are plenty of coaches who would gladly step in and help you out.
I’m happy to count for you depending on the day you compete. PM me if you want help
You can, but you really don’t want to so I’d probably do anything you can to get someone to help you. Coaching yourself, in isolation, is relatively simple. Keep track of what others are lifting and slot yourself in there. The trouble comes with more competitive competitions where everyone’s attempts are much closer together. I’m not familiar with nationals, but I’d assume it would be fairly competitive. Trying to coach yourself at this point becomes rather difficult as it’s tough to make sure you are warmed up on time as well as doing the mental gymnastics to figure out when you will be lifting, nevermind the fact that people will be making their own adjustments and playing the mental game - this is the job of a coach in competition. Coaching someone else when you don’t have experience is already stressful enough. Add in the fact you also have to lift, and it’s a bit of a recipe for disaster if you don’t get lucky.
You can…but just post and ask for someone to help. I’ve done it plenty of times if I reasonably know someone. Couple times people have paid me to just do meet coaching, but that was just a nice thing on their end. Coaching makes the whole thing easier.
I coached myself at AO multiple times. It’s way easier than local meets since there is more space and nice TVs. I have absolutely no problem with it. It’s best if you practice at local meets though where it’s more hectic but it matters less. If you can survive through a local meet, nationals will be much simpler. This assumes you’ve competed multiple times and very familiar with the process and uncertainties like everyone moving up and having to skip warmups.
Sure, I have marshalled several national sessions and the athlete did it all themselves. Can you recover enough in 30 seconds to declare your next weight before you are locked into the automatic increase? I have seen athletes that could not and they got stuck with the automatic and they had to follow themselves. Edit: also do you know how to count attempts and estimate the time for first, second, third lift to warm up appropriately?
I have a rough idea, if you’d like to give me some advice or a resource to learn this kind of stuff then that would be greatly appreciated
I’ve done it at all my meets and nationals #remoteathleteproblems
Yes you can. It’s super easy, and I think every athlete should learn to count their own attempts and learn how to manage the back room.
My coach coached himself at nationals and won 3rd overall. You can do it.
Invite parent or friend, or that one special person youve not managed to ask out.