In my last article, I wrote about the importance of building a pipeline of coaching talent.
If you run your program like most Affiliates, it’s likely you have only a limited number of classes, whether for existing members or new members, to develop your new coaches.
This is the problem I ran into at CrossFit DoneRight in 2010. We had about four or five classes per day for existing members, and we also ran a beginners’ class three days a week. I had a few potential coaches who had taken their L1, and I needed to find opportunities for them to gain experience. None of them had ever coached before, and lacked the skills necessary to run a group; so, at first, I would have them co-coach a beginners’ class with me. Three coaching interns and only twelve hours of beginners’ classes each month was like dipping one’s toe in the water to test the temperature, but I needed my new coaches diving in and getting wet.
Ultimately, I made the decision to do away with the group beginners’ class, and, instead, have all new members take private sessions.
Our beginners’ class was capped at ten new members, three classes per week, for four weeks, giving me the twelve hours per month to use for training new coaches.
10 New Members x 12 Group Classes = 12 Hours of Training Opportunity
Our new system was based on new members doing a minimum of six private sessions. Now, I would get sixty hours out of ten new members, creating five times more training hours for my new coaches to start developing their skills.
10 New Members x 6 Private Sessions = 60 Hours of Training Opportunity
The old group class structure was also based on taking twelve progressive classes within a group, meaning new students had to start together, and if we were in the middle of the program anyone else would have to wait. Switching to the private sessions allowed new students to start immediately and helped increase the numbers of training hours to about 100 per month.
Although my ultimate goal was to increase the opportunity to train new coaches, our new program had several other positive effects including increased revenue, increased conversions to regular group classes, and increased referrals.
If you are looking for ways to find increased coaching time, consider revising your current class schedule. It is likely you will find extra hours for development, without sacrificing your members’ experience.
Still time to register for our seminar this coming weekend with Jon Gilson, click on the graphic for more details.
This article was written by Justin Bacon, of CrossFit DoneRight. He is the owner of a successful affiliate and also loves to help others reach their goals, both in their fitness and life.