Role Models- Coach versus athlete

Who would you rather have preparing you for a World Championship Boxing match: Cus D’Amato or Mike Tyson?

At a recent level 1 S&C coaching course I brought up the idea of athletic development and having an idea of a great athlete to try and model yourself on. We also discussed how much of a role model a Coach should be and what this should entail.

For me Tyson would provide a visual, psychological and emotional imprint of a boxer.

D’Amato would be the trainer who could help me achieve that. 

The athlete may be a short term inspiration, and we need that, but the Coach provides the long term solution.

“A boy comes to me with a spark of interest and it becomes a flame. I feed the flame and it becomes a fire. I feed the fire and it becomes a roaring blaze.”
            
             – Cus D’Amato